[meditate89]

If at all possible I would try to set up a ROTH IRA. The maximum you can put in is 4k a year, but it is a great tax shelter. You must have 'earned income' that you paid taxes on to contribute to this vehicle.

I know many people on this site believe that Index funds are the way to go, but I believe you can get a much better return in individual stocks if you're willing to put some work and research into it.

Use a calculator- put in your 38k. See how much you have after 10-20 years with an annual return of 12% / 15% / 18%. These numbers are all very possible to achieve- I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you can make 20/ 30/40%- that seems unrealistic for most people. You will see you come up with very different numbers at the end, depending on the rate you use- this rate will be proportional to the time and effort you put in.

HOWEVER, I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST EVER BUYING ANY INDIVIDUAL STOCKS EVER YOU THINK ITS A "CRAP SHOOT."

If you go with index funds-->
I would recommend investing in 100% equities because you are young, have a long time frame ahead of you, etc. I'm assuming you won't need this money for 10-20 years? I would recommend a portfolio with plenty of international and small cap exposure. Fees are very reasonable at Vanguard, but you might want to look into a target retirement fund ( like 2045? 2050?) if you want to keep it simple and stay in one fund. Vanguard charges a negligible fee of like $10/ year if you don't have a certain minimum per fund ( I think it's 10k, might be 5k on some funds)

I would recommend buying 5-10 books on investing; I believe there have been plenty of threads already discussing books to read- and one of them might even be stickied up top. Intelligent investor, one up on wallstreet, etc might be good if you haven't read them.

Cliff's Note: I think you can get a much better return in individual stocks than index funds- but ONLY if you are willing to do a fair amount of reading and research. If you aren't willing to do this, then I would recommend Index funds. If you believe that individual stocks are a 'crap shoot,' why would you invest in them?

p.s. what stocks are in your portfolio and when did you start investing? and if you want to say how much $ you have in tdameritrade that might be helpful too although dont feel obligated by any means.