<prompt> Human: Hello altogether!Im looking for some wisdom concerning what I should do with saved up money.Im 20 years old and am in my first year of university. I won a competition of 15 grand, spend some and set some aside for my daily expenses, investment in movie equipment and travels. Now I have 10 grand that I dont need and probably wont need in the next couple of years and am wondering whats the smartest thing I should do? I dont want to spend the money, but I dont get any interest at my current bank on it. I dont want it to be idle if I can do something with it... What do you think? Invest in something, put it in a savings account, fulfill some dreams now? I live in Europe by the way.  <response>: If you do not have an Emergency fund youre 20, so I doubt it this needs to go into a savings account for that Emergency fund just in case life decides to take a shit on you. If youve invested that money...youre not seeing it for years. If you are in a pickle and need some cash to live off of, then taking a penalty for one month, beats the penalty from trying to get it out of a long term index fund. A standard emergency fund is 6 months of bare essential living expenses and should only be used once you have 0 income. 