@Khanjar - I agree, too much cash! My fault, this is stupid but it just sort of happened. I changed jobs which increased income 13 years ago, my mom also died in that time frame and I inherited everything, which wasn't much ( ~ $60K once her house sold). We had bought a house a couple of year 's before, had car payments, etc. so I kept cash for flexibility/ emergency. My job move also created a series of pay increases and bonuses that let me save more money. We wanted to do some renovations on the house, I spaced those out and paid cash (no refinancing, etc.). My husband considered changing jobs - again, I kept cash. 20:20 hindsight shows I missed LOTS of chances to invest. Also, I just didn't know where/how to invest outside my work beased 401K (which I've maxed out since starting). I was concerned about either tying up money or losing money.
@Cheddar Stacker - yes, my spouse's debt is a sore subject, and I do need to have the difficult conversation without sounding preachy. We do have separate finances, I saw during dating our different behaviors and philosophies and so we never merged finances, not even a common bank account or credit card. I meet with the agent re: insurance this week. It is a non- standard policy that I bought for investment purposes. They don't sell this policy type anymore. More details end of week. It can be converted to an annuity, so may be worth keeping. No kids, and working spouse, so I don't need life insurance (IMHO).
@frugaldrummer - we have an imperfect but relatively solid marriage. Like lots of folks, $$ is a touchy subject for us, so I want to be careful to approach with care. Now, you challenged my marriage - I get to challenge your assumptions - my spouse = HE (not she) is the grasshopper to my ant re: finances. Guys find things to buy too - overspending is probably a pretty gender neutral trait. But I agree there is some "red flag" (or at least yellow flag) elements at play. I don't pay off his debt because our $$ is separate and I have paid almost all " common" bills over the years. I have in the past offered to pay IF I got control of his paycheck in the future, but he passed on that option (May have been a good idea vs. fights in the future).
Any recommendations other than Vanguard? Too bad Bogle left... But my thought it to follow his (and Cheddar Stacker's) advice re: low fee index fund(s)