<prompt> Human: Im 23 and I finally made enough were I have a steady loan payment and emergency money saved up. I have really been interested in letting some of the extra money do some work for me over the years, but I dont even know where to start. Im willing to start playing around with 500 before I get serious. Where is the best starting point and what are the dos and donts for a beginner? Also, what kind of fees should I be aware about? Thanks!  <response>: The order you usually want to do things is:1. Invest in your 401k up to the match if your work matches 4, contribute at least 4.2. Pay off high interest debt 6-7 or above3. Contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA4. Finish maxing 401k5. Invest in taxable accounts.The reason is money in a 401k or IRA grows tax free. Now, as for what to invest in within the 401k or IRA, you usually want to pick index funds, meaning funds that hold a lot of different individual stocks. An example is the S and P 500, which includes the 500 largest companies in the US. And since you are young, you want to mostly be invested in stocks rather than bonds.This stock series is a good starting point to learn about investing: 