Being able to retire early does not depend on how much money you earn—in fact, it depends on what you do with the money that can help you create wealth. Being able to live beyond comfortably in this economy is already tough to do, what more if you wish to retire early? Yes, retiring early is hard and is virtually impossible to do; however, some people can do it. And it is not because that they were rich in the first place, it is because of their discipline to save and to be frugal. So, if you wish to attain financial freedom just like they did, read on for the tips on how to save money for retirement listed below:

1. Save more- This tip would obviously be the first one on the list. Why? Because it is impossible to build wealth if you do not save. Therefore, make sure that you have the discipline to set aside a certain amount of money every month. Once you get the hang of it, the next step is to increase the amount every six months or every year. Remember, inflation is inevitable and if you keep on saving the same amount for the past five years, you might not be able to keep up with the economy which might leave you with no sufficient savings at all.
   
   
2. Join savings movements- There are movements which focus on early retirements. What these movements do is to combine the high rates of savings and a frugal lifestyle. They are able to save as much as 75% of their income instead of just the traditional 10% to 15% allowing them to attain financial freedom much faster.
   
   
3. Save or at least half of your quarterly and annual bonuses- When people receive their bonuses or tax refunds, they usually feel entitled to spend them. However, the wise thing to do is to plan on saving or investing them. Yes, you might need to spend the money on someplace else but you should also save at least half of them. For example, if you invest your $1000 annual bonus every year at 6% interest over 30 years, you would have about $84000 to be used for your retirement. And if there is a need for you to withdraw a part of that money, let's say, 4%, it could still add about $3350 a year to your income.
   
   
4. Automate your savings- When you try to save manually, chances are high that you are not able to do so every month but if you set your accounts with automatic transfers, you will be able to save a fixed amount taken automatically from your account. In this way, you will be forced to save and you will not have easy access to your money.
   
   
5. Invest- Your 401(k) is a good investment but it is ideal for retirement. Therefore, it would be wise to invest on other places as well. You can invest on a short term savings account to be used for emergency purposes and you can also open a brokerage account.
   
   
6. Get rid of your debt- If you have debt, slowly pay them off. What you should do is to arrange them from the highest value to the lowest value and prioritize paying off the ones on top. Set aside an amount of money that could cover your debts, pay the ones on top in full and throw whatever is left of that amount to other smaller debts.
   
   
7. Use your ROTH as your emergency fund- If you are contributing to the ROTH IRA, you can also use this to serve as your emergency fund because it allows contributors to withdraw without a penalty.

All of the tips mentioned above have one thing in common and that is to learn how to save. Most people especially those at a young age tend to overlook the need to save and to invest. What they fail to realize early on though is how important it is to start saving money, then when they come of age and reality hits them, they are already too late. Learning how to save will not only help people secure their future but it will also help them become financially responsible. Handling finances is never easy— from needing to check your credit reports and scores to calculating your expenses to manually setting aside your savings. But if you learn from them early on and start exploring your options regarding automated savings and investments, you will be given the chance to afford to learn from your financial mistakes and gain financial freedom at an earlier age.