Hi I’m a new grad joining a company next year and I have about $40k in my checking acc which I plan to invest in different things including on Vanguard. I’m in the process of signing up for an account but I’m stuck at the part where 401k from the employer is mentioned. My work starts next year and I know I get 6% 1:1 matching but does that mean I should wait until I start working to create and invest ?? Or can I just go ahead because 401k is a completely different thing? Just curious because it says about linking 401k account or sth
Throw it into a Roth IRA before April 2018. Regular 401k is usually required to be offered by your employer or if you’re self-employed.
New grad? I would throw some at crypto too 🙂
Do you just want to invest? Or invest for retirement? If it's the former, then no barriers at all, just open a brokerage account and pay $6-$10 per trade depending on your broker. Be prepared to pay taxes on capital gains. If you are looking to invest for retirement, then IRA/Roth IRA is the way to do it as someone stated above. 401k is off limits until you start, so no match on your $40k :)
Start investing now. Vanguard is a great place to start an indexed portfolio. This is likely to be your lowest income year for a while, so I'd strongly recommend maxing a Roth IRA as first step to investing this year.
If you're wanting a bit of automation and some hand holding, can also look at the roboadvisors like Wealthfront or Betterment, both free for initial balances. They support both IRA types, can sync with your other financial accounts and can help you get started towards retirement or other goals.
Yes, you can't before you join.. in the mean time, you can invest in IRA and stocks.. 401k comes directly from paycheck, so you can't just put money from your checking account to 401k