After an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the next stop for any stock market strategy is to invest in other tax-advantaged accounts, such as a traditional or Roth individual retirement account. You can open an IRA at an online broker — many brokerages don’t require an account minimum, and you won’t be investing any of your money until you’re ready to do so. These days, brokerages are pretty similar to banks. The major difference is that with brokers, you’ll have access to the stock market when you’re ready to invest.
You can contribute up to $6,000 a year ($7,000 if you are 50 or older) to an IRA, either to one account or a combination of both these types of IRAs. Each has different tax advantages, so check out which IRA is best for you. And if you max an IRA out for the year, you can always continue investing in a taxable brokerage account — these are also opened at an online broker, but they don’t offer the tax perks of an IRA.