Yes!

Maxing out your Roth IRA when you have $2k going into your HYSA is a no-brainer.

Oh, and you have until April 18, 2023 to max out your Roth IRA for the year 2022. So no huge rush to get it done before the end of the year.

>(i.e Can I open my own retirement account separate from my employer? And if so, should I?)

Yes you can.

You can't open a 401k or anything, but you can open an IRA on your own and invest inside that tax-advantaged retirement account. You can contribute up to $6,000 for 2022, and that's increased to $6,500 in 2023.

A helpful post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/a1fsa3/i_want_to_open_a_roth_ira_but_i_dont_know_where/

Do you have any money already in an existing traditional IRA?

If yes, you'll run afoul of the pro-rata rule, which is what I think you're worried about.

If all your IRA funds are in a Roth IRA, you're fine.

>I’m 24 years old and make $110K

Traditional makes sense for high income earners like you.

> A few thousand in extra savings by using the traditional would help, but my house savings would not really require this as I’m quickly reaching my goal of $100K for a down payment.

You can take the extra thousands in savings, toss it into a regular brokerage account and let it ride in VOO. More invested is always better.

>but I'm debating whether I should put the full 22,500 in this year, OR just put in 6% to get the match?

I mean, at your salary level, assuming you're putting the money into a traditional 401k, you get 35% taken off by taxes. So you're putting in $22,500 into your 401k and only missing $14,625 from your paycheck.

And that's not accounting for any state income taxes.

I'd choose 401k over having a slightly bigger down payment.

>healthcare marketplace

If you live in a state that has expanded Medicaid, you should be able to get on income-based Medicaid -- i.e. free health care.

Open a Roth IRA and $500 a month is enough to max it out.

Where? Recommended brokerages: Vanguard, Fidelity or Charles Schwab.

What to invest in? A total stock market index fund or S&P 500 index fund; if you went with Vanguard, that would be VTSAX or VOO.

https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/products/jpmorgan-equity-index-fund-a-4812c1520#/performance

Here is the JPMorgan Equity Index Fund, which is designed to track the S&P 500.

Go down the page a bit, and you'll see (under the "Fees" subheading): "Gross expenses" and "Net expenses".

The net expenses are key... this fund's net expense ratio is 0.45%. What does that mean?:

>Expense ratios are typically represented as a percentage. An expense ratio of 0.2%, for example, means that for every $1,000 you invest in a fund, you’ll be paying $2 annually in operating expenses. These funds are taken out of your expenses over time, so you won’t be able to avoid paying them. Just as your returns are magnified because of compound interest, your expenses are as well, which is why there may be a big difference in earnings if you choose to invest in a fund with a high expense ratio.

By contrast, Vanguard's S&P 500 index fund has an expense ratio of: 0.03%.

That is what people mean when they talk about index funds with low expenses. Fidelity even has some funds without any fees at all.

>Is there a way to close the account so my wages aren't deducted when I start working again in the future? I see in the notice it mentions opting out of making contributions, so would this suffice?

CalSavers is an auto-enroll Roth IRA.

You were likely enrolled by your former employer into the program:

>State law requires employers that don’t offer their own retirement plan to facilitate CalSavers. If you employed an average of at least five California-based employees in the previous calendar year (at least one of whom is age eighteen) and don’t sponsor a qualified retirement plan, your business is required to register for CalSavers.

And yes, you can unenroll yourself:

>Employees who do not want to participate can opt out at anytime. There are three convenient ways to opt out. The easiest way to opt out is either by calling our automated phone system at (855) 650 – 6918 or through the website. You can also choose to download, complete, and mail-in a paper opt-out form. Employers can provide the phone number and opt-out form to their employees if they wish, however employees must contact the program directly and not through their employer.

https://www.calsavers.com/home/frequently-asked-questions.html

But should you? No. Saving for retirement from a young age is a fantastic way to take advantage of the magic of compound interest!

https://bautisfinancial.com/the-power-of-investing-young/

>The power of compounding interest is positively correlated with time, which is why beginning to invest at a young age is incredibly beneficial in the years to come. Time is the most powerful tool for retirement and investment accounts because it allows young people in their 20s and early 30s to make smaller annual contributions while still accumulating a large some of money. The return on investment you receive is able to grow at a fast pace when you continuously reinvest your earnings.

>Let’s say you are investing your money into a 401(k) account. If you begin to contribute $1,000 annually at the age of 25 for just ten years, your 401(k) would accumulate to $157,435 by the age of 65, assuming an 8% rate of return. Breaking these numbers down into monthly contributions means that for 10 years you would only need to contribute approximately $84 a month to your 401(k) in order to see this result by age 65.

>Although it appears to be a similar situation to the top image, there is major difference in the outcomes. Making annual contributions of $1,000 to your 401(k) at the age of 35 for thirty years will result in an account balance of $122,346. Even though you assume the same 8% rate of return and your total investment is 3 times the amount of the first example, you will still face a shortfall greater than $30,000 at age 65. Choosing to wait ten years until age 35 to invest results in a dramatic difference.