<prompt> Human: As a college grad starting out as an accountant, I am well aware of the tax consequences of Roth and regular 401Ks. I have a budget to save some income, and personally would prefer to continue putting it in dividend stocks and ETFs in a brokerage account. I really want some flexibility, while the cost and rules of dealing with mutual funds rather than paying 10 a trade to buy essentially the same ETF seems pointless to me. With tax benefits I guess it makes more sense. SO: Is putting half my savings budget in a brokerage account irresponsible? I will definitely have SOME 401K savings, but am I being irresponsible to put 3-4 of my income in a 401K, and putting 5-6 in a brokerage account to save up for rental property or other investments?Saving for rental property in the next 5-10 years is something Im really interested in, so putting my entire savings toward retirement 40 years down the road is harder to commit to.Assistant: am I being irresponsible to put 5-6 of my income in a brokerage account to save up for rental property?yes you are being very irresponsible by subjecting money you will be using in 5-10 years to market risk.Human: Could you elaborate? I dont think that leaving money in a bank account earning nothing for 5-10 years would be smart.  <response>: Then put it in a CD or TIPS or a short term bond.Are you considering sticking money you will use very soon into a fund that could significantly devalue? Do you not see a problem here? 