Thanks meldy! I do have many places. I had this guy who has been working with my dear friend, who lost her husband very suddenly last year, helping me. I've been to the SSI retirement symposium so that I could hear what I might need to tell mom who is just about to retire (age 70 next year), and what I might start doing to position myself. I saw him in action there; he was giving the right advice. "Don't take Medicare until as late as possible", if nothing else, but there was more, and he was right on. I've been teaching my son that too, showing him how compound interest was the most important part, so much so, that he could invest X, by age X, and if it averaged X, then he'd have millions by the time he retired (way earlier than 65), even if he quit at a certain point... that he wanted to start now and doesn't plan to quit investing in it. He started his retirement nest egg at age 8 (three years ago), and will put it into his first CD by the mid-year next year ($1,000 minimum), which is pretty good because he started out with getting only $15 a month for everything he does, and although it's up to $45, that's all he ever get. Anything else, he'll have to work a job (to pay for a car, gas, insurance, designer clothes, etc.). He's never taken anything out of the retirement fund because he has another savings that he takes from when he wants the "big" things and already has spending money set aside. I think he'll do it. As long as some wretch doesn't get her hands on it later on. It has been fast because we knew how to pare down, set aside exactly what was needed for the bare bills, save as much as possible, and some small amount is now being added as investment. Some time next year, they'll get switched. The bigger savings will be all investment fund with a bit going into CDs. And I'll go back to my own personal having-fun-with-the-stock-market investing. I can make big bucks with that, even when the market is down. And God is good. That too. Moreso, because of that. :)

jlhug has an important point - the limits for how much one can earn (dividends from investments) before being taxed on Social Security were NOT indexed for inflation, so this effectively raises your tax bracket severely. Your Roth earnings are compounding tax-free, isn't that correct? You are only contributing with after-tax dollars. The general "wisdom" is that if you are at least 20 yrs from retirement, then maxing the Roth first is preferable. Then contribute to your company retirement plan with as much as you can afford. Note that if you are typical of most young workers, you will have gone through several employers as time goes on. Make the effort to consolidate your previous employer 401/403 monies into ONE single IRA. Believe me, your heirs will bless you for it, and it will be much easier for you to track your investment results overall. It's a pain, I know - I just finished doing it...but worth the effort.

No one can answer this without way more detailed data. You need to share: -What your AGI was last year -Your total tax bill last year -How much tax was witheld last year -How much you owe the IRS from the difference between the 2 above -What penalties and interest they are charging you (including details on when more penalties are being added) -What sort of payments you are making now, and what you are able to make if you squeeze your budget a little more. -What your income is projected to be this year -How big your retirement nest egg is, and in what form (401k, IRA, Roth, etc.) -How old your husband is If you care to open your kimono and share all that, we might be able to provide you a little more educated guess, but the mathematical answer depends on your info above. For example, if you owe $10,000 and your income is $100,000 the answer is probably "just tighten your belt and pay it off in a few months." If you owe $100,000 and your income is $10,000, then you might have no other options than your retirement nest egg, regardless of how big it is. But all the other stuff factors in as well, like how fast the penalties and interest are piling up and what tax bracket you're in now.

Deemarie - The investment value of a Roth IRA will depend on how you invest it. Depending on the firm that you are with, you should have many choices as to the kinds of funds available. DH and I like our Roths because they are 1) tax free, and 2) we will never have to draw on them if we don't want to, and can leave them to our children. With a regular IRA you must begin withdrawing money at age 70 1/2. No such rule applies to Roths. I like Fidelity for Roths as it has an enormous number of funds, from money markets to many bond funds to a great array of equity funds. One click of the keyboard and you can switch to another fund at any time, with no penalties. Be sure to look for no-load funds.