The right way to think about whatever amount of money you get from this internship beyond groceries and rent is that you should put it into experiences. Like yo

The right way to think about whatever amount of money you get from this internship beyond groceries and rent is that you should put it into experiences. Like you might think coming away from the internship with $10K in savings is a ton of money, but really once you start working as an engineer, assuming you are good about living within your means, $10K is nothing. New graduates start at $150K/yr at a decent sized tech company and can get up to $500K/yr by 30 as a staff level engineer. The $10K you made in your internship is irrelevant to your finances at that point, so you should think about investing it in experiences. Throw the epic party, go on an awesome trip with friends, etc. It sounds like you have a good family and support system so you don't have to worry too much about financial ruin even if you go broke somehow, this is a huge advantage that you should use. You don't get any awards for not using every advantage you have. Feel free to email me (email in profile) if you want, I could go on for days about advice I'd give myself at your age.