Comments on: Mrs. Micah is now officially an investor

By: Me vs Debt

Me vs Debt — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:52:35 +0000

Investing in a Roth IRA…

The debt reduction vs. retirement savings question has been gnawing at me for quite some time now. I’ve gone back and forth on the issue, but now I’m finally ready to get started. Beyond the obvious……

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By: fathersez

fathersez — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:59:21 +0000

Congratulations.

May your first investment grow to be a mighty oak to give you shelter in times of need.

By: Ryan S.

Ryan S. — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:47:47 +0000

Well, all right, Mrs. Micah! I’m very proud of you. I haven’t looked into ING’s IRA offerings (I’m quite happy with Firstrade.com) but a no load index fund is certainly the way to go.
-
Ryan
http://uncommon-cents.net/

By: vh

vh — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:50:52 +0000

Good time to buy: just as the roller-coaster’s headed down.

The Roth has so many advantages over the regular IRA, not the least of which is that your heirs don’t get soaked when it passes to them. Good choice!

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:35:24 +0000

A very good choice. I always tell people that it’s smart to invest in a Roth, even if you have to drain your emergency fund to do it since the Roth can act as an emergency fund. If you end up having to tap it for an emergency, you are probably in no worse shape than if you hadn’t invested in the Roth at all. (The one exception is if an emergency happens and the account has lost money, forcing you to sell on a downturn, but that would be very unlucky, assuming that emergencies don’t happen to you all that often.)

The other plus (not useful to the very disciplined) is that using a Roth as an emergency fund forces you to consider just how much of an “emergency” it really is before you tap it. Chances are you’ll consider many more options before pulling it out than you would if it were just in a savings account. Too many people who have the discipline to save an emergency fund do not have the discipline to avoid tapping it for every little thing rather than tightening their belts when a tough situation comes up.

None of this is an endorsement of using a Roth as an emergency fund. Ideally, you should max your contributions to a Roth and have an emergency fund. But if it’s April 15th and the only money you have to contribute to your Roth is your emergency fund, I think you should go ahead and do it (and be prepared to scrimp and save so that you’ve got plenty next April 15th).

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:02:17 +0000

congratulations on becoming an investor. I hope you enjoy the ride!

By: Amanda @ Me vs Debt

Amanda @ Me vs Debt — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:25:09 +0000

Hey, I didn’t know ING offered IRAs. I’m definitely going to look into that because I love their online banking. Plus with a minimum of $250 there is no need to wait. Good call, Mrs. Micah. Debt can be paid off indefinitely, time to invest in the 2007 IRA is running out quickly.