Is your IRA mony in a Roth or Traditional, or both? Early on, I made the mistake of thinking that I could not withdraw anything from my ROTH IRA so I quit contributing for a while as I was pursing early retirement, I was wrong, you can withdraw your CONTRIBUTIONS with no taxes or penalties (with a few conditions), just not your EARNINGS. You can also put money in a 401(k) or Traditional IRA, then roll it to your ROTH at a later date when you are in a lower tax bracket, almost a certainty if you retire early. You are probably right at the 15/25% tax bracket line after deductions so tax planning can have a profound impact on your savings results. Unfortunatly, this type of tax planning can get real complicated real quick. If you take the time to REALLY educate yourself on retirement accounts and tax implications, there are very few cases where it doesn't make sense to continue funding tax advantaged retirement accounts, at least to some degree, vs fully taxable accounts.