<prompt> Human: Good morning all,I am in a good place financially but need to know how to make my next move towards retirement, and possibly even appropriate investing. I am totally new to investing, but not saving. I do not currently have any type of IRA, nor a 401k. I can easily save up 20k a year, and am looking to start saving for retirement, a home, and then money markets. I know that I need to set up a Roth IRA and 401k, but where do I even begin to do this? Do I approach my bank? Or other financial institution? My company does not offer matching options for savings, so I have to do all of this on my own. Again, I am totally new to all of this. So new that I dont even know who to contact about saving. I definitely have the money and income to start this process, so Im excited and anxious to get the ball rolling.Thank you all!  <response>: I was in your shoes a few months ago, so take it seriously when I say: read the sidebar for details, there is so much good info there, but here are some quick hits-- Make a budget and find out what your expenses are, and find out what your core expenses are each month rent, food, utilities. Save 3-6 months worth of core expenses in an emergency fund. Put your emergency fund in a high interest online savings account e.g Ally IRAs and 401ks are different things. You can only get a 401k through your employer, so if you dont already have one, it probably doesnt apply. Generally you only want it for the match anyway. You can choose between Traditional and Roth IRA depending on your income level or desired tax allocation. Vanguard is the most loved brokerage on this site due to its low-cost fund options, with fidelity and schwab in a far away second place. I opened a Vanguard account last month. To do this, go to Vanguards personal investing site and follow the instructions. You can only contribute 5500 a year to your IRA, so if you havent already filed your taxes for 2015, contribute 5500 for last year and 5500 for this year. When you transfer your money into Vanguard it will go into a money market account. You then have to buy investments with it. Easiest choice is to invest your money in a Vanguard target date fund.Then, read the wiki on asset allocation and decide if you want to get more in depth with it. Most important thing is to get a fund or funds with LOW EXPENSE RATIOS and balanced across fund types. After the 5500 a year in your IRA its kind of up to you. If youre saving for a house, probably best just to keep in a savings account or CDs, since you will need it in the near term. If you want to save more for retirement you can open a taxable investment account with Vanguard or contribute to your employers 401k. More details about your situation age, income, current expenses, current savings, current debt will help provide a better answer. Hope that was helpful. 