Correct, I don’t think i articulated it correctly lol. The first part of what I meant was suggesting to learn how the markets work and build your portfolio based on assets that you specifically would like to invest in and believe will be profitable. Otherwise you can do as you mentioned and put your money into funds. You can also invest into bonds, CD’s, etc.

I would suggest to just not max out your card and pay off your card at a schedule, for example I pay off mine every 2 weeks

I know you said you didn’t want to bother your parents as they are enjoying retirement, but do you think they would mind if you asked them for a loan? It’s a temporary thing, you just need to pay the months rent and then you can pay your parents back as soon as possible. Otherwise the student loan option would probably be the other best case scenario.

You have never opened a credit card account? If you have not I would suggest opening one to begin building credit, everything you use your debit card for replace with your credit card. You can immediately pay off the credit card, but you need to at least use your credit card to begin building credit.