Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

It's not a matter of not having the money (although I need to do a little to make it liquid), it's a matter of not knowing what the hell I'm doing and how to set it up properly...

I think the ideal thing would be to set up the account, sell some of my holdings in my ETrade account that are long-term capital gains (15% tax, and only on the gain, not on the gross) which is below my marginal income tax bracket anyway (so it's better than using post-tax income to fund it). Put it into a traditional IRA and then immediately move into a Roth (backdoor). And then that helps me diversify my stock from only two companies I hold.

Maybe some of the folks on the board can tell me if I'm completely stupid for thinking that's the optimal idea.

But the question I have is... What do I need to do to make this happen? Can I do this on my own via some online option (I think Vanguard)? Are there simple ways to do the backdoor Roth online without the use of a financial advisor?

My wife worked at schwab.  You can do just about anything you want to do on their website without help.  However help is just a phone call away if you need it.