Roth-IRA

Are there any disadvantages to purchasing TIPS through something like Fidelity's Inflation Protected Bond (FINPX) for my Roth IRA? Or would it be a better idea to just purchase TIPS directly from the Treasury? Thanks, Danny, Davis, CA

My company just added a Roth 401(k) investment option to our retirement plan. I am currently saving 6 percent of my salary in my 401(k), with a 3 percent match from my company. (This is the maximum match.) Now that there is an option to invest in the Roth, with the same match available, I am not sure how to adjust my investments. I don't have any other retirement savings besides my 401(k). I have talked this over with a few of my friends and none of them seems to know the answer, either. Thanks for your help! Priscilla, Greenville, N.C.

I am 24 years old and starting to get a handle on my financial situation. I have started an emergency savings account and am ready to open a Roth IRA with $2,500. I started an application for an account, but it asked for my choice of a sweep fund. Nothing I've read has mentioned this and my Internet research has come up with limited and confusing information. What is a sweep fund and how do I choose one? Julia, Boise, ID

My husband and I are both church pastors. We have been married for a year and half and we both work full time. Our gross income is about $84,000 and we tithe 10 percent to our churches and charities, which we will continue to do. We are trying to decide whether or not to purchase a home, and whether we are saving money in the proper places.... Is this a good time to buy a home? What if we needed to sell it in four years? Should we be putting less money into savings and more into the Roth IRA's? Thank you for your help! Emma, Beverly Hills, MI

I'm 25. After listening to your show, I decided, Hey, I ought to start saving for retirement, so I opened a Roth IRA. Now my question is: Is that it? Do I just put money in there and it grows? Or is this the type of thing where, once it's created, I then have to allocate the money in there to various investments? If it's the latter, what the HECK should I direct my first investments toward? Love the show, cheers! Sam, Concord, NH