Hi Nicole – I’m not sure what you mean by “flip your 20k”, but yes, I’d keep saving. If you want to invest in a business, maybe invest half the money, and keep the other half in savings. That’s a way to diversify your money, which I strongly favor.

Hi Khadeeja – Those are business ventures, not investments. You should discuss them with people you know who are already doing those businesses. My thinking though is that since you’re already an LPN, you have a good foundation, since that’s a stable career. You can probably even work at it part-time as you build your new business. Good luck to you!

Hi Carl – It’s not possible to tell you how to invest without knowing your complete financial situation. But you should determine your risk tolerance first, then see which of the investments in this article will work for you. I will offer that since you’re within a few years of retirement you should be a little bit more conservative and avoid too much exposure to the riskiest investments. Also look at what you’ve been investing in up to this point, then decide whether or not it’s been working for you.

That’s a tough call Jamaal. You’re unemployed, and you have a car loan and school loans. You might try investing SOME of the money in a business, but don’t leave yourself broke. It sounds like you’ll need the money to survive. A better route may be to get a new job, and then decide how much to invest in a business or flipping houses. The problem is that neither the business nor flipping are guaranteed winners, and if it doesn’t work out, you’ll have no income – in addition to losing your $20,000. Please move carefully.

It’s one thing to take a chance with the money if you don’t absolutely need it. But it sounds like you do need it, so I think you need to concentrate on surviving in the moment, then hold any investing until your income situation is more stable.

Hi Majd – First make sure you don’t need the $15,000 for any immediate purposes. You should have some money in an emergency fund with enough to cover your living expenses for at least three months, as well as a stable income situation. If you’ve got that all covered, then look closely at the investment ideas in this article, see which ones interest you – and won’t be too risky for you – then start trying a couple of them.