IRA ?

Whats your opinion on an ira? I would like to save for retirement but afraid to give some guy my $ and hope it will still be there when I retire. Bury it in back yard? Buy property? I had $ in a 401 k before and seemed like it would lose $. But self employed now.

Welcome to self employment! Where you have to do stuff for your SELF.

Max it out if you can and get referrals. Don’t just use some guy.

Saavy investors say buy when there is blood in the streets. Yes lower then just low. Looks like the major indexes are hovering around all time highs.

Wait here’s some opportunity, drum roll please......fur!

Yes please put what you can away for the future and do it regularly

A lot depends on your age and circumstances. In almost all cases you can't go wrong with substantial investment in a Roth IRA. Get some quality investment advice tailored to your circumstances.

DO you still have that money in that 401K? If it were me I would invest in stocks/bonds and do it yourself with a company but don't have an agent, their fees are to much. Check out Vanguard or Fidelity call them and ask them how you can get started. With them you don't need an agent but they will help manage your money and both are very trust worthy institutions.

As for starting buying stocks/bonds today at this high price, I would save money but put into CD, MM and savings accounts while the markets are so high. They will plummet at some time then start buying with all you have. Have a mixed fund portfolio and don't sell just buy and hold through the good years and bad. Investing is for long term with time compounding is your friend.

Just My 2 ¢

I think it depends on your situation.How old are you ? Do you have liquid savings that you can use in case your business doesn't work out ? What tax bracket are you in now ? Be aware too that Congress just changed a lot of the rules on IRA's and other tax advantaged vehicles.....just in the past three weeks or so. You might want to do some reading first.

But as for your belief that you are giving your money to "some guy"........that is not the case at all.

You can open an IRA at most any brokerage. Make deposits whenever,as long as you don't exceed limits,and make all purchase and sale decisions yourself. No one else is involved. It is......or can be.........completely self-directed.

EDIT: It is just my personal opinion but I don't think a normal guy should EVER give discretionary trading authority to anyone else..............unless you have a pro overseeing your account that is valued in 7 figures or more. MAYBE then it might be worth it.

Invest early, time is your friend...

Don't invest a nickel until you are 100% debt free other than your house.

been happy with Edward Jones so far

^ what is it cost you to do business with them, fees and transactions etc.? What percent do the take from you even thou you maybe a passive investor or have an agent and are paying active investor fees.

That's kinda what im thinking. But not sure yet. My business makes ok $, better than what I was doing working for someone. An IRA seems like a gamble. If I pay everything off and most of my house that would be great. I see a lot of people going way in debt. My house is worth $120,000. I don't own expensive vehicles. Been paying off debt fast the 1st year in business. I took my $ out of 401k because I quit my job and tired of it not going anywhere. But it wasn't much. Its just hard handing someone your $ and wondering if it will work.

Many brokerages just recently eliminated all fees. IF you buy into a mutual fund, the fund family ( Fidelity, Vanguard etc ) may take a management fee . It is based on the amount you have invested and is usually in the neighborhood of 10 bucks per thousand dollars invested. Each year. It can get higher than that depending on the risk involved in your fund choice. That's one of the reasons I never use mutual funds.

I would blow whatever cash you had on things you need. Does your house need any repairs? Is your vehicle reliable? Are you eating well? Does your business need anything?

I don’t put any money in savings. But I dang sure invest it in myself and my family.

Sein fein did really well in the elections in Ireland recently....

Yes. Do an IRA. I use AmeriTrade. I buy only no load index funds with very low fees. I used to buy individual stocks but I got nervous. I couldn't own enough of them. If one of my stocks tanked, it would significantly hurt my balance. So, now I buy index funds and I own hundreds of different stocks without having to worry about the individual stocks.

Some years you'll lose money. Some years you'll win. In any 20 year period of ups and downs in the last 100 years, the average gain has been over 10% per year. 10% doubles your money every 7 years. I don't know how old you are but the earlier you start, the more times you money will double.

Stick it in a can in the back yard and it never doubles.

And, you will never time your purchases right. Just because it's down now doesn't mean it won't go down more tomorrow and just because it's up now doesn't mean it won't go up more tomorrow. Buy regularly with every paycheck no matter where the market is today. Don't worry about timing the market, you'll be right half the time and loose the opportunity to make money the other half.

My thinking as well. I've only sold a handful of rats in the last 4 years. Might be a foolish gamble, but I don't make my living off fur.

I would follow maintenanceguy's advice. No-load (no commission) mutual funds are the way to go--at least they are for me.

