<prompt> Human: So I got my first job out of school, and just hit my first promotion with a pay bump. I also happened to just pay off my carwhich I might sell soon, because the bus works just fine for me. I have already been maxing my 401k and hsa. I now am debating either saving a chunk of change for an investment opportunity or a down payment on a house or just putting it all in an IRA. I have no debt besides monthly cc of which I always pay the full balance, live in Seattle with a really small rental payment, but dont have much saved up just a few thousand. I have an ambitious goal to retire early, but hopefully in the near-ish future I will be married and have some kids, which obviously pushes the retirement date out, but Im still committed. I am happy to talk real numbers if you all want details, but what do you do after maxing all tax-advantaged accounts? I am not sure purchasing a home is what I want to do.  <response>: Sounds like you dont have a 6-month emergency fund; get that first. After that, max out the IRA. 