I am 25, looking to start investing for retirement (age 70ish), and going to law school, what should I do?

1. Establish a backup emergency fund of 3-6K, keep that in a money market, that is your emergency money.

2. AFTER your emergency money is established, start contributing to a Roth IRA if you are eligible, the tax free compounding for someone 25 is an enormous advantage and the biggest loophole you will ever find. Fund the Roth with a well diversified mix of equity mutual funds where the current manager has a long track record of performing well in a variety of market conditions.

3. After your monthly contributions to fully fund your yearly Roth contributions are established, additional savings should go to bolster the emergency backup fund, then fund non retirment investments (usually mutual funds).

If you have taxable income, you can open a Roth IRA.

open up an account with vanguard or fidelity...they offer the most choices for the lowest cost than anyone else...either do the 401k thorugh your employer or do the roth ira...over time, you will build up a huge nest egg

You're brilliant. If every 25 year old started investing and planning for retirement - they would be millionaires! Sounds like you will.

Whether you work part time or full time, start automatic deductions into a savings account or money market fund. Pay yourself first. Start with 10% of your gross income and be sure the deductions are set up automatically.

Take advantage of any 401K plans your employer(s) may offer. Employers often match up to a %.

As your savings grows, diversify. Strive for double digit returns (10%+ in interest) whenever possible. Do your own due diligence. Holding bank notes, REITS, be a lender (i.e. http://www.Prosper.com) Take your time and don't do it all at once.

If you only do the automatic deductions into your savings/money market, CD, Roth IRA - you will be in EXCELLENT shape by 70. However, to catapult your success be sure to learn about stock market investing and real estate income properties. Real estate always goes up.

If you could even purchase a humble multi-family unit while in law school and live in one of the units and collect rent - you'd be off to a great start.

That will allow you to start paying off those school loans ASAP.

Wishing you a Rich Retirement!
http://www.SoGettingRich.com

Put money into IRAs. Money in retirement accounts are not counted against you in your financial aide applications.

IMO, you will probably want to save up for and finish your schooling before you start investing for retirement. The few years it takes to go through school can easily be made up for with the higher income you'll likely make after your degree. So, for now, keep your money in a savings or money market account to use for school.

Investing for retirement is not hard. However, you will want to learn a few basics. A lot of people focus on the wrong aspects of investing, like current market trends and what specific funds to pick. However, academic research shows that over long periods of time your asset allocation and costs determine almost all of the return and risk.

I would encourage you to read a good beginners book on investing. Yes, it will take time. However, with just a bit of knowledge, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in the long run. Too many people have their retirement money in high-costs funds, not realizing the detrimental effects. In chapter 19 of my book, I show that for every 0.5% increase in expenses, over a period of 30+ years, you will fall short by $100,000 or more. So, it pays to learn about investing.

The following books will be able to point you in the right direction:

1) Mutual Funds for Dummies, by Eric Tyson. Highly recommended.

2) http://www.invest-for-retirement.com has my free downloadable book. Took me 16 months to write and I don't even charge a dime for it. Enjoy. Even if you cannot read the whole thing, you should at least read chapter 19. It is, by far, the most important chapter.

3) The Boglehead's Guide to Investing

BTW, you may want to consider retiring at an age less than 70. If you start early and squirl away enough money, you should be able to comfortably retire in your 50's, and then enjoy the rest of your life. Just keep those costs low.

When you are ready to begin investing outside of your company-sponsored retirement account, look to these two firms first. They have the lowest costs:
http://www.vanguard.com
http://www.fidelity.com

(On a side note: a lot of people are advocating an emergency fund, and I agree with them. I have one myself. However, there have been a few dissenters to the emergency fund, saying things like ,"it will take you a long time to build it up", and "you don't need one since you can borrow from your 401(k) or take contributions out of a Roth". Well, first of all, learning to build up an emergency fund will instill discipline in you. This discipline will be carried over to other areas of your investing, like retirement. Secondly, we need an emergency fund to keep us from pillaging our IRAs. Compounding only works if you leave the money in the account. Thirdly, the main reason for an emergency fund is for if you lose your job. You CANNOT borrow from your 401(k) if you lose your job. Think about this: you have car insurance ... yet, you are much more likely to get fired or laid off from your job than be in a car accident. So, the emegency fund makes good sense. It is NOT an investment. The emergency fund is an INSURANCE policy, of sorts.)

Youâ€™ll need an emergency fund set up in a CD, money market, or saving account.

If you are working, take advantage of your employerâ€™s 401k, especially if they have matching. If not, open an IRA and put in as much as you can afford. Even small amounts add up over time.

Start small. If you can invest a lump sum, then great. If not, build up an "emergency fund" in a money market or savings account. 3-6 months worth of all your expenses should be the minimum size of the emergency fund. Once you have that well established, start investing in a Roth IRA (assuming your income is low enough) as much as you can afford without feeling stressed by it.

As soon as you have access to a matching 401k take advantage of the maximum amount that the company matches. Never skip out on someone giving you "free" money.

If you're really scraping by, it will take a while to save up. Save $20 a week if that's all you think you can afford, but make sure you don't touch it. When you can afford more, add to that.

For your portfolio, once you actually get going, diversify in moderate to aggressive investments. You're young enough to try for high growth. As you get older, cut back on the more risky stuff.

Concentrate on school, you don't want the distraction of worrying about investments so invest in a 2050 Target Retirement fund from Vanguard (they use index funds) or T. Rowe Price (they use their actively managed funds). They are well diversified and will automatically change allocation as you get older and more conservative.

Invest in Mutual fund

Common to popular belief and the last post at your age you should not save up 3 to 6k in a mmkt or often 3 to 6 months of bills. Now lets think about this, your 25 in law school, or any person young still in college or just graduated and started their first job....chances are you barely have enough income to meet your bills let alone save for 3 to 6 months, odds are it would take a few years....now definately if your working for an employer that offers a 401k and/or matches atleast contribute enough to get all of the match....if you get into a bind as long as the plan allows it and you have atleast 2k vested you can borrow from it, that way your putting your money to work for you in a diversified mix of stocks and bonds as opposed to barely covering inflation in a mmkt. Now outside of that a Roth can be a great investment for retirement as well 4k a year tax free growth as long as you hold it for 5 years, if you do get in a bind you can pull it out after the 5 years but you will have a 10% penalty.

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