<prompt> Human: Hello, Due to a recent family tragedy Im a student going to school mostly for free through pell grants. I have a bit of extra money because of this I was already paying for school debt free prior to receiving grants and Ive been thinking about opening an investment account just to get the ball rolling so its in the back of my mind. I know this subreddit is all about vanguard but I already do all my banking with USAA and they dont have a contribution minimum to open the account to open one with vanguard you need 1,000 which is possible right now but would be a decent sized chunk of my checking. How can I compare these two companies? Would I be harming myself significantly if I chose USAA right now in my life?  <response>: I use USAA for banking but Vanguard for IRA and investing. Vanguard is awesome, I wouldnt invest anywhere else 