How should I utilize my money as I begin grad school?
For some ideas on investing priority guidelines, see Oversimplify it for me: the correct order of investing. Congratulations on being debt free!  My advice to you is to do what you can to remain debt free. You could certainly invest the money; it will earn much more over the long-term in a stock mutual fund than it would left in a savings account.  However, if you need any of this money in the next few years, it would be a shame if it lost money in the short-term. How much do you need to finish grad school?  Don't invest that money in the stock market, because you will need it over the next few years. Likewise, think about other expenses that are coming up.  Will your car need to be replaced in the next couple of years?  Will you have enough income to meet your living expenses while you are in grad school, or will you need some of this to money to help with that?   Finally, it would be good to keep some extra as an emergency fund, so you can easily pay for any unexpected expenses that come up. If you can make it through grad school debt free, you will be much better off than if you invest all the money but take out student loans in the process. After you've accounted for all of that, whatever is left of the money could definitely be invested.  If your goal is to start a retirement fund, an index mutual fund invested inside a Roth IRA is a great place to start.
"Since you're also looking for alternative means of funding, have you considered doing part-time work -- during the holidays or on some of the weekends? With this kind of financing you have to watch out that the work does not interfere with your study. On the other hand it can be valuable work experience that can come in handy later in your life, such as when applying for your first ""real"" job. The kind of work you can do will depend a lot on the subject you are studying and what qualifications you have. For example, if you are studying computer science, there are a lot of freelance opportunities in programming. One of these could lead right to your first job after university. The two broad types of work you can do are: For freelance: Try searching for ""[subject] student freelance"" and look at sites like oDesk. Read up on tax concerns, research how to price your time, and start doing! For employment: Browse the job boards at your university. Contact businesses to ask for part-time opportunities. Hope this helps to open one of the alternative paths here. If you go down this road, remember to keep your priorities in mind. Especially the freelance work can easily interfere with your study and delay you unnecessarily. Good luck!" Third year here, and let me echo what everybody below is saying: math, math, math.  That being said, most programs will give you a chance depending on your quant score from the gmat/gre. It had better be high though, low seven hundreds wont even garner a look from any school in the top 20 (and your quant should be higher than your verbal). From what it looks like from your background it sounds like the masters would be helpful (although a masters in econ wont be as much of a help as you think; finance is a sub field of econ, and so to justify our work we have to distinguish ourselves as much as we can...). My advice is use the masters to take probability theory, and statistics courses (or econometrics) and as many of them as you can.   My next advice is apply to as many schools as you can afford and stagger the applications across school rankings. Some of the foreign students in my program have told me that they sent out dozens of applications and that even 100 apps is not unusual. I call it the shotgun approach.  Third I will agree with some of the other comments in that you will need less math for corporate stuff and or behavioral/experimental stuff. BUT it is unlikely that any school will take that into consideration. I cant think of any other phd student that I have talked to, from many other programs, that don't have to take asset pricing and other theory courses. PhD programs start very generally and then you are allowed to specialize as time goes on.  Basically, expect this shit to be hard. Finance profs are some of the highest paid in academia, which means there is an insane amount of applicants for each spot. In my program we average 400 qualified applicants a year for a meager three spots. And many of the applicants will already have Phds in physics, math, or engineering (they get tired of making no money as a post doc, and decide to come for another one in finance where they can get paid). Not to discourage you at all, but revise your expectations. I recommend you consider a Roth IRA. Invest it as others here suggest, safely, CDs, money market,etc. You can put in $5000/yr. When you spend, use this last, there is no penalty to withdraw the deposits. But if you make it through grad school without needing it, you'll have great start on your retirement savings. wow thanks for the info. So if i wanted a masters in finance, should i take  math electives to get them out of the way earlier? I'm a senior in high school and I'm very interested in finance, but I'll admit not the best at math.. I'd use it to start paying for your master's degree. Each dollar you don't borrow for school returns 5.84% guaranteed. On the other hand, if you invest it in the  stock market and get an average return of 8.34% a year you would both have to pay capital gains taxes on that money and expose yourself to the risk of the stock market disappointing you. The plan doesn't make sense.  