Take my advice and put that money in a savings account; you're definitely not ready to manage your own investments, securities or otherwise. I'd highly suggest you learn the abc's of investing in securities before you approach a broker; these sort of investing is absolutely not made for novices unless you're willing to forfeit the $500.

Yeah! Do what javabeans suggested. Put your money in a savings account. $500 is not enough to open an investment account. You will end up spending it in commission and taxes. If you wanna see that money grow, put it in high yeild online savings account. These days, online savings accounts are paying really good rate compared to local banks. Average interest rate most banks pay these days is less than 1% whereas online savings banks are paying more than 4% and they are really competitive among themseves increasing interest rates every month and giving incentives. You might be skeptical to use online bank as they are not physically present in your city but don't worry they are as safe as your local banks. Like local banks, they are also FDIC insured. So, in case anything happens you won't lose your money (upto $100,000). good luck, u_day