Looking to fund my Roth IRA account

[xclonexclonex]

Hello all,

I opened a Roth IRA account with Vanguard. I only deposited $50 at the time I opened the account.

When I get paid in a few days, I want to contribute $1000 to my account.

Here is what my account looks like at the moment -

http://i.imgur.com/UPsVodk.png

I am hoping someone could answer the following questions for me -

1. What is the first step when I have the $1000 to contribute to my IRA?

2. If I contributed the $1000 to a target retirement fund, like this for example -

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0699&FundIntExt=INT

Does it still count as contributing to a Roth IRA? I am sorry if this question doesn't make much sense.

3. Also, would I be able to switch between funds for my Roth IRA?

Thanks for your time and effort in advance.

[Zoot Allures]

Looks like you have your Roth IRA with Vanguard. You see where it says "Buy and sell"? That's where you start. Choose "Buy Vanguard funds," and you'll be taken through a series of steps. You'll specify where the money is coming from (e.g., your bank account), which fund(s) you want to buy (e.g., a target retirement fund), which year you want the contribution recorded (until April 15, you can still contribute for 2014 OR you can contribute for 2015).

Seems like you need to look around the Vanguard site and get more familiar with your account. All the information you need is there, and you can always call customer service if you need help.

[xclonexclonex]

Looks like you have your Roth IRA with Vanguard. You see where it says "Buy and sell"? That's where you start. Choose "Buy Vanguard funds," and you'll be taken through a series of steps. You'll specify where the money is coming from (e.g., your bank account), which fund(s) you want to buy (e.g., a target retirement fund), which year you want the contribution recorded (until April 15, you can still contribute for 2014 OR you can contribute for 2015).

Seems like you need to look around the Vanguard site and get more familiar with your account. All the information you need is there, and you can always call customer service if you need help.

Hello,

Yes, I have an account with Vanguard. Thank you for the information. I will follow these steps once I am ready to fund my account.

I looked around on the website quite a bit, but I am not familiar with the terminology, and I couldn't really figure out anything.

Thank you for your help though.

[NinetyFour]

If you can't figure it out on the website, just give Vanguard a call.  Their customer service folks will be happy to help you.

[Zoot Allures]

One thing I'd point out is that a Roth IRA is simply a bucket that contains whatever funds you choose. So the answer to your second question is yes. And yes to your third question as well.

[AK]

I set up my Vanguard Roth IRA this year as well and had a bunch of questions so I called their customer service. Their reps were very friendly and answered all my questions. I went with auto contributing into VTSMX aka the Vanguard Total Stock Market mutual fund using the Vanguard system. It's really easy to setup and puts things on auto-pilot.

[xclonexclonex]

If you can't figure it out on the website, just give Vanguard a call.  Their customer service folks will be happy to help you.

Thank you. Judging from the responses here, it seems like giving them a call is the best thing to do.