NEWBIES BOARD

[dude iligence]

Best to have a regular taxable account and an IRA. I have both just dont trade in the taxable account anymore. At Etrade the reg account has checking, debit card and you can withdrawal money anytime you want. With an Roth its for retirement, depending on your age 59 1/2 maybe a long ways off. You also need to have money in a Roth for a min of 5 yrs before you can make withdrawls. Losses on taxable account can be taken at yr end. If your a Newbie be realistic you will have them. With a Roth you cant take them but you dont pay tax on the gains either. As far as taxes I use Turbo Tax it reaches out to Etrade you put in your user name and password it downloads the consolidated 1099 info and bam 2 secs later all your trading activity for tax purposes is done. I use to spend days doing this. Keep it simple.