<prompt> Human: Hello! I am in a slightly unique situation at the moment. I am 18 years old and have been interning with a company for a couple of months now, after two other internships in related fields. I just accepted a job offer for a full time gig at the company that will be paying somewhere between 68,000-70,000 a year. I am currently taking a gap year before college, so I will be able to work full time for at least a year, maybe a little bit longer. Once I go to college it looks like Ill be able to drop down to half time at work. My question is this: what is the smartest way for an 18 year old to manage this kind of salary? This is wayyy more than I was expecting to make this early on in life, and I really want to make the most of this opportunity. I currently still live at home, and I ride public transportation, so my living costs are next to nothing. After properly budgeting by monthly income, should I invest some, put some in a Roth IRA, or even something else? Im not very familiar with these sort of things, so any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!  <response>: Contribute a high amount into your 401k, maybe 10, and see if your company matches. Save until you have a fund that can sustain you for 3 months. After that, max out your IRA 5500year. If I am not mistaken, you can also submit IRA contribution for the previous year as well. I reccomend a Roth IRA. 