<prompt> Human: Im a college student, with a part-time. I dont make much, but Im still interested in saving for my future. I currently have 3K in a savings account I opened a few years ago, and try to add 30-40 to it every two weeks when I get paid. Should I consider an ira, or just stick to my plain old savings account?  <response>: I agree with people saying focus on the emergency fund first. That said, if youre willing to tolerate the risk, you can double the Roth as an emergency fund. The rules on withdrawals for the Roth is that you can only take out the investment proceeds when youve reached retirement age. You can always withdraw your contributions since youve already paid taxes on it. 