juststartinout,

I would take some of the harsh comments with a grain of salt. You are at a position in life and looking to plan for your future. That is all that is important. Learn and make a plan.

For a quick and short read that will give you a lot of the fundamentals for planning a financial future, look at the 13 Steps on the Fool investing home page:

http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/thirteen-steps/index.aspx?...

Time is an investor's friend. Investing is a life-long task. Don't be rushed into investing in something you do not understand. Know what you are investing in and how it can make money for you.

I recommend you try a 30 day free trial of Rule Your Retirement. They have model portfolios of mutual funds and ETF's that are built for varying time frames before and during retirement. For the 30 days, you have full access to the resources and discussion boards. If you don't like it, call the 1-888 number for member services(top of the screen) and you get a full refund. You may find that much more useful.

Gene