re: How much money do you put towards retirement from each paycheck?

Before you start putting into retirement, you need to have at least three-months-worth of bills set aside for an emergency. Once you have that, then put 15% of your take home into a retirement account (I would say max out a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) before adding to a traditional 401(k) or IRA). Mutual funds are the way to go, since you get diversification immediately.