I want to challenge the conventional wisdom that you should max your tax-advantaged accounts before investing in a taxable brokerage.

The standard order is right most of the time. But there's a scenario where it breaks down: early retirement, where you need to access investment funds before 59.5.

If you're on a FIRE path targeting retirement at 45 and you put every available dollar into tax-advantaged accounts, you have a 14-year gap between early retirement and when you can access those accounts without penalty (unless you use the Roth conversion ladder or substantially equal periodic payments).

For early retirees, a taxable brokerage account is essential — it provides the bridge between early retirement and account accessibility.

The revised order for early retirement planning: get the 401k match, max HSA, max Roth IRA, then split between maxing the rest of the 401k and building a taxable brokerage. The split depends on your expected gap between early retirement and account accessibility.