<prompt> Human: My fiance and I have merged finances already in every way and are getting married in the next 60 days. Together, we bring in about 137kyr and have around 100k left post tax. Were both currently contributing 10 each to our 401ks through our employer; however, my employer offers no match and her employer offers a dollar for dollar match up to 4. While we do have some debt 30k between a car note and student loans, the rate were paying it off it will be all gone in the next 6-12 months. Once that debt is gone, well easily be able to save 50 of our take home after 401k contributions every month. Realizing our position, my question is this...what investment vehicles are best suited to retiring before 60? I recognize the tax benefits of the 401k and IRA but if I cant tap into that money before Im appx. 60 yo I cant really retire early. EDIT: Should clarify that I have a 6 month emergency fund built up and own my own home that has already appreciated 25 in value since purchase. EDIT: Just wow at the response to this first of all. Ive taken a ton of time to read through this and like a lot of the ideas, Ive always had a high tolerance for risk so things like real estate that are a bit more hands on and tangible seem feasible to me. The idea of getting an income stream right away is appealing. I live in Houston and real estate prices to buy here are insanely cheaper than the rest of the country. Rent on the other hand is so inflated due to demand and 600 sq ft apts can easily rent for 1300. Something Ill def look into. Also while I get where people are coming from saying dont get married...we both come from families where divorce just doesnt really happen. Weve had extensive talks on the subject and we have the ability to communicate well enough to work through our issues. now its no guarantee, but yeah, its kind of unreasonable to just go up to her and say reddit says to get rid of you so I can retire by 45!!! Well see about kids...were both on the fence for a variety of reasons but its not something in the immediate future.  <response>: I recognize the tax benefits of the 401k and IRA but if I cant tap into that money before Im appx. 60 yo I cant really retire early.I am an early retiree. I retired long before age 60 and the lack of access to retirement plans was no issue. At some point along the way you will almost certainly max out your retirement plans and accumulate assets in taxable accounts. Ive been retired for quite some time and still havent touched my retirement plans. In fact, I wont access those until Im forced to at age 70. People who are serious about retiring early tend to err on the side of safety, because you really do need to plan for a worst case scenario. So theres a high probability that youll max your retirement plans and accumulate assets in taxable accounts as well - maybe not now, but at some point. And, of course, you can go with 72t distributions if you have no other option.Theres another advantage to living off taxable accounts in the early years few are aware of: your income tax rate will be zero. What this generally means is that not only will you pay zero income tax, youll be able to actually INCREASE your income and still pay zero income tax. This will enable you to transfer from a Traditional IRA if you have one to a Roth IRA and pay zero tax on the transfer because your taxable income is so low. This means you will NEVER pay income tax on that money. No tax was paid when the was put into the Traditional IRA because taxes are deferred in Traditional IRAs, and no tax was paid when the money was transferred to the Roth because your taxable income was so low you owed zero tax - even including the Roth transfer. Dont ignore bankruptcy and judgment youre sued by someone issues when youre investing. This is an obscure area that few know or post about, but it could be critical to you at some point. There are things you can do to protect your assets in case the worst happens. At the very least you should know how these laws could possibly impact you.Dont ignore long-term care. You will eventually get old, and while this may not be something you need to be concerned about immediately, dont forget to address it at some point. You need to think this through and decide whats best for you.I would suggest you to seek advice from people who have actually retired early. The forum at Firecalc used to be quite good in that regard. I havent been active there for some time, but the forum used to be excellent and Id suggest you check it out. Youre likely to get more in depth and knowledgeable input there. Firecalc itself the calculator is quite good as well. The information in this forum tends to be pretty superficial.Good luck to you! 