Hello Mustachians!
Been lurking for a while, reading everything I can in preparation for opening my first (non-employer) investment accounts and hopefully getting on track for FIRE. I am 28 years old and married, combined gross income of about $145k. I'd like to have the financial flexibility to be able to quit my high-paying, but demanding and stressful, job in 12-15 years, but would probably take up part-time/lower-paying work thereafter to maintain some income. I have about $120k of student debt at 3.855% interest, which I pay approximately $1,1000/month to; no other significant debt (no mortgage).
I currently contribute $9,000/year to my employer's Roth 401K, which more than covers my employer's 3% match (no great investment options in 401k, expense ratios ranging from 0.65 to 0.75). As it stands, I can afford to invest about $25,000/year in addition to my current $9,000 401K contribution (i.e., $34k/year all together). My current plan is to open a Roth IRA, contribute the max $5,500/year to that, and then put the rest, $19,000ish, in a normal taxable account (likely invested in Vanguard total stock market index). Is this sensible in light of my current goal of semi-retirement in 12-15 years? I want access to $20-30K/year to feel comfortable quitting my job, which is why I'm thinking about putting this much into the taxable account--so I can make withdrawals without any penalties in my mid-40s ($19k/year for 15 years at 7% is about $500k, 4% of which is $20k, 6% is $30k; plus I figure in future years I'll be able to put away more than $19k/year in light of raises, etc.).
I guess some other options would be to also open a Roth IRA in my wife's name and max that out before the taxable account, possibly contribute more to my employer's Roth 401k before the taxable account, or pay off my student loans faster. But like I said, I want the flexibility to access $20-30k/year in my mid 40s, so I'm not sure putting more money into the retirement accounts is the right way to go, and my understanding is that the interest rate on my student debt is low enough where I don't need to necessarily pay it off as fast as possible. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.