[Schneed10]

Well to clarify on an IRA, that's just an investment vehicle that allows you to put money into it on a pretax basis, or in the case of a Roth IRA, put money in on an after-tax basis but withdraw the earnings tax free once you reach retirement.

If you're 18, then you likely don't make enough money in a year for the federal government to tax anything, so a traditional IRA is pointless. Like if you're going to college, and then just have a summer job, your annual earnings likely don't exceed the taxable threshold. The whole point of using a traditional IRA is so that you can get a bigger tax refund. But if your earnings don't exceed the taxable threshold, you don't pay any federal taxes anyway, so the traditional IRA does you no good.

In general, unless you are in a high tax bracket (making close to six figures), you want the Roth IRA. You don't get a bigger tax refund, but when you're 60 you can withdraw the money tax free.