However you get it, found money is nothing to sneeze at, or squander. Seize the opportunity! Whether it's $5,000 or $105,000 - found money can make a major difference in your long-term financial health.

Review and implement the following checklist to put these dollars to work for you and take advantage of your good fortunate long term:

• Give yourself time to think about it. Don't take off for that tropical island just yet. Give yourself plenty of time to decide what is really important to you. Exercise a little restraint.
• Think about your overall goals and objectives and how these dollars can work with your financial plan. Perhaps you can reach your goals faster?
• If you don't have a financial plan, here's a real good reason to develop one starting right now. Planning now means a lot less regrets later. Think about what a financial plan could mean to you and your family.
• Hire a professional certified financial planner to help you work through the issues. Make sure you go down the right path for a secure financial future. Start right and keep it going. The more money you have the more you need a professional to help plan around big tax bills.
• Think about your vision for the future. Do these dollars change your vision or help you get there more quickly? This is definitely something that you need to spend some time considering.
• Newly found wealth can really complicate your life. You may find yourself chased by people who want to help you spend these dollars. Use your professional advisors to run interference for you and recognize that some of those long-lost friends aren't really friends.
• Learn the basics of investment even if you hire a professional to help you manage your money. You need to understand the reasoning behind how your dollars are managed.
• If you are still working, these extra dollars may mean you can now take full advantage of your company 401(k).
• Make sure you understand what these dollars really mean to your overall finances. People often get an unrealistic idea of how much cash flow this found money may be able to provide for them. Assume you inherited $500,000, and invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, earning an average annual return of 9%. That means you can take out approximately $25,000 or 5% per year without depleting your principal.
• Take a small percentage of the found money and have some fun. You don't have to limit the fun, just the dollars you spend.
• If the dollars are less than $50,000, think about funding those IRAs or maybe your children's college fund. Consider investing some of these dollars a little more aggressively than your regular diversified program.
• If the dollars you receive are up to about $300,000, you can afford to use some for a vacation or that car you haven't been able to afford. But don't quit that job unless you have some funds of your own or can live on about $15,000 in income from your investments per year.