According to many experts, the key is to prioritize lifestyle and investment decisions from the day you draw your first paycheck. It's never too late. But, if you put lifestyle decisions ahead of savings and investment decisions, you will never create wealth. It's too easy to miscalculate how much income your investments will earn. When you're planning the next 30 or 40 years, a slight miscalculation can mean big changes in living standards later on.
Most financial planners urge people who are considering early retirement to be especially cautious.
Aside from the vagaries of the investment markets, inflation can throw the most careful plan out of whack. Retiring young isn't for everyone. Not only will you be giving up the income you'd be earning if you kept working, you also will lose contributions to your retirement system. For most people, there's also the loss of fringe benefits, which means you'll have to find, and pay for, your own health insurance. Maybe it isn't retirement you want.