Hey, thanks to anonymous for the “wake up call” concerning my last post. I was hasty in opening the Roth with Sharebuilder, and have changed my plan to “basic” which has no monthly fee, and only costs 4 dollars a trade. Now, here is the trick. Sharebuilder only charges their annual fee once a year, in January or July, depending on when you open your account. Well, as long as you switch your plan from “basic” to “standard” in the month of July, you can avoid the annual fee of 25 dollars. So, I am going to save up my annual Roth investment in my ING account, then transfer my annual amount to my Sharebuilder account in May, then switch my plan to “standard”, pay the 12.00 monthly fee, and buy my 1 to 6 ETF’s. Then, in July, I will switch BACK to basic, and not touch my money for the rest of the year. That is the plan so far, to just research, research, research, and buy the ETF’s that I want for this first year. So, my total fees for my 2006 Roth IRA will be 12.00 bucks. I have no idea if this is a good idea, but it is what I am planning to do. (In reality, my “goal” for this year is to invest a total of 8000 dollars for my account and for my wife’s account). In all candor, I just opened the roth with Sharebuilder on a whim, without thoroughly researching it, or other options. I didn’t even realize that I couldn’t purchase mutual funds! I am a dork! I have spent SO LONG focused on getting debt free, that I have “zoned out” when it comes to learning about investing.
NO MORE! I will educate myself, and I will learn how to do this stuff…
Comments are MORE than welcome…Peace out…