<prompt> Human: Long story made short: my parents divorced when I was 10, mainly due to my mothers poor financial habits and spending problem. My dad and grandmother have been saving and investing money for me for most of my life. This money that has been saved for me was intended to be giving to me so I could use it for schooling, down payments, etc, when I reached an appropriate age. After graduating high school, I earned a bachelors at my local community college on a scholarship, and now Im taking time off from school working, traveling overseas before deciding what I want to do with my life next. My father sat me down last week and explained this whole situation to me in detail. He told me that hes giving this money to me now not only because he believes Im a mature enough of person to handle this amount of money, but also because my mother knows this money exists and her and her lawyers are trying to get her hands on it. He is giving it to me now because he believes it is solely my money and wants to make sure it stays mine.I must admit I am rather inexperienced with personal finance. Ive only ever had two bank accounts, student checking and simple savings with TD. No minimum balance requirements, hardly any fees, no interest, essentially the most basic account I can imagine. I do have a few thousand dollars saved up from working a lot recently in hopes of traveling in the spring, but really this 7.5k is by far the biggest lump of money Ive ever been in possession of.I could put this sum towards my traveling fund, but I had already planned on making enough this holiday season working two retail jobs, and I still plan to do so. I would like to put it away for some sort of safety net, or possibly for furthering my education when I decide to go back to school, or for some other life event I really dont want to move back in with my mother once Im done traveling. I dont know what it will be used for in the long run, but for now I would like to put this sum my father gave me into some kind of account other than the one I currently have one that my mother doesnt know about and where it can also grow, for obvious reasons. However I am quite lost and dont really know what my options are or how to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: My dad and grandmother have been saving and investing money for me for most of my life. I must admit I am rather inexperienced with personal finance.You seem to have 2 people who you can look to for advice on money management. Ive only ever had two bank accounts, student checking and simple savings with TD.Start by calling the bank and ensure that your name is the only name on these accounts. If it isnt, get the other name removed or close the account and open a new one.Second, investment strategy usually requires a timeline on when you want the money back again which means it needs a use pay for education, downpayment, retirement, etc. A 2 year investment plan, a 5 year plan, and a 40 year plan will all be quite different.For 2 years look into a high interest savings account; 1 or better with no fees for depositwithdrawal. 