The Easiest Way to Fund Your IRA Account Monthly
Written By TarikFunding your IRA account takes a bit of discipline, but remains one of the easiest ways to build wealth over the long term. I learned this lesson the hard way when I neglected my Roth IRA account last summer working as a intern.
Why did I neglect my Roth IRA? Because I made it difficult to transfer money into it so my IRA balance could grow. In the recent months, I focused more on growing the account, yet still relied on making erratic contributions. Ultimately, I lacked a consistent plan to send contributions from my savings to my Fidelity Roth IRA.
Finally, a discussion with a Fidelity representative illuminated my thinking once again.
The IRA solution - Make Investing Automatic
Automatic investing is the single easiest and hands-free way to grow your IRA balance monthly over the long-term. When setup, you initiate monthly automatic cash transfers from your savings/checking account directly to your IRA balance. Your retirement investments are now automated, giving you more free time to do whatever.
What’s even more attractive about automatic investments is they grow over time without your maintenance. All you must do is balance your IRA investments at the end of the year to maintain proper allocation.
Less Time Managing, More Time Discovering
While I manage my other investment accounts with a more hands-on approach, I fully embrace the idea of making IRA investments automatic because I can devote more time to discovering alternative investments, instead of overseeing all the transactions.
So I’m prepared to automate any much of my IRA investments as possible. So far, so good.
Don’t Have Enough to Invest in an IRA? Change Your Wording
If you feel automatic IRA investments are impossible given your current financial situation, try changing the way you think about automatic investments. Treat your IRA contributions like a monthly bill. Soon enough, paying the IRA bill becomes a regular routine, and you never miss the cash anymore.
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Post/Read Comments

July 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
great post.. thanks for the info!.. I always had a tough time with the automated investment.. cash is always too tight
July 3rd, 2007 at 6:37 pm
[…] discovers an easiest way to fund your IRA account every month: contributing to your retirement account as if you are paying your monthly […]
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:19 pm
@ Cottage
I hear ya! The automatic investments were killing me until I started working this summer.
In order to keep up pace, I linked my savings to my IRA, and will continue to plunk money away to make sure I cover my most “expensive” bill. It’s the only bill I enjoy paying
July 4th, 2007 at 6:09 am
TJP,
I have found IRAs to be terrific for saving, wealth building and tax miminmization. I expect IRAs will be a great asset on the retirement side.
Automatic payments are a great way to fund them.
July 4th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Automated payments mean you have to make a big commitment to saving. If you can make the commitment, you’re good to go
July 5th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
There is no substitute for retirement savings! The automatic savings is definitely great advice for most of us!