Today’s question is: how can I afford my dream retirement?

Isn’t that what retirement’s all about? Being able to look forward to the time when you can slow the pace of life down and do the things that you want to opposed to the things that you have to do.

Start with the End

When you’re thinking about the dream retirement, the most important thing is to start with the end in mind. This means to think about what you want retirement to look like. It’s not just no longer working; it could be travel, time with family or friends, visiting all the sports stadiums that you’ve never been able to check out, or the golf courses.

Whatever it is, start with the end in mind and understand what that would look like. Also keep in mind that you want it to be sustainable. While visiting the Caribbean might be on your bucket list, going every month isn’t.

Maybe you start with what you want retirement to look like, what frequency you would plan to do these activities, what you will do in between, where you want to live. Allowing yourself to start with the end in mind allows you to pinpoint a goal and then be able to understand how measurable it is financially.

Working with a Financial Advisor

Once you have an idea of how much that is, consider sitting down with a financial planner, somebody who’s going to give you solid financial advice and be able to help you articulate the prices of these items.

As soon as you have those financial and visualized goals, you can start saving for them at the appropriate pace and with the appropriate investment tools. Investments in financial planning should always be within the mind and not just arbitrarily based on how we feel about risk alone.