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All of us would like to think that by
retirement we can afford the finer things in life. The
kids are out of college, the house is paid off, and,
well, it's time to relax. Everyone, it seems, has a
retirement dream tucked away. But just because we wish
it, doesn't make it happen.
"The most common mistake made by people
planning to retire is the failure to identify the income
objective early on," said Arthur Nintzel of Merrill
Lynch. "They need to establish exactly how much money
they want to receive annually to finance they lifestyle
they want to live. Once they establish that, they can
create an investment strategy that is geared to take
them to that specific point."
Difficult as it may seem, putting a
few bucks into a sensible investment program is what's
going to make the difference when the working years
are left behind.
But what seems to be enough today may
not be tomorrow.
"An individual has to be prepared to
give himself a cost of living increase each year," Nintzel
said. "A 60 year old individual retiring today who requires
$100,000 in retirement income will require $103,500
next year and by age 78 his cost of living will have
increased to $200,000."
Planning for a well-funded retirement
is probably the ultimate goal of every investor. Doing
that is a combination of proper planning, staying with
the market during its ups and downs, and overall having
a well-thought-out investment strategy.
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