<prompt> Human: Long time lurker etc.. anyways hi rPF ! Im on mobile so hopefully formatting will turn out okay.I have recently interned for a university and ended up with seemingly lots of money for a 17 year old. 2.5K cant get me a nice car but it can get me some video games but Im not going to go that route. Ive been hearing about credit unions and how that is better than putting money into a major bank but Id like more guide. My parents have raised me to be independent and Id like to get this sorted out without their guidance since Im going off to college next year and I cant always ask them for advice. And what better advice can I get than from the internet haha. I was checking out the guidelines posted for 15-20 year oldteenagers but found that I still dont really know what to do. I will begin listing off why I dont fit the criteria in the paragraphs below.I am definitely going to a four year university probably majoring in biomedical engineering with probably enough financial aid that I wont have to worry about too much student debt. My parents have agreed to help a little so thats even more relief.My parents have already started building my creditIm not really specific on the details which is to give me a credit card with my own name and allow me to use it sometimes.I have a car for use and will probably not use a car in collegenear future because the schools Im applying to have really expensive parking or they dont allow first years to park.I do have a bank account with a major bank branch and was thinking to put money in there. But I dont know if that could be my best route as I do not have an income and Id let the money just sit there.Again, thank you for reading up to this point. Id love for some pointers for what to do with the money I earned this summer. If there is any more information youd like me to provide for a better answer then Id be happy to answer them. Thanks so much!Assistant: First off, great job! Youve got some great work experience under you, and also managed to save a lot of money doing it. Thats awesome!So where to store the money: a lot of banks offer a student type checking account, which usually waives minimum deposits and monthly fees. If thats not already what you have, look into opening one, and move your money there. Because youre a minor, you may need to have a parent help you open it.As for what to do with the money: the best investment you can make right now is in you - you want to be sure you complete your degree, ideally with as little debt as you possibly can. This money should be saved as an emergency fund to help you do that. Good luck!Human: Thanks so much! I think me being on this sub kinda made me paranoid on having money just sitting in a bank account instead of putting it in investments and such.  <response>: Thats the kind of thing you want to think about once youre pulling in a regular i.e. not seasonal paycheck. You could in theory make a little more by putting it in a bank account which actually generates some interest Ally internet savings account and the like, but youre not going to make a ton. I would save investments and things like that until you have money coming in frequently. For now this does indeed sound like an emergency fund - and the proper place for that is usually the bank.But like, emergencies may include things you can do that cost some money to further your education. So if opportunities come up dont avoid them because you didnt break your leg, etc. 