Don't invest your money. Just keep it in your bank account. $5000 is not a lot, especially since you don't have a steady income stream. You only have $1000 to your name, you can't afford to gamble $4000. You will need it for things like food, books, rent, student loans, traveling, etc. If you don't get a job right after you graduate, you will be very happy to have some money in the bank. Or what if you get a dream job, but you need a car?  Or you get a job at a suit & tie business and need to get a new wardrobe? Or your computer dies and you need a new one? You find a great apartment but need $2500 first, last & security? That money can help you out much more NOW when you're starting out, then it will when you're ready to retire in your 60's. First, don't borrow any more money.  You're probably bankrupt right now at that income level.  2k/month is poverty level income, especially in some of the higher cost of living areas of California.  At $2k per month of income, and $1300 of rent and utilities, you've only got 700 a month for food.  The student loans are probably in deferment while your husband is in school.  If so, keep them that way and deal with them when he lands a career track goal after grad school.   The car loan is more than you can afford.  Seriously consider selling the car to get rid of the note.  Then use the cash flow that was going to the car loan to pay off the 'other' debt.  A car is usually a luxury, but if it is necessary, be sure it is one that doesn't include a loan.   Budget all of your income (consider using YNAB or something like it).  Include a budget item to build an emergency fund.  Live within your means and look for ways to supplement your income.  With three of your own, you'd probably make an excellent baby sitter. As for the inheritance, find a low risk, liquid investment, such as 12 month CDs or savings bonds.  Something that you can liquidate without penalty if an emergency arises.  Save the money for if you get into a situation where there is no other way out.  Hopefully you can have your emergency fund built up so that you don't need to draw on the inheritance.   Set a date, grad school + landing + 90 days.  If you reach that date and haven't had to use the inheritance, and you have a good emergency fund, put the inheritance in a retirement fund and forget about it. Why retirement fund and not a college fund for the kids?  The best gift you can give them is to remain financially independent throughout your life.  If you get to the point where you are fully funding your tax advantaged retirement savings, and you are ready to start wealth-building, that is the time to take part of that cash flow and set it aside for college funds. I won't be finalized with my thesis until Spring so I'm afraid all I could do was mention it with my research interests, but my director said my work so far has publication potential.   He also said applying to Berkeley wouldn't be outrageous, our program has decent placements in econ programs, but he's not in finance and our school doesn't have a finance department so I'm not too sure how much credit to give that endorsement.   By flagship I mean the states primary public university, University of Washington, Ohio State, etc.   Thanks for the advice. Not so much on the relevant experience side but I have been learning as much as I can about the investment/financial world.   That's my thoughts. School counselor play a strong part in society, however, the earning potential is low as is the opportunity for career advancement.   The MBA-finance program at my university takes students from all undergrad backgrounds. I would need to take the GRE this month and applications are due at the end of the month.   I just wonder if trying to either go into finance without school or opting to enter the MBA program if I were accepted would be a good option.   Do you see an MBA-finance being marketable and having greater earning potential than a school counselor (which is about a 46k/year salary)? "I posted a comment in another answer and it seems to be approved by others, so I have converted this into an answer. If you're talking about young adults who just graduated college and worked through it. I would recommend you tell them to keep the same budget as what they were living on before they got a full-time job. This way, as far as their spending habits go, nothing changes since they only have a $500 budget (random figure) and everything else goes into savings and investments. If as a student you made $500/month and you suddenly get $2000/month, that's a lot of money you get to blow on drinks. Now, if you put $500 in savings (until 6-12 month of living expenses), $500 in investments for the long run and $500 in vacation funds or ""big expenses"" funds (Ideally with a cap and dump the extra in investments). That's $18,000/yr you are saving. At this stage in your life, you have not gotten used to spending that extra $18,000/yr. Don't touch the side money except for the vacation fund when you want to treat yourself. Your friends will call you cheap, but that's not your problem. Take that head start and build that down payment on your dream house. The way I set it up, is (in this case) I have automatics every day after my paychecks come in for the set amounts. I never see it, but I need to make sure I have the money in there. Note: Numbers are there for the sake of simplicity. Adjust accordingly. PS: This is anecdotal evidence that has worked for me. Parents taught me this philosophy and it has worked wonders for me. This is the extent of my financial wisdom." "Read ""Stop Acting Rich"" by Dr Thomas Stanley. I'm concerned that even before you've earned your first paycheck you want a flashy car. $4800/yr on $63K/yr income is just about half what I'd recommend to someone who starts working. 