In what order should I draw down my accounts in early retirement?

A common early-retirement drawdown order is: cash buffer and taxable brokerage first, then traditional/pre-tax accounts via a conversion ladder or 72(t), and Roth last so it keeps growing tax-free. Spending taxable dollars early gives you penalty-free access while you're under 59½ and lets you harvest capital gains at low rates or run a Roth conversion ladder in the background. But the textbook order isn't absolute — you may intentionally realize some traditional income each year to fill up low brackets and shrink future required minimum distributions, and you may limit income to protect ACA subsidies. The goal is to smooth your lifetime tax bill, not minimize this year's. Coordinate withdrawals with conversions, capital-gains harvesting, and MAGI targets rather than treating each account in isolation. Sketch the sequence at wealthserene.com/tools/fire-calculator.