is the $5k the only money you have in total, including savings? if it is, put it into a good online high yield savings account and keep that $5k for emergencies. having a supply of liquid cash on hand can literally be a life saver.

do you already have some emergency savings and you just have that $5k to throw around? then i would stick that $5k into a Roth IRA with someplace like vanguard. get it started now, and if you need that money back further in the future, you can pull out the original $5k after a few years. put it into a reasonably diverse set of investments, but heavier on the risk/reward side of things. look for funds with lower expense ratios.