<prompt> Human: Hi, rPersonalFinance! Youre one of my favorite subreddits and Im in need of some advice. Heres what you need to know: Im an 18 year old college student just finished my first year, and I currently have around 40k sitting in a savings account. My college expenses will be paid for through a trust, so student loans are not a huge issue at the moment. Id like to begin investing and making income off of whatever part of the 40k isnt part of my emergency fund which will probably be around 5000. My current goal is some sort of additional income from these investments for the next three years or so -- once school is done, I plan to look towards more long-term investments. My ultimate goal is financial independence, as my mother is still paying for some of my expenses, and Id like to take some of the weight from her shoulders and carry it myself. I spoke to an Investment Representative at my local bank yesterday, and she recommended two mutual funds for my goals: the Franklin Income Fund and Hartfords Balanced Income Fund. I have almost no idea what I am doing.After some searching through PF, the general consensus seems to be that these mutual funds operating expenses are way too high; that they will make the managers and the representatives more money than they will make me. This brings me to a few questions:1. Is the consensus I found true and applicable in my scenario?2. If so: where should I look as an alternative?3. Any other advice or information you guys have would be extremely appreciated. Thank you so much, in advance, for any help. Id also be happy to provide any more information that seems useful - its a bit of a complicated situation. Thank you again.EDIT: The amount of advice and information Ive received since posting this is incredible. Thank you all, so much. Truly.Assistant: Take a look at this linked in the sidebar in general though, youre looking for a fee based fund so theyre paid regardless of how much money you put in or how much it makes, removes incentive to continually try to go for quick gains or bigger, newer customers for the manager. Fidelity funds are usually fairly well recommended, as are Vanguard. Human: One of my older relatives recommended Vanguard, and from looking at their website it appears they have some funds which seem to meet my goals. Should I bring these up with the investment representative next time we meet?  <response>: You shouldnt meet with him again.If youre buying a car, you dont consult a car salesman for advice. If youre looking into mutual funds, dont consult a mutual fund salesman for advice. 