Just to dip my toes in the waters of stock-trading, I once invested in two tech stocks, and watched as they went to ZERO. That's right; I lost my entire investment. So much for my stock-picking skills.

An individual stock can become worthless. But a mutual fund invests in dozens or hundreds of stocks, and they all won't go to zero. Most of your investment will remain intact pretty much no matter what the market does.

Jim

I would open an online account with a firm like TD Ameritrade and put as much as I could each year in a SEP IRA.

A Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Arrangement is a variation of the Individual Retirement Account used in the United States. SEP IRAs are adopted by business owners to provide retirement benefits for themselves and their employees.

As a self employed tax payer there are some SIMPLE (SEP)and other programs you can invest in. If it were me I would contact someone or investigate retirement options. Some allow some hefty annual investing. Most of those programs are minimal in cost as well. With our historically lower tax rates Roth IRAs make the most sense at this time. If you can deduct them from the business say spouse hiring etc. then you can save federal, SS and state tax if your state has state income tax. I would encourage you to setup a retirement account and start funding it ASAP, even if not all other non mortgage debt is not paid off. Establishing a savings plan creates better budgeting over all and long term. Managing debt is in many cases more valuable then eliminating debt, especially now with long term historically low interest rates.

Bryce

I used to put money in a regular IRA(pretax) with a professional. I stopped contributing to it in 2002 When I changes jobs. It's value was a little more than three times my contributions on the last statement we got from them.
I started investing on my own through Scottrade(now TDAmeritrade)in 2009. I only started with 10K the first year and trickled some in every year since. The value of the account is around 4 times the money I put in.
My wife and I have also maxed out our Roths over the last 8 years. IMO Roths should be started by everyone as soon as the get their first job. You can draw your contributions out after five years, and since you already paid the taxes on it, no taxes are owed. And the earnings stay in the account earning tax free money.

I retired a couple years ago at 56. Last year our little investment account went up in value that was more than the highest salary I ever earned. And our ROTHs did about the same percentage.

My biggest mistake was letting money I had saved sit mostly in savings accounts and CDs instead of having it in the market.

We wouldn't have been able to do this investing had we not been savers in the first place. We owe nothing except the property taxes we pay on our two homes and small camp and insurances. Debt free life is very liberating.

I manage my own money and like Vanguard funds and ETFs. I play with individual stocks but don't have the time to really do it right.

For most guys I reccomend a target fund. It's relatively "set it and forget it" as it will rebalance risk as you age. All you should to do is put more money in each month/year.

Thanks for all the responses. I have a meeting set up with my inlaws financial adviser. Ill start putting some in an IRA. HAve to do it before I do my taxes.

^^^ you wont regret it

I don't agree completely.

Target funds r a no brainer. They do all the work for u. And u can't go wrong with Fidelity or Vanguard. If its in an IRA with them there is no commission. Don't pay an agent (financial advisor) to control your retirement!!!

Financial advisor = "Snake oil salesman"

That’s not always the cases. They have there place for a lot of people. A lot of
Times people who are self employed or just generally really busy don’t have the time to deal
With all aspects of finances. In many cases it’s with the 1% of investment cost.

I averaged over 19% growth on my investments last year. My mortgage and land interest I pay the bank is less than 3.5%. There are tax advantages currently for me to be paying some interest as a cost of business. Now, if my investment growth falls to under 4% a year - yes, I will definitely be making larger loan payments. But, for now, I allow my money to work for me. The last two years was the first time I have made more in investment growth over what I made going to my job......it is nice seeing your money work for you. Money is a tool and managed correctly can be useful but managed poorly can result in disaster.

I should add - there was, unless changed, tax advantages and savings for setting up your own IRAs especially for self employed. Some of the programs I utilize for taxes will show you the savings when doing your own taxes. When doing your own taxes with todays software - you can put in multiple scenarios to see the outcomes of your taxes. When you have someone do your taxes - very rarely will they run multiple scenarios for you as it costs them time which costs them money.

You do not want to take a chance on dying with someone owing you, always owe somebody something.

You have until April 15 to contribute for last years IRA. ... With that in mind, you can manipulate the numbers on your tax return to your advantage...

X2

I think you've made a good decision. HOWEVER..........please don't feel obligated to establish a relationship with a financial advisor just because your inlaws have done so. You've made the decision and this really is so simple a cave man could do it. You can do it today, online, by yourself. You don't need to pay anyone to do this for you.


