I totally understand, by better questions I mean I need to figure out like, "what can I do?" and also communicate my goals better (though clearly you can already tell I'm a bit lacking that department :) ). I'm glad the conversation here has gone in multiple directions cause what I want to do is def influenced by what I can do and people are bringing up a few things that I hadn't considered. I see what you're saying about those seeming contradictory, I simply meant even if I choose to let it sit somewhere so I don't have to actively do anything, what is the best way for me to do that? Is an index fund the right way? What is a money market? Please don't worry about answering those, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the gaps in my understanding. Once I feel like I have a more solid footing, I will definitely be coming back to query the hive :) Also, thanks for the response, I really do appreciate it!