Should I open a Roth IRA at 24 despite market volatility and overwhelming investment options?

The stock market has been volatile in recent weeks as President Trump and DOGE institute big new changes to government operations. This volatility has one Reddit user uncertain as to whether he should open a Roth IRA or not. 

The Redditor is 24 years old and said he has been meaning to open a Roth IRA for a while. However, not only is he concerned about the current state of the market, but he’s also really overwhelmed with trying to figure out exactly where to invest the money.

So, should he open the account and get started investing and, if so, what should he do about his investment paralysis caused by so many choices?

There is never a bad time to open an IRA

The reality is that there is never really a bad time to open an IRA account. In fact, trying to time the market is often a losing battle because it can be so unpredictable to determine when it has hit bottom or when the market has peaked.  The last thing that you want to do is wait and miss out, as those who missed just the five best days in the stock market since 1988 would have reduced total long-term gains by 37% according to Fidelity research. 

If you invest in an IRA at 24 years old, you have decades of time for compound growth to work for you. It doesn’t really matter if you open the IRA and your investments immediately lose money because, over time, they should most likely increase significantly in value. The returns can be reinvested and help you earn even more money, exponentially growing your wealth. 

Say you invest just $7,000 in your IRA this year at age 24, which is the contribution limit for the year, and you earn an average 8% annual return until you reach the age of 65. Even if you did not invest any more money, you would have $191,566.48 just from that one single initial investment. That’s because you’d have lots of time for compounding to work.

The longer you delay, on the other hand, the more you have to invest to end up in the same place.  So, don’t wait — start making your money work for you now. 

What should you invest in?

The Redditor is also confused about what to invest in. Of course, he has a lot of options. He could learn to research businesses and find shares of individual companies to buy. This can be more complicated but if he gets good at it, he can earn higher potential returns. 

He could also take a simpler approach and invest in an S&P 500 index fund. The S&P 500 tracks the performance of around 500 large U.S. companies and consistently has produced 10% average annual returns over a long period of time.

Since you can just buy an ETF that tracks the performance of the index, you need no specialized knowledge at all and you’ll pay very low investment fees. It’s an investment famed investor Warren Buffett recommends for the majority of people, and with good reason. You can hold onto it for decades, expect great returns, and watch your wealth grow. 

With this approach, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed — and there’s no excuse for not getting started. Open your account and begin investing today and you’ll be a whole lot richer tomorrow. You may also want to consult with a financial advisor who can provide personalized advice on how much to invest and what to buy so you can get yourself up for a secure tomorrow. 

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