I had looked into the investment order. It seems most of those didn't apply to me with my scenario, with the exception of a Roth IRA, since most of those accounts are for pre-taxed income. So, the 401k and HSA stuff is out ( I have PPO insurance currently). I can send $5k for this year to a Roth, but what do I do with the other $45k?
The only debt I have is an auto loan I just took out with a balance of $21k and 2.4% interest. I have a 2-3 year plan to tackle that one.
That seems to leave the remaining for investing, but I don't know where to start. I have heard something about Vanguard and index funds. Would that be where to look next or is there something better?
Yes, open a Roth IRA if your income is below $140,000. You can put in money for tax year 2020 until May 17. You can put in $6,000 for 2020, and another $6,000 for 2021. There's really no way to go wrong with this step. If you regret that the money is in a Roth IRA, the contributions can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason without penalty. Do it now, and worry about what to actually invest the money in later (S&P 500 or Total Stock Market fund is my recommendation, but you don't have to decide when you open the account)
If you keep following the investment order, you would be maxing out your 401(k) in step 5. 2021's 401(k) limit is $19,500. The way you get extra money in there is you max out your contribution from your paycheck, living on your savings if you can't manage on the lower paycheck.
If I understand correctly, you amassed this sum over 3.5 years, so you're saving at a rate of just under 15k per year. If that's the case, the entirety of the 50k, and what you're saving can be put into tax advantaged accounts over the next 4 years:
2021: $31,500 into accounts, 15k saved, 33.5K balance
2022: $25,500 into accounts, 15k saved, 23k balance
2023: $25,500 into accounts, 15k saved, 12.5k balance
2024: $25,500 into accounts, 15k saved, 2k balance
2025: $17,000 into accounts, 15k saved, 0k balance
This pace seems reasonable to me given the time it took to accumulate these savings. If that isn't quick enough, check out 529 plans. They can provide a state tax incentive, and are valuable if you think you'll ever provide for someone to go to college (you, wife, kids, grandkids, or a niece/nephew). You can put in 15K per person in most states, and you can do it in your name if you don't have the person nailed down. If that's still not quick enough, or if you don't want to tie the money to being used for education, maybe you want to open a trading account. I'd suggest something E*TRADE or Fidelity. In there you can put all of your savings, but you don't get tax benefit. All your selling & dividends will be subject to tax the minute it happens in your account.