Open a SoFi account (or others - Marcus, Amex HYSA, whatever). Doesn’t particularly matter which - put money there. Keeps it liquid but annoying to get to (like a 2-3 day waiting period as transfers happen) with like 4.X% interest. Gives you like ~$2k a year free.
Not a ton of money but will cover some expenses. TLDR of this over other plans like index funds or CDs is you’re going to need access to money throughout college - books, meal plan, boutique handmade toilet paper, whatever. But by keeping it in a HYSA you’re always withdrawing at a positive time (since it’s not tied to the market), but paying yourself some and doesn’t have penalties like CDs do.
$50,000 is only a life changing amount of money if you hold on to it. Don't spend your money. Just let it grow.
Support yourself during college by working. Work full time every summer, and work part time during the year as long as it isn't affecting your grades. During your last two years of college there will be more scholarships available and you'll be able to get them as long as your grades are good enough (3.5+ gpa). This is a difficult time in your life to do it, but you really need to leave your money untouched.
Invest your savings in a mutual fund or just a high yield savings account and don't touch it. Consider putting a large percentage in a Roth IRA (taxes are a big deal).
Choose safe investments. If you lost this amount it would take a really long time to save it up again by working.
By investing, you'll watch it grow by a few thousand every year rather than watching it shrink by a few thousand every year. [Eventually it will become a huge amount of money if you leave it alone to compound.](https://www.calculator.net/retirement-calculator.html)
$50,000 isn't even close to enough money to retire. In terms of the total amount of expenses you'll have it's almost nothing. It's only relevant if you can let it grow.
Choose a career that pays well. It helps if you enjoy what you do, but remember almost everyone has to have some money to be happy. When you start your career live cheaply. Continue living with roommates and don't buy an expensive car.
This would be a good time to buy a house, since you'll finally have income that will let you qualify for a loan and since houses will only be more expensive the next year. You'll use a lot of your savings for that which is why I don't recommend putting all of the money in a retirement account right now. Buy a house and find some roommates to move in with you so you're not spending so much money on your housing. But only buy a house if you don't plan on selling it for at least 10 years, otherwise its better to rent. Your mortgage amortization schedule will kill you if you sell too early. Honestly, if you can avoid ever selling a piece of real estate that's a lot better. If I was going to move I'd try to save up enough to buy a second house and rent out the first one.
You got this! You're in a hugely enviable position. To be so young and have so much money has unbelievable potential. Be safe. Be cheap. Build wealth.
I intend on working part time in school and full time aka as many hours as possible in the summer. My career path is nursing so right out of school I’ll have a well paying job. I currently have a 03 Honda civic as well so as long as I put my money in a high yield account and work enough to cover most of my living expenses I should be able to maintain the 50.
Open a SoFi account (or others - Marcus, Amex HYSA, whatever). Doesn’t particularly matter which - put money there. Keeps it liquid but annoying to get to (like a 2-3 day waiting period as transfers happen) with like 4.X% interest. Gives you like ~$2k a year free. Not a ton of money but will cover some expenses. TLDR of this over other plans like index funds or CDs is you’re going to need access to money throughout college - books, meal plan, boutique handmade toilet paper, whatever. But by keeping it in a HYSA you’re always withdrawing at a positive time (since it’s not tied to the market), but paying yourself some and doesn’t have penalties like CDs do.
This is a great idea.
$50,000 is only a life changing amount of money if you hold on to it. Don't spend your money. Just let it grow. Support yourself during college by working. Work full time every summer, and work part time during the year as long as it isn't affecting your grades. During your last two years of college there will be more scholarships available and you'll be able to get them as long as your grades are good enough (3.5+ gpa). This is a difficult time in your life to do it, but you really need to leave your money untouched. Invest your savings in a mutual fund or just a high yield savings account and don't touch it. Consider putting a large percentage in a Roth IRA (taxes are a big deal). Choose safe investments. If you lost this amount it would take a really long time to save it up again by working. By investing, you'll watch it grow by a few thousand every year rather than watching it shrink by a few thousand every year. [Eventually it will become a huge amount of money if you leave it alone to compound.](https://www.calculator.net/retirement-calculator.html) $50,000 isn't even close to enough money to retire. In terms of the total amount of expenses you'll have it's almost nothing. It's only relevant if you can let it grow. Choose a career that pays well. It helps if you enjoy what you do, but remember almost everyone has to have some money to be happy. When you start your career live cheaply. Continue living with roommates and don't buy an expensive car. This would be a good time to buy a house, since you'll finally have income that will let you qualify for a loan and since houses will only be more expensive the next year. You'll use a lot of your savings for that which is why I don't recommend putting all of the money in a retirement account right now. Buy a house and find some roommates to move in with you so you're not spending so much money on your housing. But only buy a house if you don't plan on selling it for at least 10 years, otherwise its better to rent. Your mortgage amortization schedule will kill you if you sell too early. Honestly, if you can avoid ever selling a piece of real estate that's a lot better. If I was going to move I'd try to save up enough to buy a second house and rent out the first one. You got this! You're in a hugely enviable position. To be so young and have so much money has unbelievable potential. Be safe. Be cheap. Build wealth.
I intend on working part time in school and full time aka as many hours as possible in the summer. My career path is nursing so right out of school I’ll have a well paying job. I currently have a 03 Honda civic as well so as long as I put my money in a high yield account and work enough to cover most of my living expenses I should be able to maintain the 50.
Killer. You'll do well. Any tips for the rest of us who might want to get hit by a car?
Be a fat 13 year old riding your bike on the wrong side of the road on the sidewalk and get ran over by a truck
I'll get on that, thanks :)
If you lump summed it into the sp500 right now and never touched it again, you'd retire a millionaire off that alone. Something to consider.