August 17, 2012
It wasn't long ago that I was in my backyard yelling at my smoking lawnmower that had just stopped working. After calming down, I did some research and tried to fix it myself. After tinkering with the carburetor (making it worse) and unscrewing the motor (felt like a man, didn't help), I had fixed nothing. This is what happens when I guess at things. Luckily, our local repairman knows his craft and the mower was repaired and my lawn cut in no time.
It's not all that different than retirement and answering the question, "how much do I need to retire comfortably?" Many have taken to answering that very question with a time-tested solution called "guessing." That's right, guessing. A recent study showed that 34% of the participants either "guessed" or "made up" an estimate of how much they would need to retire.
Guessing is fine if you're trying to win a stuffed animal at Darien Lake by letting the fellow with the microphone guess your age, give or take a few years. Would you pay him a dollar to guess how much you should be saving in order to retire?
Instead of guessing, speak with an advisor you trust. We have a powerful tool that allows our clients to not only define their retirement goals, but to design a plan tailored to their specific needs to get there. Along the way, when life events and changes happen, we account for them. And at any given time, our clients always know the answer to the question, "how am I doing?"
It's called Envision, and we'd be happy to put a plan together for you. One that provides specific answers and recommendations that fit your life goals - instead of a guess.
Chuck Wade
(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).