Money

I've been learning a lot about money over the past few months. My whole adult life, I've always owed vast amounts to money to my student loan, but the week before I turned 30, I finally paid it off. There were celebrations and the people were happy.

Suddenly I find myself in a situation I'm not familiar with... what should I do with this money for the next 18-24 months? Obviously I'd like to buy a house or some sort of residence, but I need to save a deposit first, and it makes sense to put some of this money in different places (and out of my checking/saving accounts 0.0002% interest rate). I'm still young and it makes sense for me to diversify a little, put some money in a high risk area like stocks, and the other money in lower risk places like 6-12 month term deposits... but what stock would I invest in??

My plan, (I need to do a little more research), is to put a bit of money into Solar Power. I feel like it's an emerging technology, and it will only be a matter of time before Wal-Mart/Home Depot/the Warehouse/Mitre 10/[enter your local hardware store here] will begin selling panels for 'normal' people to subsidize their energy usage. I can visualize them selling a pack for $100, and it would be a bit like Lego - you can plug as many as you like together, stick them on your roof and they'll plug right into your house. I feel like there is so much potential for this sector... and I'm going to put my money where my mouth is...