[mbhunter]

I'll chime in on this one, too. Leasing is a very expensive way to drive -- probably the most expensive. You have a lower payment than if you purchase through financing, but you never own the vehicle. Usually to get the low payment you have a large amount "due at signing." Plus, they'll charge you when you turn it in if it's in bad condition or if you drive more than your alloted mileage. They're covering themselves well above and beyond any depreciation the vehicle suffers while you're driving it.

Basically, if you add up the down payment plus the payments throughout the lease lifetime, it will almost certainly be more than if you bought the car and sold it when you were done with it. Just run the numbers.

I have a post on my website about this (in the "Shopping" category).

If you will be able to get $5k for your car, why not look for a quality used one and pay cash? I think absolutely that's the better way to go (definitely the "pay cash" part).

Regarding the Roth IRA: You contribute with after-tax money, but it grows tax-free, and you can withdraw it in retirement tax-free. There are federal limits on how much you can contribute per year (I think for 2005 it's $4,000). Any company will charge fees to manage your IRA -- through a flat yearly fee and/or a percentage of the assets. Vanguard funds have some of the lower fees around, but again, run the numbers from the prospectuses (prospecta?) to see what kind of chunk they take out. I think Vanguard index funds are only about 0.2% fees -- very low -- but you also have to ask yourself if you want money in stocks right now.

I can't tell you what return you should get or where to put your money -- just read up and make an informed decision. The good news is that you have a LOT of time, so a couple of bad decisions now won't kill your retirement, and you'll certainly be ahead of most of the country regardless of what you invest in.