The internet seems to be fascinated by a "Retirement Number" or a "Magic Number" for retirement. It dominates news article with headlines like - "Why you now need $1 million to retire". Here's the problem with that - there is no such thing as a magic number, and the harm is causes to potential retirees chasing some magic figure can be substantial. Chasing a magic number, that is oftentimes more than what you may actually need to retire can result in spending more years working, and sacrificing instead of retiring sooner and enjoying your retirement.
Here's a reality check - you probably don't have as much time as you think you have. That sounds like a real Debbie Downer way to start a blog, but I say that to also say this - make the most of your time by retiring as soon as you can. Too many people focus on the resource of money when planning for retirement. They wait until they reach some specific date or number before they retire and in doing so they spend the resource of time, and time is the most valuable resource that you have.
Building a retirement plan that will work for you is not completely different than building a home to live in. It makes all the sense in the world to plan in advance for what you'd like to have when you're done. Unfortunately most folks plan for retirement one step at a time only focusing on the right now. Can I make a retirement contribution right now to lower my taxes this year is a common example of this sort of thinking. The better route in this case is considering whether a pre-tax or post-tax contribution is right for future retired you - who needs to live in your retirement house instead of current you who is trying to ward off the tax man.
