Wouldn’t it be nice to retire at 40 or 50, when you’re still young enough to enjoy all the many opportunities for adventure that the world has to offer? This isn’t to say that people aren’t still vital and energetic well into their 60s, 70s, and beyond, but there’s definitely something to be said for playing more than you work.

If early retirement is your goal, you can find ways to make it happen. You simply have to prioritize, keep your eye on the prize, and build wealth appropriately. Here are a few tips to get you on track.

Create a Budget

If you want to build wealth now for a payoff down the road (i.e. early retirement) the first step is to make sure that you’re not spending more than you make and digging yourself deeper into debt by the minute. This requires you to create and follow a budget.

With a proper budget in place to show you money coming in and going out, you should be able to arrange for a surplus that you can contribute to retirement accounts, investment planning, and goals for a sound financial future. It all begins with a solid budget.

Set Up Retirement Accounts

Any specialist in wealth management in San Francisco, Syracuse, or Salt Lake City will tell you that planning for early retirement requires early planning. The sooner you start socking money away for your retirement, the more you’ll earn along the way thanks to compound interest.

Of course, the amount of time you continue investing makes a difference as well. Responsible young adults who start early and contribute religiously to their retirement accounts will exponentially bypass those who start later, or alternately, start early but only contribute to accounts for a short time.

The lesson here is clear. If you want enough money to not only retire early, but live out your twilight years in comfort, starting early and maintaining a schedule of contributions to your retirement accounts is the way to go.

Diversify Investments

Everyone is keen to make their money work for them, and investing is the best way. If your employer offers stock options or an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan), for goodness sake participate – it’s like free money.

As for personal investments, it’s probably best to meet with an investment consultant. This professional can help you to assess the level of risk you’re comfortable with and take steps to get the most from your investment within your set parameters.

Protect Your Wealth

Early retirement will fly out the window if the wealth you’ve built is lost to business debts, a medical crisis, a lawsuit, or some other form of personal catastrophe. In order to stave off disaster, you have to take steps to protect your money. A financial planner can help you to come up with the best solutions.