I'm 18 with almost $10,000 sitting in my savings account, where to invest some of it?

10,000 is a lot of money at 18. Fifteen years from now you can look back and see the stocks you could have bought that would have made you a millionaire. But most likely purchasing individual stocks now will make you wonder why you didn't just keep your money in a mattress.

One of the most important things you can do for yourself at the youngest age possible is start a retirement account. It's about as sexy as Bea Arthur in a bikini, but you will thank yourself later when you're drinking prune juice on your yacht. If you made all or part of that money yourself this year, you can deposit as much as 5,000 in a IRA or Roth IRA. The main difference between the two being income requirements and when you pay tax.

If you didn't earn that money yourself this year, then next best thing is to invest in a low cost mutual fund such as one of Vanguard's. www.vanguard.com A mutual fund is a bunch of different stocks managed by someone who spends too much time researching stocks. This is long term so don't touch.

Lastly, if you insist on purchasing individual stocks, look for a low fee online broker like TD Ameritrade. Purchase a few different blue chip stocks from different industries that will hopefully give you some stability and dividends. (ie. GE, XOM, MSFT, NKE, etc.) Set your account to reinvest your dividends. And don't look at them again until you graduate college or even later.

None of these methods will give you a Ferarri when you're 25, but it should give you a decent rate of return provided you keep it in there. Over time, if you're smart and invest wisely, then you will be rich. Good luck!

The safest investment is usually either gold or growth stock mutual funds. These funds typically increase at around 5-10 percent a year without taking any heavy risk. If you know nothing about investing and just want to get some yearly returns without taking major risks, put the money away in there and it can grow each year fairly consistently.

Hey, im also 18 and was in a similar situation as your self. I had £7000 to invest, i invested £3000 in Tesco plc shares which is a large british retailer similar to wal-mart. I invested 1500 into a long term bond and im tinking of starting a small business with the rest of my money to do wit my university studies. I hope i helped insome way, just go with your instict as long as you dont gamble :)

All the best....

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You could put it in an ING or Emigrants direct account - paying about 4.75%. You could put it in GMAC Demand Notes, paying about 5.75%. You could put it in a Fidelity brokerage account Cash Reserves and get about 4.25%. The benefit on the Demand Notes is that you get a checkbook - with the other accounts, you have to "tie" it electrnicalky to a checking account in order to access the money.