Last thought: If this advisor mentions insurance or an annuity........get up and leave !

Investments are long term you will have good years and bad years. You have to have money invested when the good years hit. I have just about doubled since trump took office. People are afraid of what they don’t understand.

That has got to be one of the dumbest things I have read. What are your plans if you loose your job? I am all for investing, but, you should have some savings. Wouldn't hurt to have about six months worth of living expenses set to the side. Never been down that road myself but I would bet that it will take awhile for any insurance to pay out. Sorry kids we can't eat for a couple weeks, gotta wait for the check. What do you do if your car dies? Need to put tires on the vehicles? Water heater takes a dive? Unplanned medical bills? I could go on but you get the idea. I guess you could just go to the bank and buy money.

You all might want to consider the direction our country is headed if socialism gains a foothold in the future. We will be just fine if Trump gets back in. A socialist will seize your hard earned 401k savings and spread it to people that want free stuff. But if time is on your side you about have to take chance and save for your retirement.

Lol. Maybe you live your life pay check to pay check, but my pay checks come in multiple times each week and if my truck broke down today, I would go buy a new one tomorrow like I did in September 2018.
New brakes? New tires? Lol no problem!

Saving money is for poor people hoping to have a lot of money one day.

I went to bed last night without having to set my alarm clock. Woke up about half hour ago, now sitting on the couch with my coffee reading Tman!
What should I do today? Sit on the couch all day? Go set some traps? Make another cup of coffee? Think I’ll go with the latter.
My life is good! And it’s Tuesday! Think I’m going trapping tomorrow and fishing on Friday!

Don’t take my advice, fine! Have fun clocking into work bright and early!

Do it now, don't waiver .

That is what you got out of my post? WOW! What happens if those checks stop coming in (you know, the ones that you sleep till 1100 and drink coffee for)? That was my point. Can you get your money out without getting penalized?

With no savings how would you go buy a new truck? Buy money from the bank? Take money out of your retirement? That is gonna cost you. Nothing like giving money away.

I do envy you in the fact that you either work at home or are self employed. Cudos.

I wasn't trying to pick a fight. Maybe there is a better way I should handle my money. I don't like to gamble tho.

This is exactly what im worried about.

Just don't invest in healthcare at this point in time

I think Jurassic isn't giving us the full picture!
I enrolled in an employers 401K in1991 at the age of 34. Left there 6 years later and on the advice of my father, rolled the 401 money in to an IRA at Fidelity. Invested in Mutual funds I think. Went to work for another employer in 97. Enrolled in their 401K. Changed employers late 2005 and rolled another chunk of. 401 money into my existing Fidelity IRA. Somewhere along the way I started a Roth also. Bought a duplex early 2006 and didn't make any investment contributions for several years. Sold the duplex in 2012 and pocketed a nice chunk of money from it. Rolled that into another property but also began contributing to an employers 401 around 2014. Since the crash in 2006 the IRA money has greatly increased........mostly without me making much changes to it,tho have made contributions yearly. One year ago I let Fidelity manage my IRA money. I was 2 years from retirement and have concerns of a noticeable drop in the market effecting my retirement money before I retire. Fidelity charges a fee to manage that money based on the amount you have with them. The more you have the less they charge. I think I'm paying 0.89%. So far I'm happy with this and I can talk to my manager whenever I want. We are considering putting some of the IRA money into a couple CDs pretty soon since I m so close to retirement.
I also am the trustee for my elderly moms money. That money was placed with Wells Fargo Advisors by my father and I have left it there since his passing. They have done a good job increasing that money and they currently charge 0.91% to manage it. I want to point out to the uneducated /inexperienced that both Fidelity and WFA make MORE money by growing my money and they LOSE money if they allow it to decrease. If you have money in Fidelity they will help you manage it even if you aren't paying them to do so.
If you don't have any kind of pension in your future, and even if you do, you should have retirement savings!
MT

I worry about that too. But it won't be just for the free stuff people. Liberals will take retirement savings to also make all the various govt. pension funds solvent.
Very important to own firearms!
mt

If one budgets and saves wisely then one basically lives from paycheck to paycheck or however your revenue stream comes to you. Having piles of cash laying around waiting to spend upon whim is not to me a good way to manage monies or life styles. As to socialist stealing ones 401 Ks that won't happen. A change in economic policy can and will change opportunities to save or not save and that may be good or bad depending upon how much change there will be. Also four more years of Trump won't stop a long term trend and if your life saving plans are based on 2-4 years blips out of your 80-90 year life span they may not be healthy economically for you either.

