No one cares more about your savings and investments more than you.  You need to become an expert on the kinds of investments that you are comfortable with holding.  Don’t let a financial adviser take control of your funds.  No matter what he/she says, they do not understand your true wishes and needs.  They will not be the one in pain if those savings are lost.

The unpleasant reality is that most of us do not save enough money for our retirement years.  The reason is obvious.  The cost of living takes our paychecks.  It’s not a new situation.  This has been a fact for all of history.  It is the reason that Social Security was created in the 1930s.  That insurance provides sufficient income in retirement years to prevent starvation.  It is only enough to pay for food, housing, and other basic necessities.

The problem is that Social Security has become the only income resource for many retired Americans.  (401(k) plans have not become the outstanding resource that many believed would occur.  The reason is they are not a mandatory savings plan.  It is a voluntary program.  The average balance in all 50 million (401(k) accounts is just over $60,000 according to the Employee Benefit Institute.  Even people within 10 years of retirement have saved an average of only $78,000, and more than a third have less than $25,000.

I still hear financial gurus saying that you should be receiving 10% or more on your savings.  I know such investments do exist but they are not well known.  Those that do pay that level of return are high risk securities that most people are not prepared to take.  Even Vanguard’s High Yield Corporate Bond Fund pays 6.75%.

Even if you savings are small there are magazines you can view in the library and sites that do not charge anything.  My favorite is Morningstar.  You do not have to subscribe to obtain much of their information.

Start today thinking about where your income will come from when that day comes when you want to say “It’s time for me to retire.”