<prompt> Human: So my mother just transitioned jobs from a pediatrics assistant to a phlebotomists assistant, and is driving for Uber on the side. Both my grandparents are working at Target. I am 15 years of age, and I should be able to get a minimum wage job soon. I just wanted some advice on how to receive help from the government, since my mom has not officially started at her new job yet, so our income statement is a bit low. Another thing I wanted advice on is as we start gaining more money in the future, whether we should invest our money or save it. I personally wanted to take some money directly out of my moms and my grandparents paychecks and put it in a savings account, but my mom loves to take risks and wants to invest it in the stock market. Suffice to say, shes really excited about her new job.Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you, fellow redditors, and have a wonderful holiday season.  <response>: The conventional wisdom is to save about 1 month of living expenses rent, bills, gas, food, etc. which is also your emergency fund for things like car repair and appliance breakdown, etc.Then, start paying down debt all credit card debt, store card debt, and any other debt with similarly high interest. That is because they are earning interest off you. Investing at this time would be foolish when your investment returns would be eaten by the interest you pay.Then, save at least six months of living expenses and keep it in savings. This is in addition to your emergency fund.Then try to pay off all other debt and dont go into debt again except for a mortgage on a house, or maybe a car payment on a recent model used car if you dont already have one.After savings goals are met and debts are paid off, the extra income goes two ways: save for intermediate goals and invest in a retirement savings vehicle like an IRA or Roth IRA. Investments are subject to risk and loss. Can you stomach losing half your invested money in a stock crash or due to some bad decisions made by a mutual fund manager? Or do you invest more conservatively in U.S. Treasuries? That determines your risk profile.If you want to invest, invest in your future first by taking Advanced Placement classes in high school and taking the auto repair classes if offered. Spending less on college and not having to take a class again in college is smart. Knowing basic auto maintenance means saving the 70hour to 100hour labor charges that mechanics charge. 