Bryce

.

Bryce, I also thought the Gov. could not make you buy something but they did by dressing it up as a tax, so never say never.

Dang. After crunching the numbers and looking at things I have several years worth in 'savings'. Guess I need to look into investing. Make the money work for you. Right? Guess I need to talk to someone.

First of all anybody that goes to a trapping forum for advise...……..Invest in yourself, learn all you can about finances. Time in the market is more important than timing the market. Pick 3-5 etf's and let it ride. As you accumulate more capital and start withdraws taxes become more important. I my case when I start SS (God willing) I will be in a higher tax braket. I'm planning with that in mind (converted to Roth long ago) Of course the SOB's changed the rules mid game. Now if you leave some to heirs they now have only 10 years to draw down to zero instead of their life time tables. They realized most don't have near enough saved and will depend on a declining SS fund even more. They want those tax $$ sooner. I made a few mistakes but am still fine $$ wise.

Slip

If you do "hire" someone use a fee base advisor and not commissioned.

The SECURE Act went into effect Jan 1, 2020 and it changed the rules on the inherited Roth IRA RMD's

That is exactly what happened to me.
I had a few years worth of income sitting in cds and saving accounts. Somebody told me I was letting money slip away so I asked Edward Jones co. to buy my fist few thousand dollars worth of stock with the intent to have them invest more for me. They charged 2.5% going in and another 2.5% on the profits it made.

About a month later a friend told me about Scottrade-at the time $7 per trade-so I switched over to them and have been very happy since.

I have utilized Schwab accounts for years and never been charged to trade Schwab funds.

If/when enough libs/socialists get into govt. they won't take IRA money all at once. But will take it a little at a time. Libs will make a deal with big firms to manage govt money and get their support to take individual money. Voting dem assures the possibility of living your retirement with noticeably less than you put aside!
mt

The SECURE Act went into effect Jan 1, 2020

^ This makes me feel INSECURE for some reason

Find an investment man that is recommended in your town and ask him about a roth

So, what was your business? I'm always looking for an additional stream of income and always interested in what others did to become financially independent.

Invest and invest again. Interest expense is easy to beat with your investments.
Had a 401k that made 31% this year.
No excuse not to be investing.
Unless you don't want to retire.

Government workers in the thrift savings plan might want to be very vigilant of their accounts if we start going socialist. Elected officials may try and get their fingers on this money as the government matches part of the workers contributions. As you say a little bit at a time.

Talk to your children and really know where they are financially and in what tax bracket etc. etc. One can convert deferred savings if your bracket is or will be lower than your heirs. Also the RMDs can and do change and if they only have 10 years it is still better than a lump sum. This should give you an idea of what funds to spend while alive and what ones to pass on. Also if you are in lower brackets, sell and invest in other growth options. The changes for the RMDs may be a pimple compared to what may take place when the sunset clause sets on all the individual tax rates in a bout 5-6 years. We are at this time taking advantage of the lowered rates to convert investments for the next several years. Our tax rates will be the same as our son's but much lower than our daughters so we are converting and paying now and we can leave other funds that will get a stepped up basis upon our deaths. Just because someone throws you a lemon does not mean you can't make some lemonade.


Bryce

I rolled my 401K into an IRA when I retired in 2013. I have been using Stifel, Nicolaus, and Company to invest monthly since 1992, so I went with them with my IRA money. We settled on using Washington Crossing Advisors, which manages high portfolio accounts within Stifel. They actively buy and sell equities, usually holding about stock in about 22 companies at any given time. It also maintains a higher than normal cash balance, to buy quickly when it warrants. My account value is now twice its amount of 8/3/13, in addition to me withdrawing $105,000 from the account.

Although doubling an account in 6.5 years isn’t difficult in the bull market we’ve enjoyed, what attracted me most to WCA was their performance during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. While the markets fell over 50% during that collapse, WCA lost only 18% of their balances. Preserving capital in a down turn is just as critical as making money in an upswing. And make no mistake about it, we will see more downturns in the future.

WCA charges 1% annually of the account’s balance. No one likes to pay sales loads or fees, but good money managers don’t work for free.

And remember Jurassic does eat Krill or Quill or Smag or whatever the Canuk version of Spam is, that's only for poor people! Jurassic's big break came when he sold the screen play of his life to become the movie Magic Mike, as well as advising the Bachelor show. He's a Hollywood insider that only poses a guy living in the MB bush

Ok, JP, just giving you a load of crap because you're so entertaining.By the way, why don't you tell us what you actually do to have all these multiple checks rolling in a week? It should be fun to find out!!

