Despite our best efforts to budget, there will always be a time when something unexpected arises. While it may seem impossible to budget for the unpredictable, there’s actually a solution: an emergency fund.

Dollar-cost averaging is where you invest the same dollar amount on a consistent basis regardless of price. One of the most common examples of dollar cost averaging is your 401(k) plan at work.

While there are plenty of excuses available to explain why you can’t retire when you want to—or maybe not at all—bad luck shouldn’t be one of them. Here are seven actionable tactics to make your retirement more of a reality.