<prompt> Human: 24 years old, opened up an IRA last year. Only have 5,000 a year to invest right now. I love the tax advantages of an IRA, but Id also like to have an account that I could profit off of before Im 60. Is it a huge disadvantage to me to open a brokerage account if it means I wont fully fund my IRA this year?  <response>: Unless you have a specific goal in mind for the money you want to put in a taxable brokerage account, you should probably contribute to the IRA. You can fund a taxable brokerage account any time you want. You only have a limited time to put money in an IRA for a given tax year. 