<prompt> Human: My funds are mostly in stock market ETFs. Given my time until retirement age, I dont think it makes sense to keep putting a lot away into tax-protected retirement accounts when I may want it sooner. This goes against prevailing wisdom, so Id love to hear any ideas to the contrary.I have no debt, a paid-for vehicle, a 6 month emergency fund, and I dont own a house. I live in California though, so housing prices are a bit daunting. Edit: thanks a bunch for all the advice! Ill be checking out rfinancialindependence a lot more going forward. Ill also probably turn up my 401k and Roth IRA contributions to the max for a while, knowing that there are some clever options for starting to withdraw earlier than 60 without paying a penalty.  <response>: Max out retirement accounts because you CAN access those prior to 59.5 years old easiest way is SEPP substantially equal periodic payments if you choose to retire early. Once retirement accounts are maxed out i.e. 18k per year in 401k; 5,500 per year in IRA, then go bananas on brokerage account. Godspeed! 