<prompt> Human: So I joined the military last year in July and decided to to saving aggressively at the start of 2017. Im sitting at 10k right now and its more money than Ive ever had before. I have an allotment I set up in July this year to save 25k by the time I separate I want to live in England when Im done and dont want to be broke. I just sold my car and I have way more at this point than I thought I would. I plan on have 12.5k by the end of the year separate from my savings allotment, but should I be investing? Im 24 years old, planning on getting a doctorates when I get out but will have paid for with my GI bill. Credit wise I believe Im doing great.EDIT: I already have a plan in place. With my allotment, I will have 25k when I separate, but I already have a separate 9.5k. Eventually I want to own property to rent out but way down the road. My credit score is at about a 750.  <response>: Congratulations - the fact that you even care about saving this much money by the time you turn 28 is already putting you way ahead of where most of your peers will be.I suggest you maximize your retirement account contributions each year before you do anything else. If you have money left over, I recommend investing in an index fund. You should choose Vanguard, because their funds are just as good as anyone elses but their fees are much, much lower. In fact, if you can get that 9,500.00 up to 10,000.00, you are eligible to buy a special class of funds from Vanguard called Admirals Shares, and the fees for those are even less!Investing 100 into a stock market index fund, such as VTSAX, makes sense for a person your age - you are young and can handle the moderately-increased risk of an all-stock portfolio vs. a portfolio that includes bonds or other, safer but less-rewarding investments.Very important: find other people in your community who think about money in the same way that you want to think about money - they will be a very positive influence on you and keep you on the right track! 