I have recently discovered MMM and have become inspired to retire early! However, I have a question about the best investments for my taxation scenario.
I am a married educator with three kids. Because I have a very low effective tax rate right now, I have been putting most of my money into a Roth IRA. I figure it is a smarter choice than a traditional IRA, 403(B), or 457 because I may actually be in a higher tax bracket when I retire.
I know that if I retire early and begin withdrawing from my Roth I will have to pay a 10% (which actually may not be a huge deal). My question is why should I not just put the money into a personal brokerage account? I am paying very little in taxes now, I would not have to pay capital gains because of my tax bracket, and I wouldn't have to pay a 10% penalty to withdraw the money. So it seems it would make more sense to put it in a personal brokerage account? But I feel like I am missing something. For what reasons would it be better for me to put money into my Roth instead of a personal brokerage account?
I am also curious as to what order you think I should fund my retirement. I have been putting most money into a Roth and a little bit into a 457 (which is nice because I won't have to pay an early withdraw penalty).
Here is the order I was thinking of: Roth, personal account, 457, and then 403 (B). What do you think?
Thanks again for all of your help. I have already learned so much!