I am in my late forties and I work a job. That's all I have, really. Not complaining; it IS a good thing to have. But I have 2 kids to put into college and one has Type 1 diabetes so the cost is on-going - he is only 6. I need my health plan until he has his own; so 14 (or so) more years of this job. Oh, and there is my own retirement (someday). I just wish I could take the $9000 I have and make myself filthy rich with never a financial worry again. Sigh . . . . . there must be a way . . . . . . anyone?

If there were a way, everyone in the US would be "filthy rich." If you have $9,000 to invest, find a financial planner and begin a program.

Approach you bank or credit union first. Don't approach a broker; they make a fee when you buy or sell so there's something in it for them each time you do, whether you gain or lose on the transaction.

Bank/credit interest is low even on term deposits. But it's safe if you have deposit insurance.

If you do insist on the stock market, stick with blue chip. You're not in a position to gamble.

I'm not sure if you Americans have tax-sheltered savings plans. In Canada if you save for children's education or for your retirement, or both, the money you put aside each year is tax-sheltered.

How this works is:

Say you earn $X and on that you would pay $Y in tax. If you put $Z into a plan, you pay tax on only $X - $Z. So that means $Y is less, and you keep more money in your pocket.

Then you put your tax refund into your ordinary savings account, to be ready to make another deposit to the education or retirement fund, or both, next year, and save yet more tax.

Of course you also earn interest on the money on deposit for education or retirement.

Ask your tax office about this. It's the best and safest way for people of limited means to save significant money. If you can, use part of your $9,000 to save taxes and begin saving for education and retirement. But check with IRS on the upper limit allowed, so you don't put in more than you will benefit from.

If you've already filed, you can file an amended return before April 30th, at least in Canada.

The money is available for emergencies, BUT...

you have to pay tax on it in the year in which it is withdrawn.

VERY IMPORTANT WARNING.

JR is right, if there were good get-rich-quick schemes we'd all be doing it.

And the best way there is to set yourself up to be conned out of all of your money is to be looking for a way to get filthy rich based on a small investment.

There are hundreds of types of schemes out there, and no shortage of people dying to let you in on them.

Example: Someone tells you about this marvellous guy who can double your money in months. They show you their bank deposit book, with thousands of dollars deposited that they got from him.

You put in your money, all you can afford, and you lose it all. How did this happen?

The guy was taking investment money from a small number of people and paying the first ones who join all the money he got from later joiners.

So they got all excited and told all their friends and relatives. They in turn put all their money into the wonderful guy's hands.

Now the guy has a lot more money, even efter he has paid out to those first few people.

But now he doesn't pay it back to anyone. He keeps it himself. Then he either declares bankruptcy or leaves the country, depending how much gall he has.

This is called a Ponzi scheme and it is illegal but you still don't get your money back. He will have hidden it in an offshore bank so that even if he gets caught, at least his retirement is taken care of. He won't get a long sentence for this type of crime.

P.S. I suppose I am telling you how to get rich quick but you'd better not try a Ponzi, you have to have good money smarts to do it. Otherwise you get charged with fraud.

Babthrower - thanks for taking so much time with this.
If I lived in Canada, I might be better off with health care for my son's condition, yes?

Juan's advice is good, as far as it goes, but financial planners are pretty expensive and would take a sizeable chunk out of a $9,000 investment. First of all, I would suggest you do some investigating on your own, Are you eligible for any sort of tax sheltering ? There are many investment opportunities available in the form of Keoughs, IRAs, Roth IRA, etc, that bear looking into. There are all sorts of financial planning books available in your public library, or on line, and it would pay off to acquaint yourself with some of the fundamentals of investing. It's not exactly rocket science. The most important consideration is that you get started as early as you can, because time lost can't be turned back.

An example from my own experience is this: After an early retirement from industry and a brief venture in self-employment. I spent the last few years of employment in teaching. As a public school teacher I became eligible during the last few years to invest a certain percentage of my salary into a task sheltered annuity. I took advantage of that to invest a total of $18,000. That remained invested following my retirement in 1987. When I reached the age of 73.5 I was required to begin withdrawing a minimum amount based on my life expectancy and the total value of the annuity. I have since withdrawn over $34,000 and the balance left in the annuity is now over $62,000 and I still withdraw about $4,000 every December. Not too bad for a $18,000 total investment, IMO. Of course you can't get filthy rich even with tax sheltered plans but if you are eligible for one, take advantage of it.

If you are eligible to take up residence in Canada, you would have undeniable advantages in health care. I have several family members who live there, so I can vouch for it.

Let me clarify what I mean by financial planner. Yes, there are specialists who do take a healthy commission. But there are also banks who have financial units for the small investor. The bank pays their salary, and there is no commission. The bank gets the money in the form of commission from, say, a mutual fund company, if that's the route you take. The advantage of professionals is that they will sit down and analyze your situation, ask about your comfort level, how much risk you want to take. They will know how to diversify your portfolio. They do the work and the research most people don't have time to do.

9000 lottery tickets.