I am self-employed, and the only retirement account I have is a ROTH IRA that I max. In looking to put additional funds in the market it's hard for me to avoid the conventional wisdom that it's important to max retirement accounts (for me that would mean opening a SEP IRA) at a young age. I am now 23 and conservatively I feel pretty confident I'll be able to retire if I so choose in my early 40s, hopefully sooner depending on how my income continues to grow. When I see the harsh penalties on drawing early from retirement accounts they don't seem like the right choice but of course I also hope to be alive at age 60 and beyond so maybe these accounts are just for that time, and I need something else (what?) to draw from for my possible early retirement? What should I do?