<prompt> Human: Im wondering what are things a high school student can do to get a better grasp of a stable financial position for the future. Is there anything I should study up on? I know saving and budgeting is basically one of the main answers to this type of question. How does investing work and would it be viable to try and invest early? What is something you wish you would have done early on?I currently dont have a source of income but will when the summer comes around since my parents dont me to work during the school year. When I did work during the summer, I had a pay of 10hr since it was my first job. I recently read about freelancing as a source of income from another thread. Is freelancing something I can consider to make money on the side during the year? I have a checking and savings account. The checking account is mine to use for whatever I want. I do put money into the savings account as well when I had a job but I prefer to leave it alone until I do need it.Checking balance: 313Savings balance: 2200Thanks for any advice you guys leave, Ill be keeping an eye and reading more on this sub as it see a lot of value here. Also if you guys have any questions for me to get a better grasp, feel free to ask.  <response>: Stay out of debt. Stay out of debt. Stay out of debt. Here is a good vid by mike and laurenAlso thisMy Personal feeling is that anyone in their teens should yeah start paying attention to investing but your number one way of getting ahead is to Get through college debt freeHere is why. The key to building wealth, becoming free, and living an amazing life is to be without debt. People will tell you debt is a necessity, and that you can even mathematically live better by borrowing and investing. Dont listen to them. Debt is an emergency that destroys your finances and crushes your spirit in terms of making money. The issue is that everyone these days tells you you can go to school on a student loan. And that is garbage advice. I think the only reason people give it is because they go through it. Ask anyone between 22 - 35 if they enjoy their student loans. No one will say yes. So here is what you do. 1. Learn to work: Working is a more important skill than being educated. Because having persistance and doing a good job will allow you to succeed at any job. Also understand that if you look around you can find good work anywhere. There is indeed, monster, hotjobs, craigslist, and personal connections. ESPECIALLY in this economy. If you can avoid minimum wage jobs.2. Get a quality college education as cheaply as possible:The school you go to isnt as important as what you learn. Some big name schools can help this. And some can aid with networking. but going deeply into debt for this isnt worth it. You can start by getting as many scholarships as possible. Like for everything you can. Apply to 100s. Or 1000s. When you are in school, work, and if it comes to it consider CC and transfering. I strongly recommend against going out of state for a school unless you have a really good reason. Finally. Understand that, while school is not a jobs program, it is there to give you skills to apply to life and career. It is not a place to study things you have a passing interest in. Think carefully about your studies. Every class can be useful I am a programmer but got a ton of value from my english and economics classes, but not every class is worth it. You are paying for them, sometimes thousands of dollars. Bear this in mind. Why do I stress staying out of debt but getting educated and being hardworking. Because your income is how you become wealthy. The stock market is nice but your probability of beating it consistantly is very low. Even the best hedge funds manage only 20 year on year consistantly. IT is my personal philosophy to just invest passively and focus on work. With that said. If you would like to study and learn, that isnt bad. But do so for other reasons than getting rich. I recommend starting with learning about broad market indexes. Then you can move onto macro economics. And then individual stocks. I highly recommend reading the economist, as it gives you a breakdown of current events. I also highly recommend trading on simulators to get a feel. BUT, I also highly recommend never trading more than a small portion of your portfolio, like 5. And understand that this is something you can loos.e. If anything the number one thing to learn about is compound interest and the number 2 diversification. Investopedia is an amazing resource for this. 