I have a 401k at my work with a few thousand in it. Soon I'll be out of debt (next month, yay!) and after I save up my long term emergency fund, I want to start investing. There is one basic thing that I am a little confused about: Roth IRA, just invest, or do both. I'm not sure what's best in my situation.
I'm planning on getting my savings rate as high as I can once I move out and hope to retire in 10-15 years, well before I'm age 59 1/2, the age I could take out money from a Roth IRA without penalties.
My income is only $38,500 and I live in the SF Bay Area. Right now my expenses do not include rent since I'm living with my parents temporarily.
Let's say when I move out I'm able to invest $1300-$1400 per month. Would that be enough for me to invest in both a Roth IRA and separate individual investing so I could retire early? Should I max out the Roth IRA? Or would it be better to just invest without the Roth so more of the money could go toward the early retirement?
Just to be clear, I don't have a Roth IRA right now, just the 401k from work (which includes a little employer contribution). I haven't adjusted the percentages of what goes in there, so it's the standard, since I've been in debt and wanted most of my money to pay off debt. I've worked there about 3-4 years so I'm vested now.
Just not sure how I should go about it once I've got the money to invest in November (when I'll likely move out with emergency fund).
Any thoughts? Thanks.