If your current retirement plan is split between:

• praying for a winning lottery ticket,

• trying to invest in the next Dogecoin,

• and cooking up your own philosopher’s stone

Then this one’s for you!

Planning for an early retirement sounds like a far-fetched dream, but it’s a lot easier than people think. All it takes is a bit of planning and persistence to reach that goal without betting your life savings on something risky. We’ve got your golden ticket.

The Challenge: More Years=More Money

Early retirement creates an interesting puzzle:

1. You need more money (because, duh, you're retiring early)

2. You need that money to grow (without taking wild risks that could blow up your plans)

So you need more money faster, but your investments can’t be overly risky.

Impossible? Wrong. Possible with the magic of…

Catchy.

Here's how to make it happen:

1. Find your number

First things first: how much money do you actually need? Surprisingly, most people don’t even get through this step

Here's the lazy math:

• Take your yearly expenses

• Multiply by 25 (this assumes you'll withdraw 4% per year)

• Add some padding because life loves surprises

Example: Need $50,000/year to live? Your target is roughly $1.25 million.

Pro tip: Add 15-20% to whatever number you calculate. Trust me, future you will thank present you for this buffer.

Want the slightly less lazy math? We built a FREE retirement calculator so you can see exactly how much money you need to retire based on how old you are, when you want to retire, and your expenses. Check it out out here! Click “File” then “Make a copy” or “Download” and play around with it.

2. Growth > Safety (But not by much)

Early retirement means you can't just stick your money in bonds and call it a day. You need growth. But here's the key: smart growth.

Think:

• Low-cost index funds (boring but beautiful - this total stock index ETF, for example)

• Growing sectors (stuff like technology - this global technology index ETF is a good bet)

• Quality dividend companies (because not all dividends are created equal; check out this global quality dividend ETF)

The goal? Capture market returns without betting the farm on any single investment.

Sidenote: why is diversification important in your growth strategy? Because the best investments are never consistent! Check out this article on how the winners have changed over the years!

3. Start early (Like, yesterday early)

Here's the real magic of early retirement: time. And it's not just about having "more time to save." It's about compound interest becoming your best friend instead of just a casual acquaintance.

Look at these numbers:

• Start at 25, invest $1,000/month = $1.7M by age 55

• Start at 35, invest $1,000/month = $640K by age 55

That's the same monthly investment, but starting 10 years earlier more than doubles your money. Wild, right?

Pro tip: If you're reading this and thinking "but I didn't start at 25," don't sweat it. The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is today.

4. Be consistent

Want to know the real secret to early retirement? It's not timing the market. It's not picking the next Amazon. It's boring old consistency.

Here's what that looks like:

• Automatic investments (set it and forget it)

• Regular rebalancing (keep your portfolio on track)

• Staying invested during market drops (when everyone else is panicking)

The trick? Make it automatic. Your investments should be like your Netflix subscription - money that just comes out every month without you thinking about it.

And here's the really important part: Stay invested when things get scary. The biggest gains often come right after the biggest drops. Missing just the 10 best days in the market can cut your returns in half.

The Bottom Line

Early retirement isn't about getting lucky with a meme stock or timing the market perfectly. It's about being systematic, strategic, and just smart enough to not do anything stupid.

Think of it like cooking: You don't need to be a master chef, but you do need to follow a recipe and not burn down the kitchen. Yes, chef!