From $100k to 10M: Your windfall game plan!

In this week's Friends With Money episode, host Ryan Johnson speaks with financial adviser David Sharpe, chair of the Financial Advice Association Australia FAAA) about how to react to a sudden windfall—from $100,000 to $1 million, $10 million and even $1 billion.

Sharpe advises first confirming the money is real, then slowing down to avoid emotional decisions, and keeping the news private (limited to a spouse and trusted professionals).

They discuss balancing lifestyle spending with long-term goals, and how priorities shift by amount and life stage: using $100,000 for a home deposit or improving retirement cashflow, weighing debt repayment by interest cost (credit cards first; student debt is typically lower-cost), and the tax advantages versus access restrictions of superannuation.

00:38 First steps after a windfall: Verify, pause, and avoid emotional moves

01:53 Who to tell (and who not to): Keeping your windfall private

02:33 Spend vs save: Building a plan that matches what you value

04:00 Windfall playbook: What to do with $100,000

05:05 Debt, HECS and priorities: Paying down the right loans first

06:13 Superannuation trade-offs: Tax benefits vs access to your money

07:30 If the $100k came from selling an investment: Reinvesting and tax

08:05 Scenario two: How $1 million changes the plan

09:43 Mortgage vs shares: Tax smarts, borrowing back and debt recycling

11:43 Inheritance checks: Asset types, CGT and what you actually keep

12:21 Scenario three: $10 million—Financial freedom, purpose and relationships

14:26 Trusts and SMSFs explained: When structures help (and when they don’t)