<prompt> Human: Hello, really appreciate you reading this and giving me your best advice. I have no financial advisors as my father passed away when I was young mom doesnt know much about this stuff and do not have the funds to pursue professional help. Any advice will be wonderful. Here we go:- Income: approx 26,000 after taxes- Working for a General Improvement District local government- Full time, year round position, w health benefits, retirement, etc.- Own a car appraised at 7,500. Fully owned- Monthly expenses approx 800- Have approx 2,000 in checking, 2,000 in savings and 2,000 in credit card debt... max 5,500.- I have roughly 5,000 student loans but did a year of Americorps so that is lined up to be paid off within the next year.- Miscellaneous monthly expense approx 200I imagine I am missing some crucial information but these are all the initial figures that come to mind. Now for my aspirations:- Id like to retire at 55. Own my own home. Have a family with 3 kids.- I am new to my government positionbenefits but Ive heard we have excellent retirement benefits. I only bring this up because for years leading up to this I had heard once youre financially able, get a ROTH IRA! Now that I have a steady income, Id like to know if that rule stands true or if my government benefits are better from my limited reading, it sounds like gov benefits are a good as they get. True? The questions remains, should I start a ROTH IRA?- Next, which fund to choose. I have confidence in certain markets at this point as I believe we are, however slowly, on the climb out of the recession, but have no idea which markets to choose. Id like to a fund with a 6-710 risk factor. Any suggestions?- Also, Ive been beginning to monitor the stock market, certain stocks at least mostly penny stocks, and would like to start with some minor investments. Do you advise? Am I doing too much investing in retirement stocks? - Again, I am sure I am leaving something out but any other advice or options to look at would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and looking forward to making, however slow, my money work for me!Assistant: Starting a Roth IRA has nothing to do with government retirement benefits. Check out the sidebar for good information on Roth IRAs. Also, Ive been beginning to monitor the stock market,If you want to invest in individual stock, you should be asking for advice on rinvesting. rpf frowns upon that.Also, get rid of your credit card debt ASAP! If you ever carry a balance, youre using your credit cards wrong.Human: Thanks for the response.I just started following rinvesting but wanted to see if this sub had any input. My bad rpfIve heard carrying a credit card balance isnt bad as long as you are making regular and full payments. In fact, banks want to see you are using, monitoring and continuously making payments. Ive been using my card at a consistent rate and have kept my balance at roughly 2000 for just over a year now.  <response>: By carrying a balance you are paying interest. Find out what your interest rate is, but Id be willing to be yours is above 10. This means that just from your credit card you are paying an extra 200 in a year just to interest which provides you no value. Pay it off now. My guess your interest rate is higher so the above is even worse than i presented. 