Current Events > It's 1/3 through the year. Have you contributed to your roth IRA yet?

(+) Yeah! (+)

You can put in $6500 this year and it's a good retirement investment. The earlier you put the money in the better

Can I borrow $6500, asking for a friend

R1masher posted...

Can I borrow $6500, asking for a friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V-mBdjR9Fs

You Only Live Once

I automatically deposit enough every paycheck to max out my Roth IRA every year.

No I have home repairs I need to save for first

It's easy to save money when you're never doing anything with a significant other, huh?

I was planning on it until I needed a new car

Still contributing to my 401k though.

I don't even know what a roth IRA is... So definitely not contributing to one...

googs19 posted...

I automatically deposit enough every paycheck to max out my Roth IRA every year.

You should try and dump it all at once at the start of the year if you can. That way the entire amount has all year to work, instead of piecemeal throughout the year.

But obviously do what you're financially comfortable with >_>

MrchngBndRCKS posted...

It's easy to save money when you're never doing anything with a significant other, huh?

It actually is lol >_> I still go on dates every couple of weeks which gives small hits but when i had a steady gf my shit got drained.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%c2%ae_investing_start-up_kit

tldr: go to Fidelity, start a Roth IRA, and then invest in one of any S&P index funds like VOO, VTI, SPY, FXAIX, FNILX, etc.
it doesn't even matter which one, they're basically the same anyway
maybe put some into a non-US fund like VXUS if you want to diversify a little with non-US, there are mixed opinions on this but it probably won't hurt much anyway

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


random_man9119 posted...

I don't even know what a roth IRA is... So definitely not contributing to one...

Basically if you make under $153k, you're allowed to contribute up to $6500 a year. You pay taxes first, and when you take it out when you retire (or at 59.5 years old) you dont pay any tax, so you're making out like a bandit.

It's just a really good retirement option to add to your portfolio. You can get it through a bunch of places like Nationwide, Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.

rexcrk posted...

I was planning on it until I needed a new car

Still contributing to my 401k though.

Shit happens. But as long as you're still contributing when you're finanically comfortable, it's still a plus.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I will prepare a full presentation for you

Made my 2022 deposit right before the deadline. Was surprised to see my account made 26K over the last 6 months. Im a set it and forget it type.

"Roth IRA" lmao

I'm not paying into any Roth IRA or any investment plan. All I have is my pention.

Spurner posted...

surprised to see my account made 26K

Wat, tf did you invest in?

VeggetaX posted...

I'm not paying into any Roth IRA or any investment plan. All I have is my pention.

I have a pension too but you should always have a diverse portfolio. That pension aint gonna cover inflation when you retire

BignutzisBack posted...

Wat, tf did you invest in?

Its just in the Schwab 500.

VeggetaX posted...

I'm not paying into any Roth IRA or any investment plan. All I have is my pention.

Marked

Also 99% of the time you should be maxing your Roth IRA before contributing a single penny past your 401k company match

yup. I save all year so i can max it out in January.

BignutzisBack posted...

Also 99% of the time you should be maxing your Roth IRA before contributing a single penny past your 401k company match

facts. prioritize company match > Roth > 401k > other long term savings

Rather than open an IRA I've simply been steadily increasing contributions to my TSP. The limit is over $20k and I feel it has more advantages I care about anyway

Giant_Aspirin posted...

yup. I save all year so i can max it out in January.

facts. prioritize company match > Roth > 401k > other long term savings

Yeah basically.

In the following image debt should be split up where the green box should be "high interest debts" like credit cards, and low interest debts like cars should go below the bottommost blue company 401k.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/6/AAfc2jAAEb1k.jpg

DeepFriedSquid posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/6/AAfc2jAAEb1k.jpg

Great graphic that everyone should learn. I'll be maxing my IRA contributions later this year.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


You can take out all money you contributed to a Roth IRA (not earned interest) for no penalty at any time, much more desirable for people who want to retire early, you almost always have better fund options in a Roth IRA compared to a company 401k plan as well.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Well first to be clear, most 401k's these days also offer a Roth 401k option. Traditional IRAs also exist, but the phase-out income limit to deduct contributions to them is pretty low and so not many people really benefit from contributing to one. Especially because if your income is low, it's more even more incentive to lock in a lower tax rate with a Roth IRA.

Anyway to your points, compounding is the same either way. Pre-tax and after-tax will yield identical returns assuming your effective tax rate and the tax law are the same. You can put it in an excel sheet and see if you like. Therefore the main bet is simply whether your income is higher now than it is when you draw down the money later. For many people, you are right that they will likely have lower income in retirement and so Traditional could be better than Roth. But it's very hard to say that for sure and there a lot of nuances and exceptions and complications, including that we might have a very different tax structure in the future. So a lot of people like Roth anyway, but it's up to preference.

