<prompt> Human: Hello Im 21 yo with about 60k in the bank. I have family members telling me I should invest into stocks and ira with Charles Schwab etc etc and other family members saying to invest into real estate by taking out a loan and buying a propertySoCal. Both of them seem like a good idea for my money and Im not against dabbling into both ventures. Im willing to invest all 60k. Could I get some advice on what you guys think is best? Lessons learned? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Im young and dumb and would love to hear just simple money tips if you were in my position. Thanks.  <response>: Real estate is a horrible investment vehicle for the average layman. StocksIRA would be my vote. Now is def the time to dump cash into retirement if you can. That money will balloon like crazy.Mutualindex funds are great, just keep an eye out for high expense ratios and other management fees. Simplest answer is just see what Schwab, Vanguard, etc has for funds and pick lowest expense ratio highest LONG TERM trend of gains I look for 10 years exceeding 8 average return. Then use something like personal capital to track your diversification and align it to your risk tolerance. Confused? Books like I Will Teach You To Be Rich are great at the basics like that. 