Need opinion for another investment

I am pretty new to investing. I currently am taking advantage of my companies 401(k) and I am investing up to there maximum contribution. These are all American Funds. I also have a monthly contribution to TIAA-CREF to invest in their Equity Index fund as well as a auto deduct to ING Direct Savings. As of right now I am putting away about 11% of my salary. Was curious what you guys thought about investing another $50 and putting it into another fund or investing in ETFs. I have been told that for that minimal amount that ETFs are not the best idea for me. I have been looking around to see who offers a minimum of only $50 a month as long as I do auto w/drawl from my checking account. I have found TIAA-CREF, and T. Rowe Price. I would really like to put this $50 away or else I will be spending it on useless items. I could put it into savings I guess. What do you guys think? If you think I should put into another fund which one. I have seen from reading that T. Rowe Price has a higher fees involved but I just cannot take the plunge and give out $3,000 to Vanguard like I would really like to. Let me know what your opinions are.

Why not start it off at T Rowe Price or TIAA Creff - do the $50 a month, then when you reach 3000, transfer it over to Vanguard. Or, save the $50 in a savings account until you reach the 3000.

When using TIAA Creff make sure that it is not a variable annuity they have started offering more mutual funds, but just because something has the word mutual fund does not mean it isn't attached to an annuity. If you don't understand how annuities work e-mail me off-line and I'll explain them. Most people do not need to use them and they can be very expensive.

The problem I see with sticking $50 per month in Exchange-traded funds is that each time you make a purchase, you will be charged a trading commission. At $50 a month, your commissions would really eat into your potential returns.

Do you currently have an emergency fund in place?

JLP

http://AllThingsFinancial.blogspot.com

ever thought of any of this kind of programs ??