Sadly, I did a mutual fund for awhile, single and working while in school. I got it up to about $5K, and then sold it when we needed money, my girlfriend, now wife, was on an unpaid internship for a semester, unable to work except Saturday, and we were having to pay for a pair of apartments for 6 months. Heck, I lived at home during my first 2 years of college, but didn't work much, as I had so few expenses. I think the market was at about 1500 then...missed that boat.