<prompt> Human: I recently graduated college last may and I am currently employed as a contractor. I have no 401k or anything for that matter through my job. i recently opened a vanguard Roth IRA and intend to put the maximum 5,500 into the 2055 target retirement fund VFFVX.My question is can i buy these funds outside of an IRA in the same manner that one would buy a share of stock perhaps through ScottTrade, without breaching that 5,500 limit? These seem like very sensible long term investments, especially considering i dont currently have any other retirement funds and i would like to put more than 5,500 in them, even if it means i dont get all of the great IRA tax benefits.Sorry if this is a trivial question, Im pretty new to all of this.Also please tell me if this is a bad idea or there are better alternatives, i just feel like 5,500 annually isnt enough of a retirement plan.Thanks  <response>: Yes, you can do this. It is a good idea if you want to save more and have it invested.Vanguard will send you quarterly statements that will have info about your two accounts. Even if you choose to buy the same fund, it will be recorded separately so that it is clear which amount has the tax advantaged status. The amount you put in your taxable is unlimited.Because of this independence of the two accounts, you will have to meet the minimum investment to open again in the taxable account. So if a target date fund, your taxable account would have to start with a 1000 contribution. After that, additions need only be 100 or greater.Some points about the taxable account:The amount you put in the taxable account is not deductible. The Roth IRA contribution is also not deductible.You may earn dividends and these are considered income in the year you receive them. Some will be taxed at your marginal tax rate, but some, called qualified dividends, get a lower tax treatment. Vanguard tells you in February. If the fund generates capital gains due to trading which you dont control, these are distributed proportionally to all owners, and also are taxable. If you sell at a profit any of your shares, the capital gain is taxable. Shares held a year or less get taxed at your marginal rate; shares held more than a year get the lower long-term tax rate treatment. The taxable account is more liquid because you can sell at any time, without any age limit penalty like is found in an IRA.There is a Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax worksheet in the Form 1040 instruction book you should use to compute your tax liability when you get to Form 1040 Line 44. It will get you those lower tax rates.You will need to include Schedule B if dividends andor Schedule D if capital gains with your taxes. The results of these will go on Form 1040 lines 9 and 13.The Roth IRA account does not get taxed in this way. Its growth via cap gains and dividends does not get taxed each year. You can sell portions of one fund and buy a different fund with them in the IRA without incurring capital gains.I should also mention that you can invest in more than one fund in a Roth IRA and in your taxable account. The accounts are holders and what you put in them is up to you. One advantage of the target date funds is they are themselves a weighted mix of funds, so you get diversity of asset classes without having to buy in four funds on your own. The proportions are automatically rebalanced for you. 