How millennials can save for retirement by 61

Throughout the country, millennials have high hopes that they will one day be able to retire and live comfortably. According to recent figures, the day they can officially kick back and relax, many hope, will be on their 61st birthday. The survey, which was conducted by Bankrate.com, asked millennials (classified as Americans ages 18 to 37) what the perfect time to retire would be, to which they responded by 61 years old. “Early retirement is something that seems very appealing,” Bankrate.com analyst Amanda Dixon tells CNBC Make It. However, as wonderful as this plan sounds, for many, it is lacking one crucial thing: good financial planning. In fact, roughly two-thirds of millennials have nothing saved so far, according to a February report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. Evidently, if millennials across the country want to retire by 61, they will need to implement some changes to their financial habits. To get an idea of what millennials can do to financially prepare themselves for the future we spoke with Jeff VanNote, the founder of The Mortgage Quarterback, and author of The Mortgage Playbook for Millennials. His entrepreneurial history has demonstrated a very calculated approach when dealing with finance which has allowed him to achieve a positive ROI on numerous investments from homes to cryptocurrencies. These are his key take-home points to help you save for a better retirement.