I apologize if this has been covered extensively before. I haven't figured out the search function. Also, these are probably questions with super-obvious answers... I think I'm missing some basic piece of information (and definitely lack experience).
My questions:
1. I have seen several people (way further along than I am) post that they don't keep emergency funds in a savings account or equivalent. Or keep emergency funds at all. I currently have several months worth of reserves in a savings account. As our circumstances (hopefully) improve, I would like a plan for what to do. Where do you park money that you want ready access to for unexpected expenses? To cover a job loss/FU money? Or, are you super awesome at planning and don't have unexpected expenses?
2. Is it easy to get money in/out of, for example, a Vanguard investment account? Do you lose money/pay fees on withdrawals?
3. I've also seen sinking funds mentioned (which, and I could be wrong, I think is something like putting aside a certain amount of money to replace a roof you know will need to be redone). Or money to cover health insurance deductibles (absent a HSA option)? Do those funds get put in with FI money or kept somewhere else? Do you track those separate (I.e., not count the replace the roof funds as FI funds)? Or make enough that those types of considerations are irrelevant?
4. Assuming you don't want to do a 529 but want to help kids pay for college, where do those funds go?
5. And this is probably my dumbest question...can the same person contribute to more than one type of retirement account (for instance, put in the maximum into a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA in the same year...assuming that they meet all the requirements). The way I read the stuff I looked at was that, absent employer contributions, you as an individual could max out one type of contribution. I've only done an employer funded 401k and personal contributions in a supplemental 403b before. Employees couldn't add to the 401k so if we wanted to save beyond what the employer put in, we had to start the 403b account. DH has no retirement accounts. We may eventually be eligible for SEP IRAs or 401ks (when business is making enough to support us). Could we, if we desired to, met the requirements and had the money, do one of those plus a traditional or Roth IRA? How do you decide how much to park in those versus taxable (?) Vanguard accounts?