Elle is on the right track I think, and if you have the 3-5 hundred a
month to go with right now, a Roth IRA max 4k over 12 months is a bit
over 300 per. There is also the wife's eligibility to consider. Does
she work? Have a 401k or IRA? Remember saving for retirement is a team
sport. The two biggest words of advise- due dilligence.

Best of luck.

- quote -

I concur with Bucky, J. Using this approach, you only need to save up
$3,000 before your open your Vanguard account. (Even less if it's an IRA.)
After that, you can contribute a small amount on a regular basis. In fact,
Vanguard will set it up so that it's automatically deducted from your
checking account every time you get paid. Google "dollar cost averaging"
for why this is sound practice.

At this stage in your investment career, I recommend avoiding
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or dividend-reinvestment plans (DRIPs).

I would simply open a scottrade or brown co acct - one with low
commissions and invest in exchange traded funds (ishares or vipers).
Less money up front, freedom to invest in what you prefer with
diversification, and also much less of an expense ratio. i am not sure
what the vanguard expense ratio is but it will not be as cost-efficient
as the etf.

Another note: you should max the 401k. i would not lower your
contribution.

"Patrick Holzer" <pmholzer[at]NOEMAILmindspring.com> wrote in message
news:d5fok1hi7ulrd7788loj32m7m5jg29r7a8[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

today. The answer is I would forget about mutual funds and invest in a
selection of a few dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) in major blue chip
dividend-paying companies. Only after that program got off to a good start
would I go into one or two Vanguard mutual funds. And then if all went well,
I would invest in some rental property. Just a thought.

Are you qualified to contribute to an IRA? (There are income limits to do
so.) If you are, then the initial minimum contribution at Vanguard for an
IRA is only $1000

One rule many gurus put forward re the priority of investing is:

1. Contribute to one's 401(k) only up to the amount the employer matches
2. Contribute maximum to a Roth IRA
3. Depending on how pleased the employee is with the offerings in the
company 401(k) plan, resume contributions to the 401(k), to take advantage
of income tax deferral.

<<I would like to open a general account through Vanguard to begin
investing in some index funds. Unfortunately for me, the initial
investment cost for mutual funds is $3,000.>
You could do this in a Vanguard IRA or Roth IRA, where the Vanguard
minimum is only $1,000.

John Cowart

In article <john-962FF5.18165211102005[at]ip-lcc.supernews.net> , "John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote:

- quote -

Vanguard has the STAR fund, as well as other Life Strategy funds that are a
fund that holds other Vanguard funds. You could start with that single fund,
and expand as you build the portfolio.

Patrick Holzer wrote:
- quote -

Great!

- quote -

There is a very simple solution. Take a look at Vanguard's LifeStrategy
and Target Retirement funds. They are basically funds of index funds.
Look at their holdings and find one with an allocation that best
matches your goals. I'm not sure if they add any expense ratio on top
of the underlying index funds, but if they do, it's very little. The
typical expense ratio for those funds is still only around 0.25%. With
this approach, you will only need $3000 to start.

In article <d5fok1hi7ulrd7788loj32m7m5jg29r7a8[at]4ax.com> ,
Patrick Holzer <pmholzer[at]NOEMAILmindspring.com> wrote:

- quote -

Start with one account. Set up a program called a systematic
withdrawl. Many mutual fund companies will let you start with
as little as $50 if you agree to a specific investment amount
every single month, and have that pulled from your checking
account through an automatic draft. Once you get one fund
going and are comfortable with it, add a 2nd fund.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

I would like to open a general account through Vanguard to begin
investing in some index funds. Unfortunately for me, the initial
investment cost for mutual funds is $3,000. Ideally, I would like to
invest in a three index funds (a domestic broad-based fund, a bond
fund and an international fund). To open an account with those three
funds, I would need an initial investment of $9,000. At this point in
my life, with small children, saving up around 10K would take a long
time. When I am able to afford to open an account, I could take the
300-500 a month I am looking at investing into the funds and
automatically have it invested into the account.

My problem: Finding the initial $9,000 to invest.

My possible solution: During my company's alloted time when I can
change my 401K contribution, scale it back and put aside the money
until I have the $9K needed to open my account. It would take me a
little over a year to save the needed money and then, at the
appropriate time, I could bring my 401K savings back up to my current
contribution which is the max I can contribute.

My question: Is this a good idea? The money would be going towards my
investment goals and if I had to save through normal channels it would
take much longer than a year to obtain my goal. A side note: I would
still be contributing to my 401K to take advantage of my employers
contributions. That would ne be affected.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions??

Many thanks in adavnce,
Patrick