If you have earned income and it’s not too high, you can put in $7,000 as a contribution. You will pay taxes on this money. However, you will not pay taxes on the growth of this money. You will always have access to your contribution once you’ve made the first deposit. Also, you should never pull the money out unless it’s an emergency. Once you open the Roth IRA, a clock starts to tick. The 5-year clock gives you access to contributions without any penalty, and you will have access to the amount of earnings in there without any penalty. The clock will start on January 1st of the year you make the deposit. When you think about the Roth, you can think about tax breaks.