I’d been wanting to set up a Roth IRA for awhile. Graduating college with a combined total debt of $130k made it difficult to prioritize this goal. Now that we’re here, I wanted to learn more about investing and how to set up a Roth IRA. This led me to purchase the “Build Wealth by Investing in Index Funds” course by Personal Finance Club.
I attended their free webinar on estate planning, which provided a discount code for the classes. This class cost me $60 with the discount code, and was worth every penny. The course is six chapters plus a bonus chapter of FAQs, and each one is roughly an hour long.
It’s a bit of a time commitment but the course is engaging. There are short quizzes on the material to keep you actively listening throughout. I took a lot of notes while I watched and watched roughly one lesson a day.
Jeremy from Personal Finance Club provides the basics of investing, how to set up investing accounts, and answers questions about college savings and more. This course was truly invaluable. After I finished it, I set up a Roth IRA account for both myself and my spouse.
We used Fidelity and chose a target date index fund. We have a few other accounts through Fidelity, so it seemed like the easiest option. But you can use any brokerage firm, like Vanguard or Charles Schwab.
I set up monthly reoccurring investments from our bank account to our Roth IRAs. Make sure you choose the option to have your auto payment automatically invested into the fund(s) you’ve selected. If you don’t do this, the money will just sit in the account and never grow. Check out Personal Finance Club’s blog post on this for more info.
Based on this course, I also made small tweaks to the AZ529 plans we have set up for the kids. I switched them from the “Fidelity Blend” fund to the Age-Based “Fidelity Index” fund.
When it comes to investing, it feels like a whole other language that’s not easy to understand. I really appreciated how Jeremy from Personal Finance Club presents the info and trust this advice. I left the class with a much deeper understanding of investing.
As a person with a Dave Ramsey Baby Step foundation, I noticed that what Jeremy teaches is different than what Dave teaches. Jeremy prefers index funds, whereas Dave recommends mutual funds. With anything personal finance, there are varying opinions on what’s best.
While I used to trust all of Dave’s advice without question, recent experiences have left me feeling otherwise and open to learning from other folks in the industry.
Regardless of whose advice you follow or what investment options you think are best, it seems like everyone agrees that investing early and often are the key factors for success.
Millennials are facing sky-high housing costs, student loan debts, and other economic challenges that make it difficult to prioritize retirement. I know that our student loan debt delayed us from being able to invest for years and we’re now trying to make up for lost time. Sometimes it can be discouraging but if you’re able to put yourself on a budget and prioritize your financial goals, it can also feel really empowering.
At age 36, I’m just now opening a Roth IRA, I have a 401(k) through work, and a couple of retirement accounts from previous workplaces. We’re not where we want to be yet with investing, but we’re getting there and that feels really good. Especially on the days when it all seems exhausting and overwhelming.
If you’re looking for budgeting help and advice on how to get organized with your financial goals, I offer free 1:1 60-minute sessions. And if you’re looking for more posts on personal finance, click here.
You can also purchase the Personal Finance Club investing course that I took with a $20 discount using the code SHARETHELOVE at checkout.
Now make a plan to get organized and set up a Roth IRA 💸💖