5 easy steps to retire in 30s

1. Define the dream, while documenting the reality. How do you want to spend the rest of your life, post-retirement? Where do you want to live? What do you want to do? And most importantly of all, how much will it cost, year after year, for the rest of your life? This will tell you how much money you need to save and what kind of investments you're going to have to make in order to support your retirement lifestyle. Don't forget to include things like health insurance and the effect of inflation. Make a detailed spreadsheet to chart all these variables exactly.

2. Make a lot of money. Perhaps the quickest, high odds way to do this is by focusing on landing a high paying job. Consider the types of jobs that pay extraordinarily well in exchange for hard work, little psychological satisfaction, and a punishing lifestyle. After all, you're not choosing a career in the sense that most people are, seeking lifelong satisfaction, as you hope to be only in this job for a decade. Focus on jobs that will reward the fact that you are willing to work harder than anyone else. Some suggestions:

3.Investment banking - These Wall Street jobs can pay extremely well. In exchange, you sell your soul: the hours are a grind, the work is dull, and your boss is an egomaniac. But the goal is to get in, work hard and bank the money. Focus on delivering the results, and watch your peers melt away as they think "there's no way I can do this for 40 years" - you know you don't have to.

Sales (positions in high-ticket industries, such as many high-tech enterprise software companies) - Because your pay is directly linked to your sales, and your sales are in a large part proportional to how hard you are willing to work, you can earn a lot doing this dull job of sucking up to corporate IT drones.

Engineering - Software development, bio-tech, and other technical positions are high risk paths to wealth. Unlike the investment banking and sales which have high current income, many engineering jobs only hit the jackpot on chancy stock options. However, if you join early at the right startup, you might be be able to Buy a Private Island after 4 years of work. But more likely, you will grind away endless hours for an incompetent 27 year old CEO and his insatiable venture capital masters before the company goes belly up, leaving your options worthless.

Lower your expenses. The #1 reason people in high paying salaried jobs are still working hard when they are fifty is because they can't keep their spending under control. To soothe their agony regarding their dull, demanding job, they placate themselves with toys that fail to make them happy: a penthouse apartment, a fancy car, a diamond ring. Resist the massive pressure to dress, eat and shop like your peers, and live a modest lifestyle. Focus on work, as your play will come later. Some keys to not spending:

4. Buy or Rent a modest apartment/condo. You will be at work all the time, so do not splash out on housing. Clean and small will do just fine. Studies show that homeowners have 5x the net worth of rentors, so buy something well within your means as soon as it's financially feasable.

Don't eat fancy dinners. Unless you are a gourmet connoisseur, you have to admit that a $5 burrito tastes 90% as good as a fancy steak served on fine china.

Keep a budget. Track your expenses. Set goals for saving and celebrate when you meet them.

Invest wisely. It is beyond the scope of this how-to to explain exactly how to invest your money, but do the research and find a way to make your savings grow and work for you. The richest people invest in real estate and the stock market. Remember that the more you play it safe, the longer it'll probably take you to retire; on the flip side, the more you gamble, the more you risk losing your money and having to spend another year or more at your high-paying but miserable job.

5. Keep your eye on the mark. Not everyone is cut out for the kind of life you're going to have to lead in order to reach such an early retirement. There will be many times when you feel like giving in and throwing in the towel. Have a very clear vision and several ways to remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing, because you'll need them.

9 easy steps to get rich and survive this hard times

It seems that everyone wants to get rich. There are books out on that subject, classes that are headed by someone who can show you an easy way to get rich, rich people willing to drop advice on how to get rich, and many other schemes that guarantee you will get rich fast. Getting rich is one of the main goals of most people, and while it is never easy, there are some sensible techniques that will increase your chances of getting rich.

1. Define "rich". It's one of those subjective words that everyone uses but no one defines. What are your standards for being rich? In other words, what do you envision when you think about being rich? This can be different for everyone. Usually it whittles down to a few common goals:

2. Prestige. For many people, the idea of getting rich is tied to getting respect. It's not so much about how much money you have, but about maintaining a luxurious standard of living--exotic vacations, nice cars, swimming pools, etc.

Retirement. Some people want to get rich so that they never have to work another day in their lives. In this case, the standard of life one wishes to maintain once retired is critical to understanding how much money is needed to get rich.

Keep your eyes and ears open. All the time interesting people and chances appear and disappear. Get a feeling when to step forward and when to wait.

Delay gratification. If you're looking for information on how to get rich, then you're probably not rich right now, and there's a reason for that. Are you spending money on things that won't get you rich? Are you sticking with a job that doesn't make that much money to begin with? In order to get rich, you're going to have to give up some of the things you enjoy doing now, so that you can enjoy those things without restriction later. For example, you might like having free time, so you give yourself a few hours a day to do nothing. But if you were to invest those few hours into getting rich, you could work towards having 20 years of free time (24 hours a day!) with early retirement. What can you give up now in exchange for being rich later?

3. Cut expenses

4. Get a job that pays more or get a promotion

5. Downgrade or give up your car

6. Downgrade your apartment or house

7. Reallocate your spare time

8. Save money. You've heard the phrase "It takes money to make money." So start socking away the extra money you're making now that you've delayed gratification as outlined previously. After all, what's the point in giving up the stuff you like if you have a hole in your pocket? Start building a "get rich fund" at the bank. Always pay yourself first. This means before you go and blow your pay check on a new pair of shoes or a golf club you don't need, put money aside in to an account that you don't touch. Do this every time you get paid and watch your account grow.

Invest. Once you've stockpiled your savings, start thinking of ways to invest it. This is where your definition of "rich" really comes in handy. If you're looking for prestige, for example, a good investment would be education. Save up enough money to attend an Ivy League school and obtain a degree in something that will make decent money but, more importantly, earn great respect (doctor, lawyer, dentist, any kind of professional). If your goal is to retire early, on the other hand, invest that money in stocks, bonds, or other vehicles of investment that will give you an annual return on investment (ROI) that's enough to maintain you in your retirement. For instance, if you have one million dollars invested and you get a reliable 7% ROI, that's $70,000 per year! Invest in relatively stable assets - rental properties or potential development land in steadily growing areas is a good example. Put your money not in luxuries that will be worth nothing in a couple of years (a fancy car, for example), but in things that will increase in value over time, and that will earn you supplementary income in the interim.

9. Stay rich. It's hard to get rich, but it's even harder to stay rich. Your wealth is always going to be affected by the market, and the market has its ups and downs. If you get too comfortable when times are good, you'll quickly drop back to square one when the market hits a slump. If you get a promotion or a raise, or if your ROI goes up a percentage point, don't spend the extra--save it for when business is slow and your ROI goes down two percentage points.

Network with the Rich It's always an excellent idea to surround yourself with other rich people; whether you have already become very rich or whether you are just starting out and clueless. Understand how the rich think and the way they manage their money. Fly first class or business class once in a while, spend a weekend at a luxury golf course; if you can't afford to do too much traveling and spending, then use the internet instead.