<prompt> Human: My grandfather left me around 17 thousand dollars. Im 24 yo in college and working part time 39hrsweek to pay rent. I have no savings and never invested in anything before so this is basically everything I have. I want to invest most of it in some reliable funds soon to keep it from gathering dust. How do I figure out what I want to do with it?Is this even enough money to bother investing? What are some obvious no nos for a beginner? What is the first step?Edit: working part time  <response>: Im going to disagree with the suggestions so far mutual funds and Roth IRA. They are great suggestions in a general sense, but in your specific case, I cant help but notice this:I have no savingsYou do now.Put it in the bank. Let it sit in the bank. Dont touch it except in case of emergency.Theres a great deal to be said for knowing that you are able to pay your bills for months at a time even if you lose your job. If you invest in mutual funds, you may suddenly find yourself needing money while the market has crashed and your mutual funds have tanked. If you put money in an IRA, you may suddenly find yourself needing money when youre not allowed to withdraw it from your IRA without paying significant penalties -- and while the market has crashed and your IRA has tanked.And starting now, start saving and investing. Put as much money as you reasonably can into your investments whenever you reasonably can. Mutual funds and a Roth IRA are great suggestions going forward. 