Soon to be IRA money

[mtgordon]

What do you do with your 5k (someone said the limit was raised this year right?) that you are going to put in your IRA January 1st? I have an extra 1k/month that I invest. However I'm not sure if I should keep putting that money in the market (and take it out in a few months) or if I should just save it up for the IRA.

If I put it into an ETF I have to pay bid/ask twice (no commission due to Zecco) and then taxes on returns. If I stick it in HSBC I feel like I'm not getting enough out of my money. So what's the best thing to do with your IRA money between now and January 1st?