<prompt> Human: I posted on rmoney and it was suggested I post this here so Im copyingpasting that post hereI come from a really, really low income background. Raised by a single mom who worked a min wage job. No higher ed in our family, everyone I knew ended up in the factory or the military or mostly in jail. Somehow, I escaped this crazy life, worked my ass off in college for 6 years, and just yesterday got offered a job at my dream company with a salary of around 90k. maybe some of you wont consider this riches but it is unfathomable to me. The most I have ever made was 1100 a month what Im making right now, and when I started this current job I felt I was rolling in cash. No complaints. I love my life and Im completely comfortable. I have 0 debt and still save.I am very private about my finances. I live a simple life and Im very frugal and I feel I make wise decisions. For example, college. I never paid a single dime for college. Through PELL grants, scholarships, and assistanceships, I got out of 6 years of college with 0 debt. The opposite actually. I started working at 15 and now Im 25 and over those years Ive managed to save 30k. No one knows I have this money and its away in a CD that I started at age 18 that matures every year and I just let it roll over. Ive never touched that money and I act like its not there. I have one credit card which I pay off in full each month. Ive never once carried a balance on it. Ive never paid my bills late. Ive been able to do this because I just dont buy things. Theres not a lot I want.Once I start this job, I dont want to go out and buy a car or a smart phone or things like that. I have an old beater that I paid for in cash years ago that I plan to drive until the wheels fall off. Im happy with my ghetto 20 month old flipphone. I dont own a television cus I dont watch TV, and I dont think thatll change. I just dont want stuff like that. But I do have two things Im interested in doing and I am looking for advice on those1 My mom is about 60k in debt right now and I want to pay it off for her. SHes just slave to this debt, she makes so little at her job that she can only make minimum payments and the interest is so much it just never goes away. I havent told her im gonna pay it off yet I havent even told her I got offered the job. Is it best to just pay it all at once? How do I do it? Luckily for me I set her up on all online accounts recently so I have access to all her accounts and could do it in secrecy.2 I am wondering if I should buy a condo. The one big money dream I guess I always had was owning a piece of property, but I dont want a house. If I buy a condo I could either live in it myself or rent it out I suppose. Im just trying to figure out if thats something thats feasible with a 90k salary in California, or if its wise because the real estate market is so shitty and what not. My other option is I can just rent an apartment. Heres the thing though, I have lived in the hood pretty much my whole life. I just dont even want to live in some big fancy apartment. So if I rent an apartment, Im just gonna look for another cheap place in a crappy neighborhood. I dont know why. Maybe thats what I know and thats where I feel comfortable. So given that this is my alternative, is it wiser to invest, or just stick with a shitty apt in a shitty neighborhood?Other than that does anyone have any advice? SHould I hire a financial consultant do those exist for individuals, are they worth it? Or an accountant of some sort? I grew up below the poverty line, Im still under it now, and pretty much everyone I know is. So I Just cant ask them for advice. I just dont know what to do with that much money. There are only 8 pairs of clothes in my closet, I only have two pairs of shoes. I cant comprehend this yet. Do you know any good books that can help me out? Are there any common mistakes people make when they first make money? I feel I know the basics - when I got my CD years ago I read about IRAs and 401k and stuff like that. SHould I Just go crazy and get it all - or should I Just keep adding to my CD?Thanks guys, have a great weekend  <response>: Rent a room in a safe, decent neighborhood with roommates. Dont think about real estate for at least five years. Live frugally, save a lot - make hay while the sun shines. Read The Bogleheads Guide to Investing, and follow its advice max out your retirement accounts using low fee index funds. 