Ever wonder how some people manage to walk away from work years before everyone else?
On average, Americans surveyed said 58 is the ideal age for retirement, according to a recent Empower report that polled 1,001 adults. That’s significantly younger than the age at which most people actually retire.
GOBankingRates spoke with Anna Baluch, finance expert at BestMoney, who works with ultra-wealthy clients, and said it’s not luck — and it’s definitely not just a massive paycheck.
Again and again, the clients who retired early shared a handful of smart, intentional habits that quietly did the heavy lifting.
Here are the key things they did differently.
They Set a Clear Retirement Target — Not Just a Savings Habit
Many people save consistently but never define a specific retirement goal, Baluch explained.
“Without a concrete target, it’s easy to assume you’re ‘doing fine’ while missing opportunities to accelerate progress,” she said.
That clarity changes everything. When people know the age they want to retire and the number they need to reach, saving becomes strategic instead of passive. Contributions increase, investments are chosen more intentionally, and lifestyle adjustments happen earlier — not in a panic years later.
A defined target turns retirement from a vague idea into a plan you can actually execute.
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They Knew Their Number — and Let It Guide Daily Choices
“Early retirees almost always had a clear target, whether it was a specific age, portfolio size, or annual spending number,” said Baluch.
That clarity shaped daily decisions, such as choosing lower-cost housing or prioritizing investments over discretionary purchases.
Instead of relying on vague milestones, they treated their target like a filter for everyday spending. Big decisions — and plenty of small ones — were weighed against whether they moved them closer to early retirement or quietly pushed it further away.
Over time, those choices compounded. Living slightly below their means, investing the difference, and staying aligned with a clear goal helped them build momentum years before most people even start thinking seriously about retirement.
They Worked Backward From the Life They Wanted
A practical solution, Baluch explained, is to work backwards from the lifestyle you want in retirement.
“Estimating annual expenses and building a realistic target gives savings a purpose and turns abstract investing into a measurable plan,” she said.
By starting with lifestyle instead of age, the goal became tangible.
Knowing what they wanted their days to look like — where they’d live, how they’d spend their time, and what they’d prioritize — made the numbers feel real, not restrictive.
That approach also made it easier to spot gaps early and adjust course, whether that meant saving more, investing differently, or rethinking certain expenses long before retirement was on the line.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Financial Advisor: My Wealthiest Clients Retired Early After Doing These 3 Things
