re: Am I over thinking this...Roth v. Traditional IRA

One thing that's good about Roths, especially early in life when you don't have much yet, is that they are a great place for your emergency fund because you can withdraw at any time immediately up to the amount you contributed, while earnings grow tax-free.

Just make sure you invest the emergency fund part very conservatively (cash or cash equivalents) because you don't want your emergency money to be subject to major fluctuations just when you need it.

Of course, you can do this for awhile and when you're satisfied you have enough stashed away you can start contributing to a traditional IRA for retirement.

But a Roth is always > savings for emergency money.