<prompt> Human: I am seeing an increasing number of posts from young people with anywhere from 2000 - 10,000 sitting in a bank account, wanting to invest in stocks etc. Now dont get me wrong, this is a great idea, but spending your first years of freedom working a minimum-wage job and funnelling your life savings into a few stocks JUST for the sake of investing, it may not be the best course of action. If you are attending college for example, you may save 500 over 6 weeks of casual work, and then buy a few shares. Fast forward a few years, when youve graduated and your income increases, you can save that same amount of money in a week. What Im trying to say is, instead of seeing investments as black and white stocks, indexes, or ETFs, consider other things. If you have 10,000, you could spend a few months back-packing around Europe, buy several books containing memoirs of billionaires, do a few self-improvement classes, and still have some money left over to play around with. These could all help you more than buying 10,000 worth of shares and seeing a 5 annual ROI. Now I know this isnt exactly financial advice, but if this can increase your knowledge, skills, learning capabilities, understanding of life, and in turn, your ability to deal with financial situations, I think it would be a great idea. Its up to you to consider what will give you the most benefit.  <response>: Can we also discuss that investing in yourself doesnt have to cost you money?Apprenticeship programs for trades will teach you valuable skills, pay you a wage, and cover any tuition costs for classes and books. College isnt the only option for investing in ones self. 