Roth IRA

I've been researching Roth IRA accounts lately. I think I've found the best deal with Vangaurd. They have the lowest expense ratios of all the mutual fund companies that I've checked out. You can open a Roth through many sources, but mutual fund companies seem to be the best choice since they aren't actively trying to sell you on something and they don't charge sales loads.

A couple things about Vangaurd to watch out for:
They have a minimum fund balance for any fund you have in your account, and for most it is $3,000. Plus they charge a $10 per year fee for all funds with a balance below $5,000. (By the way, these are still cheaper than the fees you'll get at most other places, like banks.) To get around this I've decided to make an initial deposit of $5,000 by contributing $4,000 for tax year 2005 and $1,000 for tax year 2006. This will save me the ten bucks. YES!

Tax day, April 17th, is the last day you can make a contribution towards 2005, and since contribution limits are currently $4,000 per year contributing now is the only way to get the $5,000 balance needed to avoid the $10 fee.

I'm always looking for a better deal so let me know if I've missed something out there.