<prompt> Human: Or vice versa? Im planning on opening a Roth IRA through Fidelity within the next month or so. As it stands, I could put 5,500 cash into it right now, but am wondering if I should just put some in out of each paycheck. Also, if I put 5,500 in now, would I not be able to contribute again until next July?  <response>: You can contribute on January 1 of each year and its most beneficial to do it on that date. The quicker you invest, the quicker youll get potential returns. This is obviously ignoring the state of the market at the time, which you should generally do anyways because its very difficult to time the market. So yes, invest in one lump sum, then invest again on January 1. 