I'm 25 years old and I have been given $5k. I want to be wise with this gift, how should I invest the money?

They money was a gift from my parents, they said that they wanted me to have part of my inheritance while I was still young. I would like to find some type of investment for the money and try not to touch it. I'm willing to take some risks with it, but not too big. I would like to make around a 10 percent return per year, but more would be great, like I said I am willing to take some risks. I appreciate any help that anyone could give me. Thanks.

At 25 years old, you can afford to put this money in a very aggressive investment as long as it won't keep you up at night.

You might want to alleviate your fear of risk by putting $1000 into each of five very different growth opportunities. At an average of 7-10% growth, you can expect your investment to double every 7 years or so, and if you have the discipline not to touch this $5000 it could easily be worth close to $200,000 by the time you retire!

If I were you, I would read a whole lot of the wisdome at http://www.fool.com, and pick either 5 mutual funds with great ratings and prospects, or 5 great long-performing stocks and put $1000 in each. (If you have the time or inclination to do a little work, you could invest in the "dogs of the dow", the five cheapest/highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Index. This strategy has yielded an average annual return of 17% annually since 1973. You can read about it at http://www.dogsofthedow.com/)

Remember, the biggest risk you can take with your money is not taking any risk! If you put your $5000 in a paper bag under the bed, you'll stll have it 40 years from now (unless the mice get it), but it may only be enough to buy a nice dinner by then!

I applaud your apparent good sense...

Good luck!

Invest it in yourself, by getting more education.

Go see a financial planner who can help you find a 401(K) or Roth IRA where it will grow so you can have a nice chunk of change when you retire. (If you don't add to it, and don't touch it until you're 65, you'll be looking at over six figures at today's rates.)

Either start your own business, click the link below to find out more or put the money in a ROTH IRA at your local bank. Don't touch the money and make it work for you.

iras and CD's are a really smart option and you can claim it on your taxes(the iRAS) for what you contrubute

Hi Ryan. Listen, I was in exactly this situation and I have a great answer. Look up your local Edward Jones representative. This is a company that helps people invest. They are reliable, honest and smart. It doesn't cost you much at all and you make back a bundle. Please give them a try. They work for me.

See a finical adviser. They can invest your money to achieve long term gain, which is probably what you want. Otherwise you might consider betting it on a horse. Ha! Ha!

I'd contact a brokerage firm and surrender the whole amount to them and just let it ride in the stock market. Stocks go up and down but mostly they go up! Your one smart person if you do this.

Buy Shares of a good company after asking a good share broker.
Learn how the thing works.
Keep in touch with the broker take his advice.
It is not a Win-Win situation but I have seen my friends make the money grow.
In Bangalore - India,the driver of CEO'S car is a millionier by investing
his money in his CEO's company (Now A Global Multinational company) it was not so earlier.

Call 1800-753-2519 and ask to put this money in American funds. You are young and can afford the benefit of time. By the time you are 50 years old you will have well over 100'000 dollars in your account.......KECK

add up all your monthly bills that are current throughout the year. take that money for emergency and put in bank for if ever needed. take the remainder after making sure your current with priority needs.[ health issues, automotive, all insurances,] buy yourself a small smart gift so you'll appreciate there gift and start your system that you will save money the rest of your life.

Yes, invest $4K in a IRA. And put the remaining $1k in treasurary bonds. Don't expect quick returns but this is a start.

open and max out a Roth IRA and invest the rest in an ETF or Mutual Fund that focuses on Health Care, the International Stock Market, REITS or the S&P 500. Look to Vanguard, American or Fidelity.

Talk to a good financial advisor for assistance. They will be able to tell you which options are best for your needs and they will be able to determine what kind of investor you are.

Put 4k in a Roth IRA account. There are numerous to choose from. Try TD Waterhouse, their fees are lower but it won't take away your flexibilities. Find an advisor locally to do this. Listen to them and say you want to invest in "growth" mutual funds. You are young and should take a little more risk early in life. You can't choose to earn 10% return so don't say that again. Put the other 1k in a money market account and add to this account every month and start saving now so that one day you have a down payment to put on a house or condo. If you have a job whose company offers a group retirement plan, you could also look into their plan and put your 1k into that account. These are the 401k's and 403b's out there.

You should plan to put another 4k in your Roth next year and/or 13k in your company retirement plan and every year you qualify for this type of IRA.

First thing I would do is open an online account with Fidelity or other good brokerage house. Mail them the $5K for deposit into your account. You will earn money market rates while it is in there. I would then buy a 1 year CD where you should be able to get a 5% rate.

That will give you a whole year to learn more about what to do with your money and in that year, you will discover that things change so hasty decisions are usually not good ones.

Some will recommend a Roth IRA, but I believe you want to get into common stocks as a buy and hold strategy.

You have a long life ahead of you. Starting now to learn the ways of investing and saving will make you wealthy.

A 5% firm return in hand is always better than a possible 10% return that goes south. Reach carefully to start with.

If you have any credit card debt take that and pay it off.

Will you be buying a house or car in a few years? If so, earmark this money for that and put it in a money market account at ING or another one of the online banks that offers a decent interest rate.