The idea of planning for retirement early seems like a luxury reserved for the lucky social media influencers, successful startup founders and the corporate workers who live for the 9-9 hustle. The rising cost of living, plus the added expenses of student debt, owning a home and starting a family, make it seem more likely that you’ll spend the rest of your life working without ever even being able to dream of retirement. Even if you’ve got a good job and 401(k) building up, you need to do more than expect Social Security payments to keep you afloat after you’ve reached retirement age. The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can put money away and even preserve some investments that will be worth a lot in the future.

Open a High-Yield Savings Account

Since retirement cuts off your stream of income, you want to have as much money in the bank as possible. A savings account is exactly as it sound, as it’s a type of bank account you deposit what you plan on saving in. There are multiple forms of a savings account, but the one you want to aim for is a high-yield account. A high-yield account gives those who open one the opportunity to drastically increase the amount of money they save. This is accomplished by the increased interest rate that comes along with it.

Review Your Insurance Policy

Life insurance is a valuable investment for millennials, but most parents born in that generation don’t have any form of coverage. While it’s especially important if you have kids, a good policy is a valuable asset even if you’re still flying single. That being said, you’re never too old nor is it too late to open a life insurance policy. These policies ensure that you and your family are covered in the event of your death.

There are two main types of life policies; whole and term. A whole life policy, or permanent, keeps you insured for the entire duration of your life. Once you pass away, your beneficiaries receive the benefits. Term policies, on the other hand, are different as they gradually decrease in value as time goes on. Generally, you can only sell whole life insurance, and you have to be at least 65 to do so. You can learn about the entire process of selling your life insurance policy in this guide, including how to get an offer about how much yours may be worth down the line.

Scale Down Your Living Expenses

Retiring early is everyone’s dream, but it’s one that requires a bit of compromising. You can cut down on the cost of living to save more without compromising comfort or enjoyment in your daily life. For example, the average cost of cable is $150 a month, but you can get an ad-free, premium subscription to a streaming service like Hulu or Netflix for $15 to $20 a month. If you’re struggling to pay for your groceries, it may be because you’re paying full price when you don’t have to. Most stores offer customers a special rewards program, which includes special discounts on practically everything in the store. What’s more is that you can combine these discounts with the coupons you clip.

You should also look to upgrade to energy-efficient appliances and devices. In addition to being better for the environment, they also cost less to use and last longer. An electric car, for example, gets you everywhere you need to go without having to fork over a small fortune each year on exorbitant gas prices.

Set Realistic Financial Goals

A lot of people fall into the broad category of dreamers who feel like small savings aren’t worth working toward. They instead envision themselves somehow coming into a large sum of money and living out the rest of their lives in lavish comfort. While some manage to make this happen, the other 99 percent will have to start planning early, learn to achieve and relish in small goals and build security brick by brick.