"doesn't seem like very long from now to get to what I assume I would need; roughly $3 mil or so."

Your issue is you are basing this entire thing on an arbitrary number. All you can do is invest as much as you can and whatever you have in 20 years, that's your retirement number if you decide to call it quits at 65. So much depends on what you plan to do in retirement. Society sells us this image of retirees jetting off around the world after grafting for 40 years when the reality is most retirees just want to sit on the porch, enjoy the sunshine and pet their dog. I don't know about you but I don't need 3 million dollars for that!