I am a 22-year-old student beginning my PhD next year. I have recently acquired ~$18,000 that I do not need at the moment. It is sitting in my savings account right now earning 4.25% interest. I am not planning on marrying or buying a house for at least another 5 years, but I would like the money to be somewhat available just in case things change. I am more concerned with ensuring that I don’t lose money than with it growing significantly. Should I keep it in the savings account or look into mutual funds, stock market, etc? Canada Savings Bonds currently have a lower interest rate than my savings account, so that doesn’t make sense to me. Thanks for your input.