If you know you want to save for retirement, and know how much you want to set aside, and think you want an 8,9, or 10% return starting now until the daay you retire, you have done 75% of the work.

You have researched "saving", you know you want to invest. The devil is always in the details.

The "last step", IMO, is choosing an asset allocation. The good news is this is flexible. There is not one right answer.

The bad news is this step is quite flexible. "Paralysis by analysis" may result.

Do a little research, make a decision, and use the flexibility to adjust as you learn.

Step 1) Choose a mutual fund company.

suggestions:
a) T Rowe Price
b) Vanguard
c) Fidelity
d) Dodge and Cox

go to the website of each company above and look around. This might be the easiest way to decide.

a) T Rowe Price is best known for their low cost managed funds. T Rowe has been around a long time, and has some mutual funds which are more than 30 years old!

All T Rowe funds are no load. You can open an account in any fund for $0 IF you commit to using the automatic asset builder service (which contributes $50/month minimum).

b) Vanguard is best know an an "index" house. Meaning their "better" funds generally track an index of some type. This yields average performance at a low cost.

The fund "minimums" at Vanguard are much higher than T Rowe. But research this on your own, I only know this based on what I read on discussion groups.

c) Fidelity has the largest offerings of any mutual fund company in the world. Some of it's index funds are cheaper than Vanguards. Some of it's managed funds are more expensive than T Rowe. But if you want a fund which invests in XYZ, more than likley Fidelity has a good choice of how to invest in XYZ.

I do not know fund minimums for Fidelity.

d) Dodge and Cox. D&C is a much smaller version of T Rowe Price, IMO. Managed Value funds which perform quite well.

Fund minimums for an IRA at Dodge and Cox are $1000.

Choosing a fund company has some inertia to it. You can switch houses "anytime", but you might have short term trading fees and more paperwork than if you made a decision based on the fund house.