Why a Roth
You pay tax now, never again. At 22 you're in your lowest tax bracket — pay the tax once and let 40 years of growth compound tax-free.
How to open
Go to fidelity.com, click Open an Account, pick Roth IRA. Takes 15 minutes. No minimum to open.
What to put in it
$50–$200/month into FXAIX (S&P 500 index fund). Set it to auto-invest. Done.
The lock-up
You can withdraw your contributions (but not earnings) anytime, penalty-free. After 5 years and age 59½ you can withdraw the gains tax-free too.