401k's Roths and Financial Independence

[Jerry Thompson]

Hey all!

Super new to BP but I've been scouring the site for info about using retirement funds to invest, and their overall value compared to REI. The amount of knowledge is overwhelming, but I'm hanging in there.

My 401k and Roth used to be my rock, literally my goal to becoming financially independent, but I'm seeing now how thin simply maxing out a Roth account is for me as a plan. I'm 27 now, and think I have a shot at retiring before 35 through real estate. I'm not sure why I thought my 401k would get me there alone! My current job doesn't offer a match and I haven't been able to contribute to my Roth so this new strange space opened me up to finding the awesome community here

I thought I'd ask for some steering direction from those who have some experience so I can talk to a local professional (Dallas, TX) for the details/next steps. I've read about self directed IRAs (just learned about them) and I am also totally cool with gutting my accounts. I'm planning to use some of the money I do have saved to buy my first cashflowing property. I'm also interested in note investing and being a lender if terms make sense. The cash world speaks to me right now. I don't know how a rollover IRA compares to a roth in terms of taxation (this is all kind of confusing!) Some help would be appreciated so I can plan and position myself!

Currently I have:

$23k = rollover IRA

$13.5k = Roth IRA

*If it's of any importance, I'm unmarried, renting, no kids, and under-employed right now looking for an opportunity that matches my  normal salary range of $60-70k.

**thanks so much in advance, and if you're in the DFW area I'm happy to connect!!

***I tried to look up others with similar questions on the forum, If I missed it, my apologies!