10% is the minimum, if and only if, the employer matches 5, for a total 15% saved. Do it in a pretax account and when you go back to grad school convert to Roth." You cannot have off-campus employment in your first year, but investments are considered passive income no matter how much time you put into that effort. Obviously you need to stay enrolled full-time and get good enough grades to stay in good standing academically, so you should be cautious about how much time you spend day trading. If the foreign market is also active in a separate time zone, that may help you not to miss class or otherwise divert your attention from your investment in your own education. I have no idea about your wealth, but it seems to me that completing your degree is more likely to build your wealth than your stock market trades, otherwise you would have stayed home and continued trading instead of attending school in another country. The short answer is that you can use student loans for living expenses.  Joe provides a nice taxonomy of loans.  I would just add that some loans are not only guaranteed, but also subsidized.  Essentially the Government buys down the rate of the loan. The mechanics are that a financial aid package might consist of grants, work study (job), subsidized, and guaranteed loans.  One can turn down one or more of the elements of the package.  All will be limited in some form. The work study will have a maximum number of hours and generally has low pay.  Many find better deals working in the businesses surrounding the college or starting their own services type business.  The grants rarely cover the full cost of tuition and books.  The loans will both be limited in amount.  It mainly depends on what you qualify for, and generally speaking the lower the income the more aid one qualifies for. Now some students use all their grant, all their loan money and buy things that are not necessary.  For example are you going to live in the $450/month dorm, or the new fancy apartments that are running $800/month?  Are you going to use the student loan money to buy a car?  Will it be a new BMW or a 8 year old Camary? I see this first hand as I live near a large university.  The pubs are filled with college students, not working, but drinking and eating every night.  Many of them drive very fancy cars. The most onerous example of this is students at the military academies.  Attendees have their books and tuition completely paid for.  They also receive a stipend, and more money can be earned over the summer.  They also all qualify for a 35K student loan in their junior year.  Just about every kid, takes this loan.  Most of those use the money to buy a car.  I know a young lady who did exactly that, and so did many of her friends. So kids with a starting pay of 45K also start life with a 35K.  Buying a nice car in the military is especially silly as they cannot drive it while deployed and they are very likely to be deployed.  At least, however, they are guaranteed a starting job with a nice starting pay, and upward potential. College kids who behave similarly might not have it as good.  Will they even find work?  Will the job have the ability to move up?  How much security is in the job?  One might say that this does not apply to engineers and such, but I am working with a fellow with a computer science degree who cannot find a job and has not worked in the past 6 months.  This even though the market is super hot right now for computer engineers. So, in a word, be very careful what you borrow. Your university should have a finance department which can help with payments. Speak with them and tell them you have interest in paying for at least part of your next semester in cash. From here they should be able to tell you the best method for this, though most likely cash/check will suffice. If there is no finance department, or you are still unsure, check with student services for more information. "If you have wage income that is reported on a W2 form, you can contribute the maximum of your wages, what you can afford, or $5500 in a Roth IRA.   One advantage of this is that the nominal amounts you contribute can always be removed without tax consequences, so a Roth IRA can be a deep emergency fund (i.e., if the choice is $2000 in cash as emergency fund or $2000 in cash in a 2015 Roth IRA contribution, choice 2 gives you more flexibility and optimistic upside at the risk of not being able to draw on interest/gains until you retire or claim losses on your tax return).  If you let April 15 2016 pass by without making a Roth IRA contribution, you lose the 2015 limit forever.  If you are presently a student and partially employed, you are most likely in the lowest marginal tax rate you will be in for decades, which utilizes the Roth tax game effectively.   If you're estimating ""a few hundred"", then what you pick as an investment is going to be less important than making the contributions.  That is, you can pick any mutual fund that strikes your fancy and be prepared to gain or lose, call it $50/year (or pick a single stock and be prepared to lose it all).  At some point, you need to understand your emotions around volatility, and the only tuition for this school is taking a loss and having the presence of mind to examine any panic responses you may have.  No reason not to learn this on ""a few hundred"".  While it's not ideal to have losses in a Roth, ""a few hundred"" is not consequential in the long run.   If you're not prepared at this time in your life for the possibility of losing it all (or will need the money within a year or few, as your edit suggests), keep it in cash and try to reduce your expenses to contribute more.  Can you contribute another $100?  You will have more money at the end of the year than investment choice will likely return."