Can I Retire?

Calculators to Help You With This Decision

Some financial planners are "fee only" planners. They can review your retirement income and investments and provide their advice. Others will do the investing for you and earn a commission from where your funds are invested. 

The important thing with financial planners -- just like your family doctor, attorney who wrote up your will, and others -- personality matters. Can you see yourself working with this person? Do their values align with yours? Do they talk down to you? Can you easily understand their explanations?

Can I really retire?

You may become even more confused the more you look at these calculators.

There are so many ways to interpret data -- and so many different lifestyles on how the retirement savings will be used.

Remember -- every retiree has their own vision of Retirement. Some folks will travel to Europe annually for the first few years. Others will start a home business. Both retirees will use retirement savings early in retirement.  Others will move slowly into retirement, trying to determine who they are and what they want to do with this new retirement adventure.

There are no easy answers on when enough is enough -- it depends on your savings, investments, expenses, and mostly, how you spend your savings in retirement.

You Don't Need a MILLION DOLLARS to retire. It all depends on your lifestyle, your income, savings and what you intend to do after you retire -- many retirees still work part-time.

Some Retirement Calculator Resources Here:

Every financial advisor has their own calculators and many have online versions. TIAA, Capital One, Vanguard, Edward Jones, Schwab, Bloomberg -- all have them. You can look at your favorite money manager or click on any of the options below. 

• AARP - Money section has lots of info on financial planning and low-income help.

• Social Security benefits calculator - they send you an estimate every year before your birth date, but you can also estimate your benefits here.

• Ultimate Money Calculator does more than most calculators.

• CNN Money has lots of Retirement and Planning calculators, including Early retirement help, debt reduction, etc.

• Motley Fool website should not be discounted (due to the "fool"name.. grin!). If you don't know this popular site, think again... their retirement tools and calculators are very helpful!
  
  
• Bankrate has a retirement calculator and more... mortgage, credit card, savings, retirement, whatever you need to check out, it's there!

• Money Withdrawals Calculator will help with how much you you will need in savings if you withdraw a specific monthly amount in retirement.

• AND THIS IS -- the Millionaire Calculator!  Woot!