<prompt> Human: Hello all,Im 14 years old, and am an independent contractor. This year my estimated total income will be around 7000, all made organically. I have about 5000 of savings in the bank. Next year I want to have about 2000 liquid to spend on travelbusiness improvements, etc. In my current savings, I own 100 shares of RTTR, 2 shares of AMZN, and 3 shares of GIS 2k. Im always on the lookout to buy more shares at lower prices and strategically trade to make more money. I use Robinhood for 0 commissions. If I spend 2k next year, and own 2k in securities, then I have 1k in cash just lying around. Im wondering whether I should keep investing in the stock market myself, or open a Roth IRA. I want to have a steady income for later in life, but my only discouraging from doing so is because my parents want to continue to apply for financial aid for HS and college I go to private school at the moment, and student IRAs can be considered in the financial aid review. What is the best path for my money to grow long term, in a fairly liquid way, without too much risk? I love trading on the stock market, but feel fairly exposed and would rather have someone manage it.  <response>: Its great that youre making some decent money at your age, and even better that youre interested in being fiscally responsible.For long term growth, the lazy investors way is to dump it in low cost index funds. The market generally returns 7-9 per year on average. Even if we assume a conservative 5, it should return 5 times what you put in well before your 50th birthday 5.5 times in 35 years. You can do this by yourself; having someone manage your money introduces fees that can stunt the growth of your investments. 