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. :)

Remember you can own more than 40 different types of assets in an IRA account. You're not limited to holding just traditional securities. Most major brokerage firms managing IRAs offer a selection of mutual funds for you to invest in but restrict your holdings to traditional securities. They are usually not equipped to handle real estate, private equities or others asset classes that the IRS permits. For instance, you can own most any type of real estate including vacation houses, boat slips, and/or commercial. You cannot, however, own any real estate that you care currently benefiting from. For example, you can own a beach house but you or your family cannot use the property during the time it's held within your IRA. But, you can rent it for a profit. Another example...you can purchase a building lot and flip it 30 days later for a profit...all legal within your IRA. You can even invest in cattle within your IRA. Banks will also lend on IRA purchases. So, it's possible to use leverage. You can expect to pay a slightly higher interest rate than if you were borrowing personally but, in some cases such as real estate, the ability to use leverage in your IRA more than justifies the higher rate. Most people are only aware of the traditional mutual fund type of investments. But, if those are doing poorly...well, you've got other choices. To invest in other types of assets, you need to open whats called a "self-directed IRA" with a custodian that allows you to invest in the full range of asset types allowed by the IRS. With a self-directed IRA, you can invest in real estate and privately held businesses, make secured loans (such as a mortgage), make unsecured loans, and also invest in traditional assets such as stocks and mutual funds. With real estate bought by a self-directed IRA, any income and capital gains grow tax-deferred in the case of traditional IRA or tax-free in the case of a Roth. Fees for a "self directed" IRA with a full-service custodian are higher than those charged by custodians offering only traditional securities. There are only 3 assets classes the IRS forbids you to hold within an IRA: Collectibles, Life Insurance, & S Corporations. As usual with the IRS, there are lots of little quirky rules that failure to follow could result in significant penalties so this type of IRA investing is not recommended for people skittish about actively participating in the decision making process. Anyway, you would not have to sell an office building or a herd of cattle just because you changed custodians. The "system" is geared towards funneling the "masses" into traditional securities. OTOH, that's the safest investment for the vast majority of people. /tricia

Thanks jose and steve for the confirmation and advice! I like the idea of VanGuard or Fidelity and will check out both more thoroughly. I actually have about 25 years to retirement and will be increasing my retirement savings each year. Would love to save 25% but my income is low and I'm already living rather frugally (not a shopper, no vacations, no credit card debt, 3 month emergency fund)! For the last 4 years I have been saving (IRA/Roth) just over 10% of my gross income. My income is low enough that I have qualified for the maximum Saver's Credit (which is why some savings is in an IRA and some in a Roth). In the next year I will be re-entering the regular world of work (after being self-employed for 15 years). And while I have earned a living and loved being self-employed I have decided to do this so that I have better health insurance plan and work for a company that offers a 401K with a company match. My total saved is about $10,000 and the split is actually about $4000 in a regular IRA and $6000 in a Roth IRA. My thoughts are that I should invest the $4000 IRA in something that is relatively stable and I should invest the $6000 Roth in something that offers the opportunity for a greater return (especially since there is no tax on Roth earnings at withdrawl once I retire). At this time I am not looking to convert the regular IRA into a Roth IRA. Knowing the split ... $4000 IRA and $6000 Roth what the best option for each?

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.