When you have more money than you need

[beekeeper]

If you're college age, then investing in a Roth IRA right now is a great idea. I think the max contribution is $8,000, but you can also still contribute for 2004 (I think?), which will increase that amount. The great thing about a Roth is that the money you put in now has already been taxed, so you won't be taxed when you take it out. Any broker can tell you how investing any amount in your 20s yields far more than investing the same amount in 30s, 40s, etc.

Another suggestion, with the holidays coming up--you can contribute to charities in the name of persons you want to buy gifts for (e.g., I sponsor a cougar at a wildlife refuge for my mother every year; she gets a picture, quarterly updates, etc.).

[Shilly]

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If you're college age, then investing in a Roth IRA right now is a great idea. I think the max contribution is $8,000

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I started one this summer, but could only dump 4k into it. I think they're raising the limit to 5k next year, so you could dump 9k into it in the next two months. You also made an excellent point that the money is already taxed when you load it, so you'll be getting tons of money tax-free when you withdraw funds at retirement. Although I haven't even come close to making as much money as some people here, all of it is expendable, which means I'll be in a low tax bracket but still able to make sizable investments.