<prompt> Human: Hey PF, Im just hoping to get some advice as to what would be the best option with my money right now. I just turned 18 years old and have 5 Grand that I saved over the course of working my senior year onion high school and money I was gifted. Im going to college in the fall and assuming my parents retain their jobs and everyone is healthy knock on wood, my parents will pay for all of my college finances. Now this leaves me with 5 Grand that I dont have to be spending in the next few years. My goal would be to save up another 10 Grand by the time I graduate college and use that money as a down payment for an apartment or condo or whatever so I dont have to rent. My main issue is to what to do with the money until graduation, I would rather not just have it sit around. Ive Been told to put at least half of it into high risk investments since Im young, but I do not feel confident in this market. Ive been reading a lot about Roth iras and from what I understand opening one up now would be great, and I could withdraw the non-interest money to buy a house penalty free.Also I recently applied for a credit card by myself to try and build credit, Im still waiting for a response.What would your advice be?Thanks in advance  <response>: I would contribute that money into a ROTH IRA.There is no such thing as being confident in a market. No one knows how the market is going to do. To be honest, stocks are still cheap relative to earnings. Do some of the reading here: The simpelst way to invest would be to hold index funds in a lazy portfolio: I strongly recommend you do not buy a house unless it is going to be an investment property. As a young person you should value your mobility. Who knows where you will want to live once you get married, move between jobs, etc. 