IRA is always a good idea. Especially a Roth IRA if you don't exceed the income limits. You need to assess your risk tolerance and then move forward. If you choose to use a financial adviser, I would look for a fee only adviser, and also stay away from any investment proposition that is tied any type of life insurance policy.

Why not trust a professional to help teach you?. Someone with the heart of a teacher.

Studies show people who invest with a professional have better outcomes.

Just like hiring a certified mechanic. Find someone you trust.

I agree with you on the CPA. On the CFP...............not so much !!

What do you guys think about creating a living trust? My folks had one even though they didn't have a lot. It was very easy to settle their estate. No court costs, just closing bank accounts about 6 months after my dad's death and any outstanding bill had been turned in. My estate in on track to be substantially more, setting up a trust earlier than my folks might be a good idea.

It’s kinda funny....people spend money on all kinds of professionals. But when it comes to their finances, they themselves are self proclaimed experts. The thought of paying for any kind of assistance is in their mind, a total waste of money.

Many just look at putting some monies some place without really setting down and establishing a plan with goals, expectations, do you want or need to consume all of your assets, will you pass some or a lot through etc. etc.
Most couples spend roughly 70-80% of what the made in their later working years and raising families, weddings, education etc. So if you were making 90-100K or roughly 8K per week to live somewhat similar to you did in your 50s and early 60-s you will need about 6 to 7 k per month. Have you put together a plan for that to take place? If SS will be say 3 K per month you will need that much or more per month or lower ones living standards accordingly. If you want money to be passed through even more then.

Bryce

IRA is a good idea. Max it out every year and diversify inside of it plus buy land and have a few other things. I found a good successful local company that is family owned and gives good advice and I went with them. They are helping me reach my goal to retire in 5 years. The numbers work if things stay the same or get better. Last year was huge so I can retire quicker.

Rules to get ahead financially:

#1. Educate yourself. I will never pay $0.01 to someone for financial advice. The Internet makes it easy to teach yourself.
#2. I like tax deferred accounts. I would never consider a ROTH. Why pay taxes you do not need to pay? Most of us will be at a lower tax rate after we stop working. Consider a working income of $200,000 per year (use what ever number you want) after retirement that number will probably drop maybe even 50%. IMO, tax later on a $100,000 income will probably be less than tax now on $200,000.
#3. Always save some of your income. Tax deferred accounts will save income tax and lessen the bite of missing the income. Think long term a little now can equal a lot later,
#4. I would never pay someone to do something I could do myself. From financial to a brake job to a new roof. I taught myself to do it. Now, I'm to lazy to do the new roof or the brake job so I pay an expert I'm not to lazy to study and do the financial stuff.
#5. Don't borrow money. I do have mortgage payments, but I recommend not borrowing for anything else. Years past I did borrow to buy new vehicles, but I ran them many many miles after the payments stopped..

Almost forgot, vote Republican. Democrats will take from the workers and give it to the non-workers.

These three rules... Save as much as you can, save as early as you can, and leave it there as long as you can.

I am seriously considering at age 72 taking out a loan for 30 K to buy several items and do some remodeling. I can get this money for 4.56% or maybe a tad less. I will pay it off in $1,000 monthly payments so I can pay it off in 36 months or less. I can run this loan through my Schedule C and thus my actual rate I pay will be 3.46% so over the life of the loan my actual interest cost will be about $1600. Even my conservative fun investments are averaging more than 3.25%. So my 30K invested will earn more than the interests I pay. I will be paying off the loan with cash or income I have not yet received. Also if I were to take even 10K out of deferred earnings per year for 3 years in my marginal tax bracket weighted for federal or state it would cost me $7,200 over three years to use monies that can earn income. If I used non deferred I would still pay taxes etc. on capital gains etc. and even the lower rates are 10%. I can also do a whole host of things in a short period of time and maybe save some total costs. If I don't use all of the 30K I can pay down early as well. Banks become worth trillions using other people's monies as do financial investment firms so I am of the feeling that on a very limited scale it can work for me too. When one does not need to borrow money is a really good time to benefit from using borrowed funds if you manage well. As to owing monies if a die, that is covered in a whole host of ways.

Bryce

Ira...

High growth mutual funds and put in as much as you can PER month.

Dave ramsey advice is what i go with.

Very good advice.

