Between the rising cost of big-ticket items like college and housing, and your shorter- and longer-term savings goals, putting enough money away to retire in your 60s can seem daunting — and saving enough to retire even earlier than that might sound impossible. Research from the Stanford Center on Longevity makes clear that the typical American would benefit from a later retirement age: After analyzing 292 different retirement income strategies, the Stanford research team concluded that the best one for most people would involve working until age 70 in order to delay Social Security benefits. Money expert Suze Orman agrees and has even suggested that "70 is the new retirement age." But David Bach, wealth manager and bestselling author of "The Latte Factor," doesn't want you to plan on working longer because "you might not be able to and you might not want to." Instead, he says, "let's cram money into our retirement accounts in our 20s, in our 30s and in our 40s so that you have the option to retire in your 50s." It's even possible to retire with more than $1 million in 20 years, says Bach. It'll take a lot of discipline and a high savings rate, but it's doable: "I call it the 50-20 formula: $50 a day for 20 years at a 10% rate of return is over $1 million." If you save for 30 years, based on that formula, you'd have about $3.39 million, he says.

Let's cram money into our retirement accounts in our 20s, in our 30s and in our 40s. David Bach wealth manager, best-selling author

Don't get caught up on the rate of return, he adds. If you want to use a more conservative rate of return, like 6% or 7%, run your own numbers using a compound interest calculator. Focus on the big picture, though: The sooner you can start putting your money to work, the more you'll benefit from compound interest and the less you'll have to save to reach your retirement goals. Setting aside $50 a day is a lot, Bach admits. It's about $1,500 a month, which is more than most people are saving and may be able to save. But if you want to retire on the early side, you need to keep a large chunk of your paycheck. After all, most early retirees have managed to settle down at a young age because they focused on banking at least 50% of their income.