Dear Helaine: I need some financial advice. I am 60 years old and, after working for a U.S. embassy as local staff, I migrated to the United States in 2014. Upon separating from the embassy, I received a six-figure severance. I invested about $40,000 toward the purchase of a home in North Carolina, and I am currently left with $145,000 in savings. This is all the savings I have. My wife is now the main breadwinner, and I earn extra money as a substitute teacher. We have no credit card debt. The major monthly liability is the mortgage of $1,600. We have three children. Two are in college and self-supporting. One is in high school. Please advise me on where I can safely invest my savings so I can get a reasonable rate of return. At this stage of life, my appetite for risk is not that great. -- Trying to Stay Afloat in the United States

Dear Trying to Stay Afloat in the United States: Investing a large sum of money can seem overwhelming. As a result, all too many of us can end up making a risky move we don’t view as such: We do nothing. In the period of time you sat on your funds, the S&P 500 -- if you reinvested your dividends -- increased by slightly more than 75 percent. Your risk and loss aversion cost you a tidy sum of money -- but I bet you don’t see it that way. So what should you do now?  Obviously, you can’t go back to 2014 and invest the sum. We can’t change our past behavior. We only live moving forward. I would first counsel that you eliminate the idea of a “safe” investment from your vocabulary. It’s an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp. Investments offer greater and lesser risks. Experts generally suggest you take the number 100, minus your age from it, and invest the remainder of your funds -- in your case 40 percent -- in the stock market, using a broadly diversified index fund such as a total stock market index fund. That’s an all-encompassing fund, representing the entirety of the domestic stock market. The remainder of the sum should go in a long-term bond fund. Should you do this? Probably, but this is the limit of an advice column -- I don’t actually know you. I don’t know how old your wife is, how much she earns, and what your financial situation will be like when she leaves the full-time workforce. And this is all important stuff, and it would be negligent of me to tell you exactly what to do without knowing all of that. My suggestion? Sit down with a certified financial planner who is paid by the hour and doesn’t earn their keep by selling financial investments that they will receive a commission on. Yes, you’ll need to pay for the service, but it’s money well spent. The Garrett Planning Network, which specializes in working with middle-income people, is a good place to start.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: My dad is in his late 80s and plans to leave an estate worth about $1 million. There are four adult children, including me. We all have different mothers.

One didn't even meet my dad till she was in her 20s. I've never met her, but based on what my dad tells me, she seems weird, unstable and eager to inherit. The second is a self-made millionaire. The third married into money and hates me. None of us live near our dad, and we don't share common bonds.

He's told all of us he plans to divide the estate "evenly." This looks like a ready-made future dumpster fire, given our various mutual animosities. How should we prepare? Just assume we need to lawyer up? Just ugh. -- Half-Sibling Blues

Dear Half-Sibling Blues: Your father sounds like an extremely difficult character, based on this write-up, and I suspect that you and your siblings are fighting over his affections, among other things. All too often these conflicts get carried over into battles over the estate after death.

I am hoping for all your sakes your father appointed a neutral arbiter -- say, a lawyer or financial planner -- to administer the estate after his passing. If it's one of the siblings or another family member, it might be just fine or it could get very difficult -- especially if, as you say, there are pre-existing animosities.

If you think your relationship with your dad is solid, you could attempt to speak with him about it and explain that it would be better for an outside party to carry out his final wishes. It would be best if you could do this in tandem with at least one other sibling, but based on this note, I'm guessing that's not possible.

I don't think you will necessarily need to lawyer up. While $1 million certainly sounds like a lot of money, divided four ways, it's a generous inheritance, but not the riches long legal battles are made of.

One other note of caution: It's possible this amount will be substantially less when you inherit it, especially if your father needs long-term medical care. Don't count on receiving a six-figure inheritance until it's actually in your bank account.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Hi, Helaine: Here's a problem for you: While doing some holiday gift shopping online, I used my credit card and bought a sweater for myself from a small but cool clothing company. It never arrived. When I checked the tracking online, the delivery service dropped it off at the wrong address, miles from my home. When I reached out to the company, it refused to replace or refund me for the item, saying I entered the wrong ZIP code.

But here's the thing: I didn't. I checked. I entered the right address. My mom suggested I try taking my case to social media, but I'm embarrassed. Now what do I do? -- Frustrated Self-Gifter

Dear Frustrated: First, you should never be embarrassed into silence when it comes to your money. You should call the credit card issuer immediately, say you want to dispute the charge and explain why. The issuer will talk you through the process for doing so and, most likely, at least temporarily remove the charge from your bill. You will then need to send a letter detailing the dispute, and show the receipt to prove you ordered the item so that the reversal sticks. Do this ASAP.

You should also contact the attorney general and the Better Business Bureau in the state where the clothing company is located and file complaints. Besides possibly prodding the company to action, authorities should know when a company is taking consumer money and not delivering the goods.

Finally, you might also consider taking your mom's advice and mentioning the issue on social media. She's right, in a practical way. Many companies monitor their mentions online and will reach out to you privately to try to resolve an issue if you complain in a very public fashion.

But before you do all of this, contact the company in question one more time and tell it you plan to take these actions if it will not issue you a refund or a new item. Most companies don't want the black mark on their record, and will often fold when they realize you are a consumer who knows your legal rights, and you don't plan to give up.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)