I am a first year teacher (what a time to start my career 
).
My district does not match my 401k and they also offer a 403b plan.
I am stuck between investing completely and trying to max out my 401k plan without being matched OR open an IRA (ROTH or traditional), target date index fund instead?
Maybe max out IRA account and then focus on my 401k? Very confusedā¦
I always reference āJeremyās yellow listā , on where to put money first, but in your situation since there is no match to either 401k nor 403b , then the question I would make myself are:
*By contributing to either the 401k or 403b I lower my taxable income, does this offset the second option
*Does the 401k offer loans against your own money to purchase home or any other thing you might need?
*Contributing to the ROTH IRA with after tax dollars makes sense if I can do the whole $6k in the year
My opinion is to put things into perspective, depending on how much you make, either do pretax contribution to the 401k or 403b and maybe max it? or just do ROTH
It ultimately comes down to what makes sense in your case.
HTH
Hey Gitzelle, as @FernandoN mentioned, referencing Jeremyās Ultimate Investing Checklist is always a good idea https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/the-ultimate-investing-checklist/
Typically it is recommended that if you do not have a 401K/403B match, that you instead prioritize maxing out your Roth IRA first before going back and contributing to your 401K/403B.
Thank you so much for the replies. I thought it might be best to focus on the Roth IRA first and then the 401k since it is not matched.
Do any of you happen to know if I can still open a Roth IRA account and max it for 2020? I read somewhere that the deadline is in April 2021 to max out for 2020? Is this accurate?
Yes you can still contribute to your 2020 Roth IRA until April 15th 2021!
Ya, a Roth IRA will be the best option. Rather have tax free growth for retirement rather then lower taxable income.
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The amount you might lower tour taxable income <<<<<< tax free investment in the Roth IRA.
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The growth in Roth IRA all tax free when you start pulling from the account later in life greater outweighs the tax savings sin the current year personally !