Great Question!

I received a comment asking about IRAs. There are a few good sites that offer education and the opportunity for low cost investing.

Fidelity Investments and T Rowe Price both offer good information on their web pages. They go over eligibility and benefits of both Roth and Traditional IRA.

If you are young and are eligible for the Roth IRA it is a great option. The money will go in after tax (out of your checking account) and will grow tax deferred. As long as you don't withdraw your money prior to 59 .5 years old - all the earnings will be tax free. So if you invest $5000 and it grows to $50,000 then the $45,000 (the earnings) would be tax free.

There are some easy ways to invest that are low cost. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price offer Time Based Funds. The concept is an all in one fund. The fund manager looks at your time frame and will invest the fund in the appropriate amount of stocks vs bonds for your time frame. They will slowly make the fund more conservative as you get closer to your goal. There is no sales charge to get into the fund (if you go directly to the company - not through a broker) - so if you invest $3000 the entire amount will be invested.

For more information on how mutual funds work go to CNN Money - they have a great area on all areas of investing. The Mutual Fund section will explain the different expenses in funds.

Be sure to check with an investment specialist prior to investing. If you call directly to Fidelity Investments, Vanguard or T. Rowe Price they all have licensed Representatives that should be able to answer your questions. To the best of my knowledge they are salaried - not working on commission.

Please keep the questions and comments coming. In the next blog I will go into more detail on retirement savings options.

Stay tuned.......