Another thing to consider is automatically depositing a portion of your paycheck each month into your investment accounts. If you never see it in your checking account, you won't miss it.

x3

Yes by all means do an IRA if you can better yet a Roth IRA. The difference is you can deduct the IRA money from your income so you do not pay taxes on the money for now. The Roth IRA you can put $6500.00 in an never ever pay taxes on the gain as you already paid for taxes on the money you put into the Roth, So the Roth Ira is never taxed again and you do not need to ever take the money out unless you need it. NEW Rule at the end of 2019 on IRA's. Old rule you needed to start taking out by age 701/2 RMD, required min distribution. Just call your investment company and they will tell you how much you need to take for the year. If you do not then uncle sam will charge you a extra tax. New Rule in Dec of 2019. If you turn 701/2 after the 2019 year end then you can wait till you are age 72 before you need to take out money. This is if it was a regular IRA. Check with your tax person. Just my two cent's worth. Thank You

Bird an, I may be wrong but I think if you put in $65,000 after tax money and it grew to $100,000 you,d pay tax on the $35,000? That’s for a Roth

I too like Charles Schwab. I have my few employees set up with them, I add some each pay and my employees can add. I am too small for 401k. Schwab is very easy and once they reached $5000 they can have Schwab invest for them thru their smart choice portfolio.

My simple rules for investing:

1. Never lose principal
2. Invest with a reputable firm
3. Never invest in anything you don’t fully know or understand.
4. Never forget rule #1

Wrong! You do not pay tax on any of it....unless you pull it out early like a 401k

I didn't read all the advice so this may be redundant, but if I was you and young again I would definitely first get out of debt on everything except a mortgage assuming the mortgage interest is less than the gain you can get on your investments. (I did this part)

Then I would do a Roth IRA each year and invest the remainder in real estate. Over time, real estate has always shown gains. It may go up and down some but over the long haul it's hard to beat. Plus you can use it while it's growing in value and often you can rent it, farm it, etc. to gain value from it while it grows. Small improvements to it can also help it gain a lot of value.

I dont recommend holding a mortgage simply because interest rates are less than market returns...that leaves too much risk. The only way this should be done is if you have a liquid account available to immediately pay off the mortgage when the market tanks....and it will tank, thats what markets do...up and down. 100% of forclosures occur on homes that still have mortgages..I dont like that risk. Its an individual choice in the end

No Roth IRA you never pay tax on the gain. I sold IRA's for 42 years. You can ask your tax man and he will confirm I am correct. Roth IRA's are the best retirement. You can only put in $6500.00 max yearly based upon your age. Thank You

No Roth IRA you never pay tax on the gain. I sold IRA's for 42 years. You can ask your tax man and he will confirm I am correct. Roth IRA's are the best retirement. You can only put in $6500.00 max yearly based upon your age. Thank You

I do like Edward D Jones or any other investment person you trust. Ask the investment person how many times has he or she switched broker dealers. I have one in the area that people like but he switches broker dealers often. Every time he changes broker dealers and talks you into going with him he make new commission of 4.5% or more. This is his reason for changing dealers as he runs out of new money so he makes a chg of dealers. You yourself need to decide who you like. I do my own, I like mutual funds like American funds and Blackrock funds also federated funds to name a few. Best Wishes

OK go for the IRA first in a mutual fund then go for the Roth IRA as the gain is tax free. The IRA is tax deductible for now but then when you draw it out it is taxable as you did not pay taxes on it when you put it in. I started 30 years ago with $500.00 and added as my tax man said I could. That fund after 30 years is worth 100K and I have been taking out now for two years. The funds I like are American funds as well as Black Rock funds. Check on line for American funds and pick the ICA fund then check the 1 year and three year and 10 year and the life of the fund to see the returns. You only pay commission the first year so look for the return without fees. It is not how much you put in it is staying in the fund and moving it from fund to fund within American funds and not pay a fee. you can call me for advise free at 1-507-458-7573 and we can talk.

had my annual meeting with my Edward Jones rep today, she said the amount went up to $7000 this year

^^^^^^^If you're over 50......6,000 if under 50

Fidelity has made me alot of money with my money.
Ira's , if your young i'd go that route .
Annuitys , they should be outlawed in my opinion.
Buy guns & ammo , not gold & silver .

I think those limits went up for 2019. 6,000 if under 50 yo and 7000 is 50 or older.
My wife is ten years younger than me and been putting in 1000 less than me for the past 7 years yet her ROTH is worth about 15% more than mine. I picked the companies for both our accounts and they have both done very well. She has just always been a lucky girl.