| A basic retirement calculator is a program that you | | | | keep some of your own money and live for today. |
| can find for free on the Internet. This calculator will | | | | No One Knows How Money will Change |
| take your current retirement savings information, let | | | | Going back in history, there were major stock |
| you factor in things that will affect the final number | | | | market crashes that affected millions of people in the |
| and then tell you how much more you will need to | | | | 1920's, the 1970's, the 1980's and the 2000's. During |
| save to be able to retire at the level that you want | | | | those market crashes, millions of people lost their |
| to retire at. Many people have difficulties | | | | entire life savings. The big .com crash back in the |
| understanding what a basic retirement calculator is | | | | early 2000 affected many people who were trying |
| telling them and they do not understand the numbers | | | | to "save for their retirement." To put things in |
| its spews out back at them. In a nutshell, this is | | | | perspective, a new car back in the 1940s cost |
| nothing more than at guessing machine that takes | | | | between $600 to $700 on average. Today, sixty |
| your current conditions, puts in a giant guess for | | | | years later, that price has risen over 2700%, to over |
| future trends based on current conditions and then it | | | | $16,000 for a new car. So when you factor in |
| tells you that there is no way you will be able to | | | | inflation, between 4% to 5% annually would tend to |
| retire. | | | | be on the low side. Between 1979 and 2000, the |
| The challenge is that a basic retirement calculator | | | | average Americans salary only one up by 11.5 cents |
| works in today's dollars. As an example, let's say you | | | | per hour per year. The basic retirement calculator |
| want to retire twenty years from today. And you | | | | does not factor those numbers. |
| want to know how much you'll have to save to have | | | | When it comes to retirement, many people avoid |
| the equivalent of $4000 per month in twenty years | | | | reality. But the facts are that it cannot be avoided. |
| from now. It will even go so far as to tell you how | | | | Probably one of the best ways to save for your |
| much per month that $4000 in 2008 needs to be to | | | | retirement is to invest in things that grow in value |
| give you an equivalent lifestyle in 2028. Basically this | | | | over time and avoid things like the stock market. If |
| whole thing it is just a huge guessing game and just | | | | you by real estate in your 20s or 30s, chances are |
| another tool for the financial adviser to use to scare | | | | that by the time you're in your 60s, the appreciated |
| you into giving them as much as your disposable | | | | value will provide you with a nice retirement. You will |
| income as possible and then some. In some ways, if | | | | have both equity as well as rental income. |
| you look at history and the facts, you may want to | | | | |