From Vanguard, you only need one index fund
(Total stock market index fund)
You can lower your tax now with an IRA, but will
have to pay tax on withdrawals at retirement time.
A mutual fund is not a bank account and you don't
put money in and take it out anytime you like.
This index fund tends to beat inflation by a wide
margin. Yes, there is risk involved in any investment.
The more risk, the The more possible gain, but also
the more possible loss. Good luck
What are the different account types?
You want a brokerage account so you can buy and sell as you please.
Do you have to set it up as an IRA account or what?
You should invest in an IRA through your job. On you own, forget them.
Will it help with my taxes now?
It will not help your taxes now unless you do invest in an IRA
Is it something you can make (take out) money from or do you just put money in and wait for retirement age?
You can take out and put in money as you see fit. It is usually a transfer to your checking account.
Say you pay the minimum fee to get in, do you have to keep making monthly deposits or can you just let it be?
There is no fee to get in (no-load). You can just let it be.
Do index funds simply aim to stay with inflation or do they beat inflation or what? Index funds don't aim. They simply invest in the entire market and sit back to see what happens.
You put as much money as you can in and it simply grows at the same rate as the overall market?
That is the idea behind an index fund.
How risky are their "risky" plans? It looks like the higher risk you take, the higher your rewards can be.
The risk of an index fund is the same as the risk of the whole sector the index is based on. If it is a total market fund, then your risk is that of the total market.
Check out Couch Potato Investing (assetbuilder.com).
Diversify and conquer.
I'm interested in starting some investments and I like the sound of index funds due to the supposed low cost. I'm thinking about picking a few index funds from Vanguard. Some general questions I have:
What are the different account types?
Do you have to set it up as an IRA account or what?
Will it help with my taxes now?
Is it something you can make (take out) money from or do you just put money in and wait for retirement age?
Say you pay the minimum fee to get in, do you have to keep making monthly deposits or can you just let it be?
Do index funds simply aim to stay with inflation or do they beat inflation or what?
You put as much money as you can in and it simply grows at the same rate as the overall market?
How risky are their "risky" plans? It looks like the higher risk you take, the higher your rewards can be.
