<prompt> Human: So, the thought of working until my mid to late 60s is terrifying. I am trying to create a plan for retiring by age 50, but I have no idea where to start. I live in the US, but I want to plan as if Social Security funds wont exist. My current income and expenses are listed below...Annual gross income Approximately 90kCurrent emergency fund balance 15kCurrent 401k balance 17k401k contributions 20 of gross income, plus my employer gives another 3Current Traditional IRA balance rolled over from previous employer 5kCurrent Roth IRA balance 0 planning on putting in 5500 before end of yearDebt Approximately 2k interest free, will be paid off September 2019Net Income AFTER 401k contributions, Roth IRA contributions, taxes, healthdentalvision insurance premiums 40,904 annual 3,409 monthlyMONTHLY EXPENSES...Rent includes insurance 1000Utility Bill including electric water 155Gas Utility Bill 20Cable Internet 25Cell Phone 85Tollway Charges 15Debt Payments this will end September 2019 165Dog Expenses food, vet, meds, etc. 25Car Insurance 150Gasoline for Car 100Medications and Doctor Visits 100Food, Entertainment, Clothing, Household Necessities,Toiletries: 910 basically I give myself 210 weekly to cover non-fixed or highly variable costsVacation, Gifts, other larger variable expenses car repairs, etc. 450TOTAL 3,190Monthly Net Income - Monthly Expenses 219 monthly 2,628 annual surplusMy rent is already prepaid through April of 2019, so Im not actually paying anything for rent right now - but Im still factoring it in. Im planning on using the extra funds building up to invest the full 5500 limit in a Roth IRA before the tax year is over since I havent put anything into it yet.Im not going to have children, and I dont plan on ever buying a house. My car is a 2008 Subaru Impreza sedan, but only has 50,000 miles on it - so I assume it will last quite a while longer. I will drive it until it quits, and then probably buy another used car for around 15k in cash.With my 401k and my Roth IRA already being maxed out, the only other option for what to do with my 2,628 annual surplus would be private investments... right? Ive been using a ton of retirement calculators, inflation calculators, and compound interest calculators to try to figure out what Ill need versus what Ill have by the time Im 50 years old. The complicated part is - how do I make sure I have enough in private investments by the time Im 50 to last me until I can withdraw from my 401k and IRA penalty-free at age 59? Should I actually be putting LESS in my 401kIRA now, and more in private investments... then increase my 401kIRA contributions as I get older??Its all so confusing. I dont even know where to begin with the private investments either, as Ive never done it before.Assistant: You make 90k a year. It shouldnt take you a year to pay off a 2k debt. Take 2k from your emergency fund and be done with it. You can use that 165month to throw back into your emergency fund until your content with the balance.Human: Thanks for the feedback. Can you clarify why I would do this when the debt is interest free?  <response>: If the debt is interest free there is no need to prioritize it over investing. My guess is that the poster assumed that the debt wasnt interest free, as most of them tend to be 