Help me start saving for retirement (U.S.)

Since you don't have a 401(k), a Roth IRA is a good option for now. I use Vanguard because it is pretty low in fees, and the funds are pretty solid. If you're just starting out, you can always just use a Target fund (based on the year you target for retiring), and Vanguard or whatever firm adjusts the funds you are investing in based on how close you are to retirement. Because you're pretty young, the fund would be more aggressive for you. What we do for our Roth is we divide the maximum you can put in each year by 12, and put that in every month. The maximum for 2013 was $5500, and I don't think that it changed this year. This way we don't have to come up with $5500 (or $11000 for the two of us) all at once, it's spread out and more manageable. Obviously the more you can do the better, but if your student loan interest is high, you'll have to just figure out what amount works for you.

I agree with the recommendations above (Vanguard, Bogleheads - not a coincidence that they are related) but would differ from Sparklemotion's (excellent) comment in one particular. As getawaysticks said right up top, to start with, you should just invest in a Target Retirement Date fund. Why? Because you want an allocation that is appropriate for your risk appetite, and your investments should get more conservative as you approach retirement. That requires annual (at least) rebalancing of your investment mix. For example, in 2013, the Vanguard bond index fund http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=BND+Interactive#symbol=bnd;range=20130102,20131231;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=; while the Vanguard total stock market index http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=VTI+Interactive#symbol=vti;range=20130102,20131231;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=;. If you'd started with a 30-70 split, you'd end up with a 24.4-75.6 split (and a 17% net gain). But maybe you intended to get more conservative by moving further into bonds instead of getting further stock-weighted. Instead of worrying about this stuff, especially when you're starting out, I think you should say, "I'd like to retire in 2060" (or whatever) and let the Vanguard money managers handle the rebalancing issues. When you're ready to dig deeper, there's an infinite amount to occupy you - although many people have spent years doing this before coming round to the realization that playing the market is a fool's game, and they should have just stuck to index funds. Meanwhile, if this isn't your life's work, open a Vanguard account, pick the right Target Retirement Date fund, set up automatic investments, and go outside to enjoy the sunshine.

I was going to say pretty much the exact same thing as getawaysticks. With Vanguard, it's easy to setup a regular transfer from a checking account, so you don't even need to take action monthly. It's probably the case for a bunch of other places too, but I went with Vanguard to keep my fees to a minimum.

The question of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roth_IRA#Differences_from_a_traditional_IRA is: do you need a tax break now (traditional) or when you retire (Roth)? If you're pretty sure you're going to be wealthy in retirement, with lots of investments that have gone up in value over the years, go with a Roth. As for me, while I'm doing my best to save for a comfortable retirement, I really don't know what's going to happen between now and then. I've pretty much just got whatever I save now plus whatever Social Security will be available then. So I would rather get the tax break now. That allows me to shovel more into the retirement fund now.

Good for you! This is pretty easy. Vanguard is generally considered to be one of the best providers because they have decent options and low fees. - Create a Roth IRA account with Vanguard online. Local credit unions probably do not have competitive fees and options. - Purchase the target date fund that's appropriate for when you want to retire (maybe 2050 for you). I believe there is a $1000 minimum purchase for this but after that you can make whatever monthly contribution you can afford, up to the maximum allowed. - Make sure you choose e-delivery of all documents from them to avoid fees. The size of your contributions should, since you don't have a 401(k), be as much as you can afford to save. If you get a 401(k) in the future, the general advice is to max out as much employer match as possible with the 401(k) and then concentrate on IRA contributions up to the maximum. For example, if your employer matches 401(k) contributions up to 3% of your salary, you want to make sure that 3% of your salary is going into the 401(k) so you get that free matching money. I would keep the IRA and (potential) 401(k) separate and continue to manage the IRA on your own. The reason that it is usually advised to prioritize IRAs over 401(k)s is that with the IRA you are able to choose better low-fee options (Vanguard) and have more freedom with what you can do with the money in general. 401(k)s often have limited choice of funds and various other restrictions.

Here's something I hadn't thought of when I put a couple thousand in a Roth IRA when I was 20: Who was I investing my money in? This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the market. Once a company has passed its IPO, companies do not sell stock to traders. Hence, past the IPO, trading a stock does not make any money for the company.

From https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/target-retirement/: Vanguard Target Retirement Funds average expense ratio: 0.17%. Industry average expense ratio for comparable target-date funds: 0.64%. (That means that on these Target Date funds, on average 0.17% of your money gets paid to Vanguard money managers each year: $170 on a $100,000 portfolio. Or you could DIY, of course.)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470919019/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ is an excellent introductory look at retirement planning, types of accounts, and types of investments. If you read it, it will get you up to speed on the basics you need to know. If I were in your situation, I would start by saving $1,000 to open either a Traditional or a ROTH IRA at Vanguard. (Either would be a good option. I think the worst-case scenario here is putting off opening an account because you can't decide which one is "best".) Once you have the account open, move the money into the Target Retirement fund with the date of your expected retirement. (It looks like the Target Retirement funds have a $1000 minimum investment, and no purchase fees, so you could move your $1,000 right into that fund.) The Target Retirement fund is a set-and-forget option. It will automatically adjust your asset allocations for you over time. Start with $100 per month or $50 per month or really, anything you can afford right now. Get the habit of saving established. You can increase your contributions as you grow in your career. Don't worry about the 401(k) for now -- cross that bridge when you get there. Typically you would keep your 401(k) and IRA(s) separate. When you leave the company where you have a 401(k) you can roll the money into a traditional IRA. But that's way down the road. Don't worry about that for now. Personally, I'm not with Vanguard and I have a much more hands-on approach. But I got there by starting with small transactions and learning over time.

Yes, the canonical advice is to open an account with Vanguard because they offer very low fees.https://investor.vanguard.com/what-we-offer/iras/steps-to-open-an-ira their getting-started page. You do have to put in the minimum amount to opne it (generally $1,000 to $3,000, depending on which fund you're buying into), but after that it is easy to set up automatic contributions each month. You don't have to worry about the 401(k) for now. It's easy to have both an IRA and a 401(k). Having an IRA won't interfere with opening a 401(k) later. The only thing that makes it slightly complicated is having to look at both accounts when you are making sure that your mix of stocks and bonds is what you want it to be. But honestly because you are just starting out don't worry too much about the mix. The most important thing is that you are contributing regularly to your retirement accounts. You can totally learn just the basics and set up an automatic system and you will be doing great. Pie ninja mentions the Bogleheads investing book, and I'll add that the Boglehead http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php and http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page are both full of helpful information, if you want to learn more.