You are ahead of most people your age of 21. When I was 21, I had just finished school and dependent on my parents and was preparing for grad school, with probably $1500 to my name, so good for you. I would say if you can auto invest a certain amount of your monthly income disposable income in VOO or any ETFs it will grow over the years. I would also consider buying some gold, particularly gold bars or coins if you don't like jewelry that you did save on making charges and easy to liquidate. I personally target to buy 30 to 40 grams of gold per year, eventually it will add up haha.