Retirement requires early planning, so start now. Creating a Roth IRA early can mean large rewards when you are older.

So every one of us dreams to retire early, live in a mansion and have servants wait on us hand and foot. Unfortunately, we have to stop dreaming and start planning about the future. A Roth IRA is a retirement account that you invest post tax dollars into. The money then grows in interest and earnings, and when you take out money once you hit the age of 59 ½, you can withdrawal the money without further taxes. While other retirement accounts such as a 401K or a Traditional IRA end up taxing you in the end, the Roth IRA is the one account where you will not be taxed.

So how do you start a Roth IRA? There are tons of financial institutions with strengths and weaknesses, so you just have to pick and choose which you prefer. Just have your personal information ready and you can have one set up in just 15 minutes! I have an account with TD Ameritrade, and I have heard wonderful reviews about Vanguard and Fidelity.

TD Ameritrade offers a Roth IRA with no maintenance fees and require a $500 minimum, where you can invest in mutual funds, stocks, CDs, etc.

Vanguard also has a no-cost Roth IRA if you open with $1000 to its STAR mutual fund, a very safe way to start. You can set up automatic investment plans with a minimum of $50.

Fidelity has a $2500 minimum initial deposit, but this is waived if you commit to $200/month automatic contributions. There are over 4500 mutual funds to choose from as well.

Now, before you hop over to one of the links and start investing, please consider certain things.

Emergency Fund- You should have at least $1000 in your checking or savings for those last minute emergencies. The optimal amount should be six months’ living expenses, but I’m being realistic with just $1000.

Credit Card Debt- There is no point in trying to build your retirement fund if you are paying interest in credit card debt. Pay off the debt first before investing, or at least create a substantial plan to get out of debt and do it.

So once you start the Roth IRA, keep investing! You can invest up to $5000 a year and pick and choose which funds and stocks you wish to invest in. You can put it all in at once (props to you if you have that cash lying around), or in monthly installments. You have full control to be as conservative or aggressive with your accounts. When you retire, you may not have the mansion or the servants, but at least you have a peace of mind about your financial security.

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