Hey jamreed.
That's right. When it comes to saving our finances, there is no such thing as a dumb question! In fact, I find that the wiser tend to ask more questions than those whom I find to be ignorant, but I digress....
Life insurance: Since you have 3 kids, I believe it should be immediate.
Online banking: It's good, but it's not as good as actually having money in the bank. Any bank. Personally, I don't have one yet either, but when my savings become sizeable enough for it to matter, then I'll go online. In other words, I wouldn't worry about it right now.
Emergency fund: Say no to CDs! Emergencies are inherently unpredictable, and therefore, your emergency fund should behave like the EMS in that it should ready to roll at a moment's notice. The purpose of CDs run contrary to that philosophy, although once you get to a certain point, laddering them is a worthwhile option. For now, I also wouldn't worry about CDs.
Retirement funds: If you company has 401k with employer matching, I would look into that first. Otherwise, yes, I recommend saving up some funds and opening up an IRA with Vanguard for example. Here's a
LINK to help you get started.
I will say this about IRAs: Yes, it does matter. IRAs are nothing more than a tax umbrella. That's it. However, just about any kind of investments can be found within that umbrella. Others such as Sweeps can probably articulate all this better than I can anyway.