What steps should a 20 year old take to bulid a better future? (asset management account, savings account,IRA)?

i am 20 years old and am soon to graduate college and enter the real world. i am currently practicing and building better work ethics and a disciplined life.


i understand the crucial value of beginning early when shaping one's future.





I was wondering which should steps I should take now. I am currently working and have saved about $3000 dollars in my checking account.





some viable options:


-Roth IRA


-asset management account


-savings account


-stocks





Any tips/suggestions?





thanks in advance|||Here is a good plan from the Motley Fool:





Unified Theory of Everything Financial


Revealed in Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels


By Scott Adams





1. Make a will


2. Pay off your credit cards


3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support


4. Fund your 401k to the maximum


5. Fund your IRA to the maximum


6. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it


7. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account


8. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement


9. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio





Check the bottom line: A portfolio with an asset allocation of 70% in Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) is doing just fine, performing remarkably close to the S%26amp;P 500 index. Moreover, that simple two-fund portfolio is perfect for the vast majority of America's 95 million investors who are passive much as Adam's Dilbert character.





The truth is, most investors have little or no interest in Wall Street's casino action; all the time-consuming research, the sophisticated stock-picking tricks, the costly trading necessary to play in a market drowning in 10,000 stocks, 18,000 funds and more than 100,000 bonds. Most investors have jobs and kids as their top priority. Moreover, Dilbert's simple two-fund portfolio compares favorably with our other lazy portfolios.





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You have the right idea. You want to keep learning, keep actively "growing" your money as effectively and in as many ways as possible.





You can grow your money very slowly in a passive CD and keep the principle safe. But it will grow barely at all at the current interest rate. Or you can actively grow a small portion of your money with a better chance of greater returns in stocks or other ideas.





The best way to grow your money is to diversify and increase your chances. Take a small portion of 10% or less, and invest in riskier assets and other ideas. Maybe invest in silver bars or gold, or other totally new and independent ideas.





You have asked for the best ways in which to use your money. The best way to do that is to continue learning, and the best way to learn is through books.





I hesitate to give you this link, because others may interpret this as an attempt to spam.





The following link is NOT SPAM. It contains a list of over 1,500 "How To" eBooks, and gives the user a treasure trove of good ideas on how to actively make money.





http://members.cox.net/axiom11/





Again, this link is NOT SPAM, but a legitimate answer to the question. Anyone that marks this as spam will only hurt themselves, as it will be appealed and deemed pertinent and direct.|||max out your yearly Roth IRA allotment


start a 401k and put in at least 10% of your weekly pay