mtran2000[at]aol.com (Mark) wrote in message news:<709f5527.0310181848.411d9d9d[at]posting.google.com> ...
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Looking at retirement2020, it looks to be 77% stock, 18% bond, and 5%
cash. It should be fairly safe over 17 years. But over the short
term, you could still lose a large percentage of your money.

Thanks for responding to my post. What I was thinking of putting money
into in Roth IRA is the T-Rowe Retirement 2020 fund. Do you know
anything about these type of funds. I know they are fund of funds type
investing but fairly well diversified and automatically get more
conservative as retirement looms closer.

I do realize they are not as safe as money markets but are considered
fairly low to moderate risk. I really don't plan on taking money out
for emergencies (of course who does) because I have other money saved
for that but want another just in case fund with some conservative
growth possibilities.

Thanks for your input
Mark
mark0young[at]aol.com (Mark0Young) wrote in message news:<20031017215306.22081.00001261[at]mb-m17.aol.com> ...
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In article <709f5527.0310120813.77b5bec9[at]posting.google.com> , mtran2000[at]aol.com
(Mark) writes:

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Having the Roth IRA _contributions_ serve double-duty as both an emergency fund
(invested conservatively, e.g., in a money market account) and retirement
investments may be an appealing strategy if one cannot build up a fully-funded
emergency fund otherwise.

However, as soon as one has built up a sufficient emergency fund in a personal
account, one should move the money inside the Roth IRA to something more
appropriate for long-term investments, such as stocks or stock funds. The
problem of having the money inside the Roth IRA sitting in a money market
account or a money market fund is that one won't get the type of growth one
would need to appropriately support one's retirement, so one doesn't want to
hinder long-term growth any longer than is prudent.

Mark A. Young

mtran2000[at]aol.com (Mark) wrote in message news:<709f5527.0310120813.77b5bec9[at]posting.google.com> ...
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As a short term strategy it's not bad. For example, if you can't
afford to keep an emergency fund and fund a Roth this year, it's a
good compromise to prevent you from missing out on this years
contribution.

As a long term strategy, it has problems. The advantage of a Roth IRA
is the tax free growth. If you are forced to keep the money in
low-risk investments, then the growth will be small and therefore the
tax benefits will be slight.

Thanks Gindie

I do realize this but I am thinking if a person is dedicated to
putting in $250 a month to reach $3000 limit per year, a nice little
emergency fund could be built up and hopefully get some growth too. My
goal is not to touch the money unless it is truly an emergency

I still can't find anything negative to doing this. I appreciate any
input.

Thanks,
Mark

gindie[at]aol.com (Gindie) wrote in message news:<20031013233406.16676.00000687[at]mb-m07.aol.com> ...
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Realize that only your contributions (not the earnings) can be withdrawn
penalty free before 59 1/2.

Rule of thumb is to have at least 6 months of living expense in an
emergency fun.


My question is, would it be wise to start a Roth IRA and contribute
every month in a low risk conservative investment. If money is needed
for a true emergency, money could be withdrawn without penalty
anytime. In the event money is not needed for an emergency, then money
would be growing tax free.

Your thoughts pro and con on the strategy appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark