Saving and Investment Options - 17 years Old

hjp1173

Hey Guys,
I am 17 years old and live in Australia!
At the moment i do a paper run which i get $25 a week for as well as a small part time job which i get $100-$200 a week depending on how many hours i do. I have been doing the paper run for around 8 years now and the money has been going straight into my account since i started. I have around $17500 Aud in a savings account. Over the years i have put some money aside (that my parents dont know about) and invested in silver! I have around $5500 worth or over 7kilos of Silver bullion and coins. I also have around $600 in another savings account that my parents dont know exist. I am wanting to know what the best options are for investing/saving my money, considering that i am 17 and i dont think i can legally own shares. I know this may be a bit far fetched but what options are there for buying an apartment in a few years time and renting it out while i am still living at home. At the moment i have almost no expenses other than my $30 a month phone bill (Yes, Australia is really expensive), and paying for going out and having fun.

Thanks

badger09

To give you the benefit of the doubt, that this is a serious question rather than a precursor to SPAM:cool:

This is a UK site. You might get more relevant comments if you post on a site which focuses on Australia.

hjp1173

Hahaha, Nope this isnt spam and is a serious question! I did have a look around but it seems as though we do not have anything similar to this site, well any forums at least!

Edit: Also if anyone does know of any Australian equivalents to this site, please let me know!

SammenForLivet2

Good Day

Your best bet, at that level of investment, is to perhaps open a savings account or two in a mutual organization, in the hope they demutual-ize. I think you might still have one or two left out there (I know NZ does), but I'm unsure as to if they have charitable assignments. That way, your unlikely to lose any money, and earn a little bit of interest.

In terms of investing in the stock market, perhaps you could open up a practice trading account and have a go at investing in some stocks and tracker funds, with practice funds. It won't be long until you will be able to invest legally, without the need to get your parents involved or in trust.

By the way, I'm talking with experience - at wanting to invest at your age - but trust me, it's not worth the hassle. Maybe if your parents have a small self-managed superannuation (pension) fund, they might let you have a go, once you have proven your returns.