Have you looked into any real estate to see if you could make the numbers work? Personally I am invested in stocks and RE, and am looking for RE but the market is not allowing me to find the return I want compared with just a year or two ago, so more is going into stocks at the moment. I am not sure what you mean about weird time in VTSAX...
The OP wasn't asking for your opinion about her relationship with her parents. I suggest you concern yourself with your own life, which clearly needs work.
Wait, where was BeardedMan asking for your option of his opinion of the OP?
Where did Zoot Allures ask for your assessment of BM's interest in ZA's opinion of... fuck, I'm confused.
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People like OP confuse me, $95K in the mattress... I always knew what I wanted to invest in, was just an idiot and never had the cash until the last few years. How do you get to $10K, and $20K, etc, and not have this thought process until now? But anyway....
OP,
I second the 529 recommendation for the baby money. With any luck at all, it'll be worth a whole college education 18 years from now.
As for allocating this magical nearly-six-figures that's currently inflating away to nothing, and desperately needs to go to work for you, I can tell you what I'd personally do with it, which is leverage the biggest multifamily I could qualify for, using this as a down payment, and complete my FIRE portfolio in the process... but I don't suggest starting there.
First of all, read a lot about RE investing before you commit to anything. Second of all, think long and hard about your values and priorities. Third, think about the long term, and I mean the really long term. Philosophies vary, but I don't buy real estate I'm not willing to hold till I die. Disposition is never guaranteed. Hot markets collapse, even cheap markets can fall, etc.
Finally, as a first-timer... I would suggest having management identified before you buy, and find one that will help you with evaluations. Just a suggestion though, not a hard-set rule. If I were doing it again starting today, I'd do less self-management and not more. I have a PM lined up for our future buys who does market rent analysis to help investors make good decisions. They should all do that... it comes back to them via higher and more reliable commissions.