<prompt> Human: Im 18 and have been financially independent since I was 16. Until I turned 18, I lived paycheck to paycheck on about 1400 a month I was a math tutor. Now Im an exotic dancer got the job three months ago and I make about 5,000 per month, and Ive been told by my coworkers that my hourly income will double during the summer and be fairly consistent the other 8-9 months I live in a beachy tourist town. I also plan to work about twice as much during the summer because I wont be in school. So Ill probably be making anywhere from 60k-110k this year and every year I dance. I grew up poor but educated, so while Im not dumb, I know NOTHING about money. I am planning to do all of my taxes legally, but I will get an accountant to do it so I only pay what I have to Im an independent contractor. Im currently finishing up community college with no debt, and just got accepted to a University of California campus to finish my BS in Mathematics. Tuition is 13kyr, and Im going to take 3 more years to work on my undergrad. After that I plan to pursue a PhD in Mathematics, but I obviously wont be paying tuition then. I plan to keep dancing until Im too old for it to be lucrative I enjoy the job! so I probably have about 10-15 years of this kind of income. Ill be working in my real field after that, obviously, so I will still have an income of unknown size. I need help figuring out how to invest. All I have now is a checking account and credit card with BofA and four savings accounts with Ally - one for taxes which I put 26 of my income in every month, one for tuition I have a strict plan to make sure I can afford the payments as theyre due, one for emergencies typically put about 600-800 a month in that and one for travelfun that one gets whatevers left when I feel like it, maybe 200-700 a month. I currently only have like 5,000 to my name, mostly in those Ally savings accounts, but its growing fast. Should I open an IRA now? Everyone says Roth is ideal for people who start young, but I think this doesnt apply to me because I am actually in a higher tax bracket now then I ever will be again in my life! Am I right? Should I open a traditional IRA? As far as other investments go, Im clueless. I know what CDs are and Ive been thinking about investing in the stock market but I dont know where to start. Im also toying with the idea of investing in real estate because prices are low and I could have rental income, but I dont know if thats a good idea or if its realistic. Any tips on how to not let the money go to my head? Im so good at being frugal because I had no choice until now, but Ive started buying things little things, like 100 here and there on sensible but unnecessary products that I dont need. I need to save more aggressively? Assistant: The brilliant part about the way youre earning money is the amount of time you have on your hands to let things accrue. As a mathematician do the math on compounding interest over the amount of time you have until retirement and revel in the power that you earning and investing money now will yield.A couple of questions for you first. What is your living situation like? Do you live with relatives or in an apartment? Do you feel comfortable enough with your financial situation to purchase something? Borrowing money right now is cheaper than it will just about ever be, but I dont know how unstable your job is as I have no experience in the field. It may not be something youre ready or able to take on right now, but its a thought.I think your plan for tuition and taxes is brilliant and you are doing absolutely the right thing putting those back in a savings account and earning a little off the amount till theyre due. Great work. You mentioned that youre putting money back in a savings account. The first step for most people setting themselves up that are done absolving high interest debt is setting up their Emergency Fund. The link on the right should help with that. Again, I dont know how stable the job is, but the number of months you should have set back should directly relate to how stable you think your income is.As far as investments, without a working knowledge of how stocks or bonds or any other investment vehicle works I would recommend finding a low fee target retirement date. Vanguard has a great reputation and the target date will balance stocks and bonds automatically for you. The amount of time you have till retirement should directly correlate with the amount of risk you take on. Since you have a huge amount of time you can take on a very large percentage of your investments in stocks as compared to bonds. Dont touch CDs if you can avoid them. CDs are weak investments for the elderly. They barely or dont keep up with inflation as the cost for their incredible security. Theyre also as liquid as rocks, its hard to get money out of them if youre in a pinch.I would definitely use an IRA as an investment vehicle. One of the things that I noticed in looking over the comparison of types of accounts is the fact that you can withdraw from either type of IRA without penalty and with certain stipulations for purchasing a home or paying for higher education. Again, that information is in the link on the right. Cap your contributions yearly if you can.As to not letting the money go to your head, dont live like a complete pauper. Like dieting if you starve yourself it will be harder to avoid binging. Enjoy the money, but learn to enjoy the fact that you are establishing your security and your ability to do what you want with the rest of your life. You are in an amazing position and try to appreciate it.Also, marry me. Its not every day I get to propose to mathematician strippers with a good head on their shoulders and Im damn well not letting it pass by now. Ya know, if youre into tubby dudes from the midwest browsing the personal finance subreddit in the middle of the night from work. Just sayin.Human: Thanks for all the advice! I currently rent the master suite of a large house for 700 thats southern California for you and share the house with 7 grad students young professionals.. I like the idea of buying a house bit Im leaving town when I graduate to go to grad school and I dont have a down payment anyway.. Should I buy a house and then just rent it out after I leave town in 3 years? Im not really all that into marriage, but if youre ever in California, visit the Santa Barbara Spearmint Rhino!  <response>: I recommend not posting your place of work. Save that for PMs. 