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In general, you should save money in the following accounts in order:

# 401k, 403b, or thrift savings (up to employer-match)
# Traditional or Roth IRA (up to IRS limit)
# 401k, 403b (up to IRS limit)
# Investing account
# High-yield Savings, Cash account, or CD
# Checking account

* 1-3 will be tax-advantaged (either tax-free or tax-deferred) since they are retirement accounts
* 4-6 will not be tax-advantaged

==401(k)/403(b)==
A 401(k) or 403(b) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan.<br>
That means, it is managed by a company cooperating with your employer.<br>
If you work for a for-profit company, you will have a 401k.
If you work for a public school or non-profit company, you get a 403b.<br>
If you work for the federal government, you will have a thrift savings plan.<br>
For the most part, 401k and 403b rules are identical.

* Employees can contribute up to $19,500 for 2020 ($19,000 in 2019) [https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-401k-and-profit-sharing-plan-contribution-limits]
** These are called "elective deferrals" which are tax-deferred. You may also contribute after-tax deferrals subject to the total maximum contribution below.
* In total, you can add up to $57,000 to your 401k each year, or up to 100% of your income, whichever is lower. This includes both your contributions and your employer's contributions

==Individual Retirement Account (IRA)==
A tax-advantaged retirement account you can control.<br>
The IRS allows you to deposit up to $6000 ($7000 if 50 or older) per year or up to your income, whichever is lower.
Note that this limit is for all your IRAs combined.
Typically, you should save in a Roth IRA unless you surpass the income limit.
If you're not eligible for the Roth IRA, you may consider the backdoor Roth IRA.

===Traditional IRA===
In a traditional IRA, you deposit pre-tax money (see notes).
Thus, your deposit counts as a tax-deduction.
You pay taxes when you withdraw your money.

;Notes
* Early withdraws (before age 59.5) are subject to a 10% penalty plus taxes
* You must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 72
* No more contributions after age 70.5
* While there are no income limits to contributing to a traditional IRA, there are income limits to deducting from your taxes
** See [https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/ira-deduction-limits IRA Deduction Limits]
** To avoid being double taxed on your Traditional IRA contributions, be sure to complete [https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8606 IRS Form 8606]

===Roth IRA===
In a Roth IRA, you deposit post-tax money. However, your money grows tax-free.<br>
There is an income limit to the Roth IRA of $124,000 in 2020.

;Notes
* No required minimum distributions on your own Roth IRAs
** There are RMDs on inherited Roth IRAs
* You can withdraw your contributions (but not earnings) without penalty
** Note that any further contributions will count towards your annual limit so you cannot "borrow" from your Roth IRA.
* No age limits on contributions


===Backdoor Roth IRA===
If you are a high-earner and believe you will earn more money in retirement,
you may want to do a backdoor Roth IRA to grow your retirement account tax-free rather than tax-deferred.

;Basic Idea
* Contribute to a traditional IRA
* Convert the traditional IRA into a Roth IRA

;Notes
* To avoid tax complications, you should eliminate all other pre-tax IRAs beforehand by rolling them over to a 401k. Otherwise, you will be subject to the pro-rata rule.

===Mega Backdoor Roth===
Requirements: Your 401k allows after-tax contributions and non-hardship withdrawals.

;Basic Idea: 
* Max out after-tax contributions to your 401k
* Rollover or withdraw the after-tax portion to a Roth IRA or Roth 401K

==ETFs==
{{main | Exchange-traded fund}}

Exchange-traded funds. Typically these will have a fee called an expense ratio.<br>
However, since they are not usually actively managed, their fees are often lower than mutual funds.<br>
The expense ratio is measured in basis points.<br>
25 basis points is an annual fee of 0.25%.<br>
The following classifications are stolen from Wealthfront and Acorns<br>

==Robo-Investors==

===Wealthfront===
{{main | Wealthfront }}
; [https://www.wealthfront.com/c/affiliates/invited/AFFA-BMT8-AIJ3-FS7E Referral]<br>
;Benefits
* Tax-Loss Harvesting
====Cash Account====
Wealthfront offers a cash account.
This account is distributed between up to 8 banks so it is FDIC Insured up to $2 million