Roth IRA

[the2amigos]

I'm a bit under the rock financially. DH and I have 401k plans at work and are doing fairly well with me at 15% and DH at 10%. With our "stimulus" check we should be debt free except our mortgage and my car - which I want to pay down quickly. In fact to do so I've been thinking of cutting our 401k down to company match numbers and pay off the car.

Then we need to think about our investments. We don't have Roth IRA's which according to a lot of people, Dave Ramsey included, think are a must have. Do you have a Roth and where did you get it?

[ChattyCat]

Yes, we have them. Yes, I think that they're a good idea.

If your income is under the limit (I'm not sure what it is, but it's rather high - you should look it up), they make good financial sense. The idea is that you don't get any tax advantage on the money you put into it, because it's after taxes, but since you've already paid taxes on it, the withdrawals in retirement will be tax free.

If you are in a low tax bracket now, and plan to be in a higher one later, they are especially useful, as you will be paying even less in taxes.

Mine is with Fidelity. Dh is with Schwab. Our Roths are with those firms primarily for consolidation purposes, as we both have other accounts.

[velochic]

I think Roth IRAs are really great. I personally don't have one because we don't qualify, but I would have one in a heartbeat.

I think your idea of lowering your contribution percentage to get your car paid off is a good idea. Especially since return rates are at a low in this economy.

Vanguard, Fidelity, and T.Rowe Price are good investment companies for Roths.

[zinemama]

Yes we have them. We researched funds that do socially responsible investing. Pax World Fund is a great option.

[katheek77]

My husband and I both have ROTH IRAs through Fidelity. I'm sure other companies do this, as well, but what I like is that it has low initial investment minimums, and low automatic investments...I think the start up on a lot of their mutual funds are $500 for IRAs, and then auto investments of $100 (you can always contribute more). A lot of their mutual funds are no load, as well.