Newcomer to the roth IRA plan

[Guest McToth]

Can I make more than one contribution to a roth IRA account up to the $3000 max before april 15 2005? For instance could I contribute $2000 on march 15 2005 and another $1000 on march 25?

[wmyer]

Yes.

[John G]

YES, to any combination of contributions up to the maximum allowed, prior to the deadline for the year you are contributing.

Other YES's:

You can contribute to your Roth before you have actually received the earned income for the year. For example, some people write that check in early January (when they are initially eligible for the current calendar year) to have the funds sheltered for the full 12 months.

One of the options that many people use is to set up your Roth for automatic monthly withdrawals from your checking account. This is a form of dollar cost averaging if set up with a mutual fund - you buy "more" shares of the fund when the price is lower, less when the value is higher.

Note - all contributions should be confirmed on the next monthly statement. To minimize foul-ups, all contributions should designate on the deposited check the calendar year and IRA/Roth account number. You want to catch processing errors early when they are easier to correct.

Wymer, I appreciate your brevity! I extend your clear answer to catch related issues of other readers.