Help me invest my money

[WhineyPkrGuy]

Hi, I recently graduated college and am about to start my second job (got a sweeter deal didnt get fired [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) Anyway Ive been saving 10% in my 401k from my previous job as well as 10% of each check. I have quite a bit in the bank and being a finance major, I know I have been stupid in letting it sit there. I recently transfered it into a risk free 5 month CD that I can walk away from at any time.

Basically my question is what to do with about 12 grand? I'm thinking max out my Roth for the year and going into some mutual funds (any suggestions?). Im a passive investor and just want an index fund so Im thinking spiders. Also how much cash should i keep in my checking? I figure to keep about $1,000 or so and then put the rest in an ING direct account.

[Mr. Now]

Drop it into a low-expense S&P index fund like Vanguard, and capture the market's default return annually. Rinse and repeat till you have $100K. After that you can get creative.