Our Future Retirement Planning

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover safe money strategies for a comfortable future retirement. Start planning today with expert insights at SafeMoney.com. Editor’s Note: This article is Part 2 of a month-long series on financial illiteracy in America. April marks National Financial Literacy Month, and to help raise Americans’ financial awareness, SafeMoney.com is teaming up with the Society for Financial Awareness (SOFA), a leading financial literacy non-profit, to spread the word.  When venturing into the great unknown , you wouldn’t travel without a GPS or a map. They are a “must-have” for reaching your destination. And for arriving on time, for that matter! How otherwise could you tell if you were going the right direction or if you were lost? The same principle applies to our retirement. Whether you retire 10 years or 10 months from now, you need a financial plan. In many ways, a plan is like a financial roadmap. It lays out clear directions for you to take and helps you keep on track. Yet most people don’t have a roadmap for their future retirement. Just three percent of Americans have a written financial plan, according to Jim Chilton, founder and CEO of the Society for Financial Awareness. Overcoming the “Ready-Fire-Aim” Mentality And what explains the planning gap? The fact that, all too often, we take a “spend-first, plan-later” approach to our finances, Chilton explains.  “Most Americans, sadly, are spenders first, then planners second – if at all . The basic common sense of plotting, planning, and participating in managing our cash hasn’t been wired into us,” he says. “And why? I believe spending quenches our thirst. It’s more fun to burn through our money than it is to account for it.” Just as with planned travel, retirement success has only two outcomes: you either get there or you don’t. There are no in-betweens. Either we will have the money for a comfortable retirement , or the reasons why we don’t. Why Do You Need a Financial Plan for Retirement? So, why all this fuss about having a financial plan? Why is it so important for everyone to create and maintain one? Because a plan brings vision, clarity, and accountability to how people handle their money. It’s a North Star that helps guide financial behaviors and choices – and that helps us accept responsibili