Two very easy IRA questions (I think)

On #1 you are correct - it was funded as a rollover. As for adding $ to it now - it is not associated with a current employer so as far as I am aware you can not fund it directly from your paycheck. I'd suggest that you call the company and see if they can do a directly withdrawal from your bank - if not perhaps you can set up an automatic bill pay to them to fund it.

All that being said, you can open another IRA - there are typically no fees and low or no minimums - this would allow you to diversify if that is something that interests you. I have been using Scottrade for the past 5 or so years and have been happy but there are a ton of companies that have different offerings. The only 2 pieces of advice that I'd give is be sure that you are comfortable with the level of risk you are taking on and also do something sooner rather than later - no matter how big or little - over time with compound interest it adds up.

 

Questions about taxes are never simple or easy. Since you have the accounts at Vanguard, they'd be the first people to ask. Otherwise consult a tax attorney or the IRS itself. You can actually get very good and friendly advice from the IRS. They have a phone line just for that, I believe. Any advice you get on the internet is probably less than worthless. (And yes, I know there's a silly paradox in that statement.)

 

There's an exception to every rule. Including the one about exceptions.

 

If there's an exception to the rule that states "there's an exception to every rule," does that mean that there are no exceptions, ever? Or does it mean that the rule that states "there's an exception to every rule," is invalid if true?

I just did. Nothing untoward happened. I got a page of hits related to Google.

And by the way, was it intentional, or unintentional, that Google is not spelled the same as the quantity "googol" (ten raised to the power of a hundred)?

 

A roll-over from a 401k is pre-tax savings; you do not co-mingle that money with after-tax contributions unless you want a tax reporting nightmare and the IRS asking you to pay the equivalent of income taxes twice.

It is true that a traditional IRA (tIRA) has the same taxation rules as a rollover 401k and the contributions can be co-mingled, but if you do not know what you are doing then the simper path is to simply open another tIRA at vanguard. You can always combine them at a later date.

Unsolicited advice: if you are in the 15% tax bracket or lower at the marginal tax rate you are contributing from, consider Roth. It is more flexible than IRA in withdrawls, leaves open the possibility of retirement taxation being less than a IRA, since the chance your retirement tax rate will be less than 15% is doubtful, and lets you contribute more each year because the maximum amounts you may contribute are the same each year, but the Roth is after-tax, allowing you to contribute 1/(1-marginal-rate) more than an IRA as an end (after taxation) effect.

Vanguard has active forums where you will find informed advice.
Read a tutorial on retirement savings. fool.com is quite good -- just stay away from their investment advice.

Once you have the basics down, read this thread:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/194441/
There is noise, but a *lot* of good advice, too. The rating system can help you separate the two.

 

401k money in a rollover IRA can be rolled back into another 401k at a future employer. Normal IRA money cannot.

If you want to contribute more money from your checking account, it would normally be placed in a separate Traditional IRA account. You can have multiple different IRA accounts. I do.

This sounds like just a normal Traditional IRA with some scrambled wording. Am I missing something?

Whether the contribution ends up being before-tax or after-tax depends on your eligibility at tax time. Over the years you keep track of after-tax contributions so they are not double-taxed upon withdrawal, but this is not as good a vehicle for after-tax contributions as Roth -- if you are eligible for Roth.

NB: I am answering based on rules at least a couple years old. Rules have since changed, mostly in the direction of increased flexibility.