<prompt> Human: Hello Im a student and I have about 20K of money I can save and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to open an IRA. Im not sure what kind to open and how the taxes work? Can I contribute any amount each month? Can I stop one month and pick up later? Can I put money in there anytime I want without going over the limit per year? If I stop putting money in it after a while is there any penalties? To many questions?  <response>: Why dont you read the wikipediainvestopedia pages for IRAs and come up with more specific questions. All of your questions are very basic and can be answered using the Google. Two main types of IRAs. Traditional: Roth: Here is a great chart that compares everything: 