Just finished Suze Orman-Should I take out Roth IRA & What about 401k at work?

Personally, I have no idea why Suze would be so biased in her advice to recommend one company. (PS, I've never read any of her books, and have listen to her for about 8 minutes on TV total in my life). Likely though she is fee conscious.

As to the 401K. That is a work benefit, likely there is no annual fee, just the management fees that the mutual funds that you participate in, which is fine. Even if they are charging you 1% in their performance, you are getting a free 6% and keeping the money off the tax line on your paycheck, so you really aren't seeing a 6% drop in your takehome pay. Long story short - take advantage of matching, save your money, and enjoy a fruitful retirement.

Second, I really and truly have no idea why someone would be biased about keeping IRA dollars at a Credit Union. Credit Unions are insured by the NCUA, and you're under the limit. Maybe she thinks that credit unions don't have investment departments and that she is afraid that your dollars are sitting around making little interest. Well, of all problems to have in this market - if you were in cash in March, even with 1 penny in interest, you're account is up, and the markets in general are down 30%+- so good for you. Also, there are credit unions with financial advisors that buy and sell investments as needed. So, long story short, I know I don't have a TV show, and I haven't written a ton of books, but really, your situation as described above looks very good.

You are on the road to savings, which is great for someone your age (think: the power of compounding!). Just so you know, you can put up to $5000 in the IRA each tax year - so if you have any more money to contribute, that's available to you. Oh, and not a bad call on the ROTH either. Looks like the next tax move is an up - so using that money tax free in retirement will be extra sweet.

It doesn't matter where your ROTH is, it matters in what it is invested. If it is in stock mutual funds with low fees, then it is fine. I agree though, that I would have gone with Fidelity or Vanguard.

What do you mean - you are sure putting it in vanguard would cost more money? You would still put in $4,000. BUT, don't pull or pu, ROLL OVER. If you pull it out you pay penalties. And it would not be a 401(k) it would still be a ROTH IRA.

In short, continue the 6% with the 401(K) and put the extra money into the ROTH (regardless of where it is).

Make sure you are contributing to that ROTH each month (or week) not saving it up then paying a chunk. Have it set up as an automatic transfer from your bank account.

At your age, make sure you are investing the majority of your money in stocks. You are WAY too young to be conservative.

FYI, I would never base my finances on Suze Orman! She is not impartial. She has many deals with the credit unions. She thinks credit is a good thing and spends all her time telling people how to get their score up 10 points. Who cares about your credit score - PAY CASH for things, not credit.

Suze Orman claims someone lent her $50,000 when she was a waitress and it was a regular customer of the diner, then as a waitress she just went to a stock broker and got a job, the she sues the stock broker to get back the $50,000 she lost in the market by the same stock broker she worked for. Therefore, credit union Roth IRA are good.

Open an account with Vanguard or Fidelity or Charles Schwab and they will roll over the credit union Roth IRA into theirs.

401K are a company based retirement plan. You cannot open your own.

It's a good idea to read widely about various investments and become knowledgeable enough to make your own decisions without following anyone's advice blindly.

Perhaps Suze Orman gives a lot of good advice. But I remember some years ago she said in a TV interview that NASDAQ was good to invest in when it declined to around 2200 from its peak of 5000. And in the months that followed, NASDAQ continued to decline all the way to 1100. Anyone who followed her advice would've lost 50% of their investment.

But one reason why Vanguard mutual funds have a good reputation is their low management fee compared to other mutual funds. Over the years, this fee adds up. And it does make a difference for the profitability of your investment.

Here is what another financial analyst says about a Vanguard mutual fund:

"Vanguard Total Market Index Fund (VTI): This one is all about costs. VTI is the cheapest retail share mutual fund in the world. For 0.07% per year, you can buy exposure to all the stocks in the U.S. That's beautiful. For the record, that is 1/15th the cost of the average mutual fund in the U.S."

http://seekingalpha.com/article/108370-10-etfs-to-...