They know having investments for a better future is a good idea but what they really want answered is "how do I start?". Investing like anything else is a skill which has to be learned and the good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to learn it. To begin with it's a good idea to have a plan. Then do a similar calculation with your outstanding credit card balances taking the monthly minimum payment. That's usually about 5% but check, your card might be different. If you feel the difference will be worth it for you then start shopping around for the best interest rate and term you can find. There are many different views on the cause as you would imagine but the general consensus of opinion is that there was a misplaced belief that high share prices could be sustained indefinitely. The Bull market which had lasted throughout the 1920s had even led one eminent economist, Irving Fisher, to state that "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. In fact investing money while in college has so many benefits that it should probably be included on the curriculum. It's not just the self discipline of course there are many other skills you will learn. The analytical skills you need in selecting a suitable investment are the same ones you will be required to apply in the workplace. That should really be no less than five years in spite of any overnight success stories you may have heard. Markets fluctuate and at times they can be very volatile. If you need quick access to your cash you are always going to be at risk of needing to withdraw at the same time as a price crash. That being the case only risk money that you can afford to leave invested. By learning to manage your risk levels you can ensure that you only select positions you will feel comfortable with over the medium to long term life of your portfolio. Once you begin to get a good grasp of how the markets operate you can begin to make some investments of your own. However before you start to lay down your hard earned cash you might want to try paper trading.