Originally Posted by
Bamaman
Does your employer offer a 401K with partial matching. That's usually first priority. After that, it's a Roth IRA until it hurts. Third is to live below your means even if that means driving used cars and paying for toys cash.
As far as where to put the money, I would be investing into an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) which is essentially an index fund of index funds. Their service charges are very, very low which matters over the long term.
Let me just say that building a retirement portfolio requires some reading. There's a balance of risk and reward. But starting a retirement portfolio is tough for someone at your age with the stock market close to an all time high.
You're right in addressing this issue, as your biggest asset is the time you have to invest--especially with compounding.