Thanks - this leads to the following questions / comments:
1) I'm reading the 2018 tax table showing 0% taxes on qualified dividends with incomes up to $101,400, for MFJ ($77,400 + $24,000 standard deduction); just want to confirm I'm doing it right
1A) also to confirm that once I lose the kids, I go back to only $24,000 in withdrawals completely tax free, then about $43k with an effective rate of $2k / 5%, then up to my $70k I'd owe the $5k / 8% I referenced before (conversion income only, dividends should be good all the way to $101k still)
this leads naturally to 2) should I be saving such that by my FI age, my 401k balance doesn't have a balance larger than 25x ~$60,500 / year and investing so that my taxable account kicks off $10k in qualified dividends?
2.5) I guess really the comparison math is tax rate today (what I avoid with pre-tax contributions), vs withdrawal tax rate. Since I'm in the 22%, probably always worth it?
I'm just trying to get the gist of how I should think about my withdrawal plan. I'm been contributing about 1/3 pre-tax, roth, taxable, but think I'm going to switch to max pre-tax, rest taxable, based on the tax implications