For millions of Americans, an Individual Retirement Account is a critical piece of their retirement plan. If you are eligible for an IRA, you should be contributing to it each and every year, period.

But if you want to make the very most of your IRA, you must avoid the mistakes that cost many people dearly.

Let's take a look at the nine most common.

Next: IRA Mistake #1: Not Contributing Because of Stock Market Volatility