If anyone tells you that they can get you a stable 6-8% per year over the next 12 to 15 years, you should run away immediately. Interest rates all go down as s

If anyone tells you that they can get you a stable 6-8% per year over the next 12 to 15 years, you should run away immediately. Interest rates all go down as stability goes up. Typically, buying government bonds gives the best stability, but current 10 year US bond rates are paying under 2%. The more risk you are willing to take, the more you may earn, but then the more you could lose. Only you know how much risk you are willing to take, but younger people tend to be able to take more risks, because, over time, the ups and downs of the market flatten out. And if you have 40+ years to leave the money, then the better chance you have of being in the market for good times as well as bad (Oh yeah, timing the markets - to only get the good times - never works over time either). One absolute certainty though is to make sure you pay as little to the people managing the money as possible. If you buy a mutual fund, the difference between 0.2% annual fee and 1.2% annual fee is astronomical over time. I have a bunch of money tied up in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund which tracks the total stock market and charges 0.17% per year. This type of fund, again, over time, beats out almost all actively managed funds. Managed funds will try and bamboozle you with how they beat the market last year, but if you didn't invest the year before, that doesn't matter. One technique I also use with extra cash is to buy shares of companies I personally have good experience with - e.g. Apple, Starbucks, Amazon. This is much riskier, but can payoff quite well. I am not a financial advisor! (Oh yeh, in the US, you could setup a Self Employed Pension plan to save your money tax free, but this has restrictions on when you get access to the money, but it's something to think about to turbo charge your savings) Good Luck