Wondering how to retire early? Many people would like to escape the rat race as soon as possible. Sometimes, however, we stop to consider that retirement planning is already complicated enough when we plan to work until full retirement age, and imagine how much harder it might be to stop working years—or even decades—earlier.

Can it be done?

The answer is YES, accompanied by one or more “buts.”

But unless you are wealthy or financially independent—and few people are—it will take work and discipline. Here are some steps you can follow.

Now picture your life as a straight line with a goal at a certain point: retirement. Someone who retires early has less time to save and more time to spend in retirement. So if that is your plan, try to budget wisely and maximize your retirement accounts—in other words, save as much as possible to reach that goal and live without worrying about income.

For many people, consulting a financial advisor can help.

Step 1: Calculate your monthly retirement expenses

If you want to retire early, the first step is to estimate how much you will spend each month once you retire. Start by adding up unavoidable expenses such as housing, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, insurance, and health care.

Ideally, you should make percentage-based allowances for some categories, such as health care. If you own a home, you must also consider monthly repairs. Your house ages too and will need attention.

Ideally, you should also enter retirement without debt. Some debts are linked to life insurance and other types of insurance, which tend to become more expensive as the insured person ages.

However, if you plan to pay these debts during retirement, you should consider some type of passive income to cover them. Consolidating those debts would also be very useful if it saves interest, insurance payments, and banking fees. Ideally, you will reach retirement debt-free: no mortgage, credit card balance, outstanding medical bills, student loans, or other debts.

Keep in mind that your budget will continually change as you move through different phases of retirement, and you should review it at least annually. The time of year is up to you; it does not have to coincide with the tax year.

This budget will determine your lifestyle and should be as realistic as possible. It will be the baseline or starting point from which you periodically do your calculations.

Step 2: Calculate how much you need to retire

Once you have a baseline estimate of monthly expenses, the next step is to calculate how much you need to save.

At this point, one of the hardest questions arises: How many years should I save for? How long will I live? You simply do not know. The next questions are: How long should I save, and how much should I save?

Some recommend saving a percentage of your income. However, take another look at Step 1 above. You need to save the amount calculated in the previous step multiplied by twelve and then by the number of years you expect to live in retirement.

Suppose your monthly expenses will be $4,000. Multiplying that by the twelve months in a year means you need to save $48,000 to live for one year.

Finally, multiply that amount by the number of years you will live after your retirement date. If you retire at 60 and live another 40 years, you will need close to $2 million—$1,920,000 using the figures in this example.

So if you are 20 and want to retire at 60, you would have 40 years to save $2 million.

One approach is to divide that amount by the years you will work to save it. Using the example: $2 million divided by 40 years means you would need to save $50,000 a year, or about $4,000 a month, every month while you have income.

This is where you go back and recalculate the monthly spending amount you reached in Step 1.

To see how close you are to your retirement goal, subtract your current savings from your target amount.

Whether or not you already have savings, Step 2 leads to the next question: What are you doing today to generate more income or spend less? Your future self will thank you for anything that addresses these two points.

Step 3: Adjust your current budget

Discipline and good habits are very important at this stage. You will need not only to close the remaining gap to your retirement goal, but also to assess your health and ensure that poor health does not drain your future budget. And remember: the house you live in is aging too.

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You have three options here:

1. Spend less
2. Earn more
3. Do both

Remember, the more you earn and the less you spend, the sooner you can leave your work schedule behind and begin enjoying retirement. Create a budget to know where your money goes and where you can cut back. Many budgeting apps make this process easier.

Step 4: Maximize your retirement accounts

Regardless of when you plan to retire, starting early and investing in addition to saving regularly is wise. Retirement accounts, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s, are an excellent way to do this.

While you are still working, do everything you can to maximize your retirement accounts. A traditional IRA lets you contribute toward retirement, earnings grow tax-free, and you receive a tax deduction in the tax year you contribute. However, when money is withdrawn during retirement, it is subject to income tax for the year of withdrawal.

A Roth IRA, by contrast, allows certain distributions or withdrawals to be made tax-free, and earnings grow tax-free. However, Roth IRAs do not offer a tax deduction in the years they are funded.

Step 5: Work with a financial advisor

If you want to retire early, you face two major challenges:

1. You have less time to save for retirement.
2. You have more time to spend during retirement.

Unless you are an investor or knowledgeable about finance, working regularly with a financial advisor is a good idea. An advisor can help develop an investment strategy that makes your retirement goals easier to reach.

They can also show you exactly how much you need to invest each month to reach your goal within a given number of years.

Once you retire, your advisor can help manage your income streams to ensure your money lasts. These streams may include dividend income, annuities, required minimum distributions, Social Security, defined benefit plans, and real estate investments.

To summarize, moving toward early retirement means calculating your monthly retirement expenses, determining your savings target, and then saving and investing to make it happen. Early retirement may be possible, but it requires careful planning and decision-making.