There’s a lot of advice out there about how you can earn extra money to put toward retirement saving, and that’s definitely important. Without adequate savings, retirement can be stressful. But earmarking money for retirement is only the first in a series of strategic moves you have to make if you want to live comfortably after quitting the workforce.

You also have to decide where you’re going to put that money so you can maximize your gains and minimize your taxes. The right strategy looks different for everyone, but I know where I’m putting my savings first this year — and it could be the right choice for you, too.

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I don’t want to worry about taxes in retirement

I like to start out the year by contributing the maximum to my Roth IRA. For most people, that’s $7,000 if you’re under 50 or $8,000 if you’re 50 or older. However, there are income phaseouts for high earners and some people can’t contribute directly to a Roth IRA at all.

I don’t have this issue, so I set aside as much as I can. You fund Roth IRAs with after-tax dollars, which means you don’t get a tax break in the year you make contributions. The upside is that you won’t owe taxes on your withdrawals once you turn 59 1/2 and have had your account for at least five years.

This is huge because the IRS effectively treats these retirement withdrawals as if they never happened. That gives you greater control over how much you pay in taxes in retirement. With a mix of traditional and Roth savings, you can take money from your tax-deferred accounts, which have taxable retirement withdrawals, until you near the upper limit of your tax bracket. Then, you can switch to Roth savings for the remainder of the year to avoid jumping up to the next tax bracket.

You can also withdraw your Roth IRA contributions tax- and penalty-free at any age. I don’t plan to do this because I save for emergencies elsewhere. Making these withdrawals can slow the growth of your retirement savings. But in a pinch, it’s a nice option to have.

I like the control it gives me over my investments

As an independent contractor, I don’t have a 401(k) or a workplace retirement plan. That means I don’t have access to perks like an employer 401(k) match. But the accounts I use, including my Roth IRA, make up for this somewhat by giving me greater freedom to control my investments.

Often, 401(k)s limit your investment choices. You may not like the options available to you, and they may charge high fees. But you usually have to pick one of them if you want to invest in that account.

That’s not the case with Roth IRAs. There are far fewer restrictions on what you can invest in. Experienced investors can select individual stocks or funds if they’d like. There are also more hands-off investments like target-date funds that you often see in 401(k)s.

This kind of flexibility can give you greater control over your returns and the fees you pay. By keeping your costs down, you ensure that more of your gains stay in your pocket. It’s not impossible to do this with a 401(k), but it can be more challenging, depending on the options your employer makes available to you.

If a Roth IRA isn’t right for you

A Roth IRA may not suit you if you have a high income. For one, you can run into the income limits, though it’s possible to skirt these with a backdoor Roth IRA. But you might also prefer to save in a traditional IRA or 401(k) instead so you can enjoy an upfront tax break. If you expect your income to drop significantly in retirement, you may pay a smaller percentage of your income in taxes then.

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