<prompt> Human: Once again, Im a twenty year old junior in college who just won 70k in a settlement medical related. My mom and I decided that I would give her 10k since shes the one who went through with lawsuit and made it happen. I hope thats a decent amount, as I wouldnt get anything if it wasnt for her. Frankly, it was an awkward conversation... We had talked about her getting some and then once the amount was released, I asked her how much was fair and neither one of us wanted to throw out a number first... She finally said 10 and I just jumped at that. Anyway, back to the issue, I currently make enough income to live modestly and my college is free VA. I also already have an emergency savings. So my plan is to continue to live as though I am a broke college kid and put it all in a high interest savings account. Ive been told I should invest the money, but I have no idea what that entails and I do not want to risk losing one penny. After I graduate college and get hired in my field, I plan to use the money to purchase a house in full which is definitely possible in my area. My mom doubts my self control and assumes that Im going to spend it all just because I am young. Having watched her make one poor financial decision after another, I am confident that Ill be able to stick to my plan. Even the lawyer lectured me about how irresponsible people my age are with large amounts of money. This only motivates me to want to make the best possible decisions I can. Any help I can get in that endeavor would be greatly appreciated.EDIT: I a she appreciate everybodys advice. Also, I cant reiterate enough how risk aversive I am. Im one of those people who would lose sleep over having to pay a foreign ATM fee. Ive been reading all day about the investment types suggested by you all, and it all looks very complicated and uncertain. Im thinking of buying a house for around 45-50k at the end of the year, when my lease is up. Im likely to find a job in town once I graduate. If I could eliminate rent or a house payment from my budget, Ill be able to add every month to my remaining settlement money and set up a retirement plan. Ive never dreamed of being rich or going on expensive trips. I just want to live a modest, comfortable life and I think owning a home will allow me that. What do you guys think?  <response>: I like the plan of living frugally for a while.Unfortunately, if you do not want to risk losing one penny, your only alternatives are to invest the money in a savings account at a bank or credit union, or in CDs at a bank or credit union in which you promise to not withdraw the money for X months and get a slightly higher interest rate in exchange.What most people do is mix their investments among low-risk, medium-risk, and higher-risk investments. The Vanguard ETFs mentioned by Danceswithwolfs means youre investing in the stock market, which means there is the potential of a much higher return than youd get with a savings account, but also the potential to lose money.Theres nothing wrong with sticking it all in a savings account and spending the next few months slowly educating yourself on stock market investing. Or in investing some small percentage, like 5000, in an SP 500 index mutual fund with low management fees and follow it and learn about it, and see what your risk tolerance is like. 