I really love the Roth IRA.

There are so many reasons to start one of these bad boys and get going with your retirement savings.

Today I thought I’d do a little convincing and list some of the reasons to start a Roth IRA. So check these out and then get started.

Seriously. No excuses.

The Roth IRA was created to provide incentive for you to save for your own retirement. Use it. Retirement will be a big chunk of your life. Do you want to be relying on someone else to fund your trips to see your Grand kids or your golf course green fees (or fill in the blank with what you want to do)??

The Roth IRA was created as a result of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. This account allows you put in after-tax dollars, and never pay taxes again on those funds, AND never pay taxes on the earnings from those funds. If you used a regular savings account, CD, or taxable investing account for retirement savings, you’d have to pay taxes on your earnings. With a Roth IRA you can avoid all of that.

Odds are you already have a 401K or Traditional IRA. Those accounts use pre-tax dollars and then tax you when you retire. The Roth IRA is just the opposite. It uses after-tax dollars and then you never have to pay taxes on those funds again, or the earning you’ll receive from those funds. So by having both a 401K and a Roth IRA you hedge your bets against the future of taxation in the U.S.

With a Roth IRA you have a broad range of investment options. Unlike your 401(k), you’re not restricted to a limited number of funds you can invest in by opening a Roth IRA. This is great because you can go out and find funds with lower expense ratios. Which will allow your retirement savings to grow even faster.

Young people have two big advantages with a Roth IRA: the power of compounding and a low income. For instance, if you’re in your 20s, you have around 40 years until you’re able retire. That’s 40 years that your money has to grow and compound on itself. Also, since you have a low income now, you’re more likely to fall under the Roth IRA income limits. High income earners aren’t able to contribute to a Roth IRA. Invest in a Roth IRA while you still can.

If you’re older than 50, and your income is still below the limits, you get to contribute an extra amount each year in “catch-up” contributions to your Roth IRA. That’s more tax advantaged savings towards your soon-to-be retirement.

With a Roth IRA you can withdraw all of your funds (both contributions and earnings) tax-free and without penalty at age 59 and a half. But there are circumstances that allow you to do a Roth IRA withdrawal even earlier.

While I don’t recommend this practice, you can withdraw funds from your Roth IRA prior to retirement to be used for whatever you want. As long as you don’t pull out more than your original contribution, you won’t be taxed or penalized. Pulling out earnings is what gets you taxed and a 10% penalty. But there are even loopholes for that.

You can withdraw all your Roth IRA funds (contributions and earnings) if and when you decide you want to buy your first home. Again, I don’t recommend using your Roth IRA for a down payment, but it’s good to know the Roth IRA is so flexible.

While I believe you should try and put retirement before paying for their kid’s college, you can use the Roth IRA funds towards a college education. Some people specifically use a Roth IRA to save for college expenses.

Opening a Roth IRA can be done online in less than 30 minutes. If you need more convincing or a helping hand through the process, check out the Roth IRA Rules and how I Opened My First Roth IRA.

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