<prompt> Human: Every year, my grandparents give each of us grandkids somewhere around 5000 for tax reasons and because its the kind of people they are. Usually my mom just deposits the check and uses it to pay tuition, but I am currently taking the semester off to work on adulting better i.e. getting better at balancing cleaning my house, taking care of my fish tanks, doing adult things, etc., so I really want to invest most of it. Ive read the wiki, but Im still not quite sure where to start. Ive just never really had this much money to deal with, in all honesty. I know that I would like to keep a chunk of it for emergency vet bills or in case anything happens to my car, etc. How much should I set aside to my savings account, and how much should I invest? I use a local bank; are there ways they can help me invest besides savings accounts? Where do I even start? Some other info that might be helpful:I have 5 guinea pigs, three of which are over 3, so I would like to save some money just in case any of them gets sick or, God forbid, I have to put any of them down. I drive a 2006 Honda Accord Hybrid, which is pretty beat up because, frankly, Im a horrible driver. My parents pay my insurance. The air conditioning is broken after I rear-ended someone, so I would like to get that fixed come spring. It will probably cost me around 200.Im currently working on finding a job. Im most likely going to be nannying full time, or nannying a few times a week plus something else. I live in West Michigan in a house with friends and my rent is 340month. I am tentatively moving down the street in May, and my rent will be 325month. I dont know if thats important but I figure I might as well say it in case anyone wants to know. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance, PF guruspeople better at adulting than me!  <response>: Until you have a full time job, this money should just be parked in a high interest savings account. Usually, you dont invest money unless you wont need it for several years. 