A lot of us dream of retiring at an early age - the earlier the better. More often than not, it's an established irony in life that the young will have little money to spend but a lot of youthful energy, and the old will have enough money to enjoy life but often won't have the strength to do the things they might have once wanted to. In either case, you have a miserable imbalance of financial capacity versus personal vigor.

Now, a lot of young to middle aged people dream of retirement; a freedom from responsibility and work, yet with enough money to be able to live their lives in comfort. For most people, it remains a dream and nothing more. Still, there have been a few people lucky and skilled enough to enjoy early retirements in their youth to early middle age, and here are some sage pieces of advice that may help you do the same.

Don't Rely On Luck/Divine Providence - this definitely won't work. There's no need to spit on luck, since it definitely helps, but no matter how lucky you are, the moment you start relying on luck to give you something vital, like a million dollar deal, then often that's when it will turn sour, and usually in the worst way possible. If you're born lucky then be thankful, but keep relying on your own brains and muscle to get by.

Use everything you've got - for some reason or another, some people are squeamish or reluctant to use a resource they have. For example, some kids from well to do families turn their backs on their families in pride, wanting to "make it" on their own. Consider that anything and everything is a tool towards building your future, from your intellect and skills to your family and friends. This does not mean become a "user"; rather, it simply means that if you have something on hand that can be applied to solving a problem and making your life easier and better, it would be both foolishness and a waste not to use it.

Save Up and Spend Wisely - this is the biggest mistake of the youth. Wether it is due to peer pressure, curiosity, or mass media influence, kids will usually wind up buying things that they don't really need. There's nothing wrong with hobbies, but if you blow 90 percent of your monthly paycheck on comics or your car, then you'll be hurting a few years down the road. Keep expenditures in moderation and save up a lot. Don't be a miser however; spend on things which will give you a good return on investment down the road; land rarely depreciates, and is a good example of this. As for savings, bank time deposit accounts give higher interest rates than regular accounts, and are good ways to regulate your expenditure too.

Develop a Self Sustaining Business - this is one of the best ways to retire early, if you can pull it off. Some businesses are so in demand, yet have low overhead costs and require little effort, that once they gain momentum you can lean back and just check on it periodically and it will still run like clockwork. One example of this is network marketing. While some ARE scams, the legitimate ones work wonders once you get them going, and can keep high volumes of income going while requiring very little input.