Roth vs Traditional aside, a lot of the reason it's recommended to invest in an IRA after hitting your 401k match is honestly because a lot of people's 401k plans kinda suck. If you're lucky you have some good low-fee funds in your 401k plan but that's beyond your control - your company plan decides that. IRAs are more in your control (well, as long as you open one up with a large reputable brokerage company like Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, etc.)

Ah another day, another fake flex post

DeepFriedSquid posted...

Yeah basically.

In the following image debt should be split up where the green box should be "high interest debts" like credit cards, and low interest debts like cars should go below the bottommost blue company 401k.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/6/AAfc2jAAEb1k.jpg

sadly most cant afford to do this

most cant afford to do the first step

nice Guide tho, thanks

DeepFriedSquid posted...

Yeah basically.

In the following image debt should be split up where the green box should be "high interest debts" like credit cards, and low interest debts like cars should go below the bottommost blue company 401k.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/6/AAfc2jAAEb1k.jpg

Im eternally at the green stage lol. But I do feed an IRA here and there for the tax break.

PUT SOME FUCKING MONEY AWAY

pls

DKBananaSlamma posted...

Basically if you make under $153k, you're allowed to contribute up to $6500 a year. You pay taxes first, and when you take it out when you retire (or at 59.5 years old) you dont pay any tax, so you're making out like a bandit.

It's just a really good retirement option to add to your portfolio. You can get it through a bunch of places like Nationwide, Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.

Ah, had no idea... I also now realize I don't think I have anything for retirement... Like at all...

I still only have a 401k and a brokerage account. To be fair, the brokerage account has $100k in it and I'm 25 so I feel like I'm not doing that badly. Just wish I could buy a house :( only cash offers seem to be accepted where I live for now

@random_man9119 posted...

Ah, had no idea... I also now realize I don't think I have anything for retirement... Like at all...

You need to start tomorrow

Nope. I just started putting 3% of my checks into a 401(k) with my first check of this year and half that gets matched by the company.

Also put $50 a week into my Schwab account but its just a regular brokerage account.

Really should start a Roth IRA instead

The best time to start was in the past

The 2nd best time to start is right now

The worst time to start is later

Not yet. I need to remind myself how backdoor Roth works, I've been lazy.

TendoDRM posted...

Not yet. I need to remind myself how backdoor Roth works, I've been lazy.

It is pretty simple.

1. Contribute to Traditional IRA
2. Convert to Roth IRA (it's usually just a button to convert somewhere on the website. Call customer support if not)

Some people already contributed to a Roth IRA and then later find out that they made too much and need to backdoor. In that case, you have until Tax Day the next year to fix it. Simply call your brokerage company, ask them to "recharacterize" your Roth IRA contribution into a Traditional IRA contribution, then convert it back into a Roth IRA. Might owe a small amount on taxes at that point if the holding gained any value.

There is also the "pro-rata rule" to be wary of when doing a Backdoor Roth IRA. It's a little convoluted to explain, but basically you should try to have a total Traditional IRA balance of $0.00 by December 31 of the year you do a Roth IRA conversion or else you might owe some more taxes when doing the conversion. It tends to happen sometimes when people roll a Traditional 401k into a Traditional IRA and then later have to do a Backdoor Roth IRA. So if you do have a Traditional IRA balance and want to do a Backdoor Roth IRA you either have to convert all of your Traditional IRA to the Roth IRA (and pay any taxes that you previously deducted) or else do a reverse rollover of the Traditional IRA balance into your current employer's Traditional 401k, if possible. None of that part applies if you don't have any Traditional IRA balance obviously, but that's the gist if you do.

I dont even know what that is, so I dont think so.

Im not eligible for a Roth IRA.

Opened up a trad IRA 4 years ago with one of those companies that use AI for investing. Got me ~$1000 on my tax return this year when I did the last-minute max contribution.

Pretend he's talking about Roth IRA and not college >_>

https://youtu.be/3bbFmZIdlBw

My work place still has not given out the bonus from last year yet, which is what I usually use to put into my roth (I do the traditional IRA then convert it via the backdoor method, because I make too much to qualify for roth).

So I ended up have to use some my own savings. I didn't want to wait any longer.

megamanfreakXD posted...

My work place still has not given out the bonus from last year yet, which is what I usually use to put into my roth (I do the traditional IRA then convert it via the backdoor method, because I make too much to qualify for roth).

So I ended up have to use some my own savings. I didn't want to wait any longer.

Damn, but sometimes you gotta do it

Also, what stocks yall put in? >__>

I have 50% on VFIAX and 50% on VTSAX