Q. I was going over your "6 simple rules for a successful IRA." Can you tell me if it's safer to invest in Vanguard Retirement 2035 or Vanguard Total Stock Index?

A. We don't offer advice on specific stocks or mutual funds. But we can give you some general guidance about how to think about your savings and the type of mutual funds you invest in. We encourage investors with new IRAs or 401(k) plans to start with targeted or lifecycle funds such as the Vanguard Retirement 2035.

While we understand you're worried about safety, that shouldn't be your only concern. You also need to worry about earning a significant return on your savings, so that you'll have enough money for a secure retirement. One of the biggest mistakes young workers make is putting too much money into safe investments that pay so little they have no chance of saving enough to live on when they're older. Since you aren't planning to retire until 2035, you're young enough to take some risks and weather some of the stock market's inevitable setbacks. A targeted or lifecycle fund will balance your need to take more risk and build value more quickly while you're young, and then shift its focus to less volatile stocks and bonds as you near retirement and need the money.