What should I do with an inheritance?

[Red Beard]

The first thing I would do is get a very clear understanding of your loans.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven

Federal loans under Income-Driven Repayment are forgiven after 25 years, even if you borrowed before 2014. This could mean that the best course of action would be to pay off the private loans first, address the car issue and save the rest. The could depends on a number of factors. Would you continue to qualify for IDR if you paid off the private loans? Will your future income grow at a more rapid rate than your loan interest, meaning that at some point you would no longer qualify?

Without knowing the answer to those questions, I would probably pay the private debt as well as the 6.8% loans. I would put the rest into savings (the IRA advice you've already gotten). I would also absolutely move to an area where jobs are more abundant before considering grad school.

[TexasAnnie]

+1 to Red Beard, along with the other good advice on this old thread. For others viewing this:

Interest will continue to accrue on Income Based Repayment plan.

You may owe taxes on the forgiven amount after the 25 - the amount forgiven is considered income. With interest continuing to accrue, that amount could be very large.