I totally understand, by better questions I mean I need to figure out like, "what can I do?" and also communicate my goals better (though clearly you can already tell I'm a bit lacking that department :) ). I'm glad the conversation here has gone in multiple directions cause what I want to do is def influenced by what I can do and people are bringing up a few things that I hadn't considered. I see what you're saying about those seeming contradictory, I simply meant even if I choose to let it sit somewhere so I don't have to actively do anything, what is the best way for me to do that? Is an index fund the right way? What is a money market? Please don't worry about answering those, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the gaps in my understanding. Once I feel like I have a more solid footing, I will definitely be coming back to query the hive :) Also, thanks for the response, I really do appreciate it!
Another "don't overthink it" observation: Women typically outperform men when it comes to investing because they simply don't fuck with it so much. Most investment professionals will tell you to rebalance your portfolio yearly. Fucking with it every six months can do damage even if you know what you're doing. I mean, sure - have some money to play with (I play with fake money, real money is too dear) but leave that shit alone for the most part.