Five New Years Resolutions For Your Retirement

The beginning of a new year is the traditional time to gaze into that proverbial crystal ball and make your New Years resolutions. And hey, this time you are really going to keep them, right? No question about that. And in 2008, you really will stop your ten-year spending spree. Good for you! If the US economy collapses as a result, there's always Aunt Gertrude in Germany who will take you in.

But maybe living with Aunt Gertrude for the rest of your life is not your ideal retirement scenario. If you, like so many others, have been putting off thinking seriously (rather than just dreaming) about your retirement, maybe its time to add a few very specific resolutions to your New Years list. These will allow you to retire sooner than you ever thorugh possible. Below are five you might consider.

First, however, begin by doing a quick self-evaluation. Take the retirement readiness quiz (see below) to get a baseline evaluation of your situation. This free quiz measures your readiness from various different perspectives, only some of which are financial. Then, depending on what you learn, you can modify the following list to suit your needs:

So here are your five retirement resolutions.
1. I Will Set A Date: I will determine the specific date I will retire, and I will write it down right here, right now! Month/Day/Year:

Wow. I did it! So, through my carefully-honed mathematical skills of subtraction, the time I have left before that date is( ) years and( )months. Oh my God! Really? That's not much time! I better get going! OK, here goes!

2. I Will Remember The Happy Times: No, not just the great vacations! Others who have thought of retirement as a perpetual vacation have mostly wound up disappointed and depressed. I know I will need to "get a (new) life." In order to figure out what will make me feel happy and fulfilled in my new life, I will think about what I was doing when I was happiest and most satisfied in the past, and then plan to recreate those situations in my retirement life.

3. I Will Make a Life Plan: Based on this information, I will make a specific retirement life plan including (a) where I will be living, (b) what I will be doing in the first two years, (c) who I will be doing it with, and (d) what I want to accomplish.

4. I Will Share My Plan and Get Buy-In: I will share this information with those closest to me to make sure they are bought in and supportive. I will make adjustments based on their feedback.

5. I Will Create a Financial Plan: I will estimate how much this is all likely to cost on an annual basis, and then I will meet with my financial advisor to review both my life plan and my finances and develop a realistic financial plan which will ensure that my resources will be sufficient to support me for the rest of my life. Based on what I learn, I will make the necessary adjustments to bring my life plan in line with my resources. Then, I will begin immediately to make the maximum possible contributions to my retirement accounts every year before I retire.

Whew! That was hard work! Now all I have to do is make sure to keep all of these resolutions in 2008 and beyond. And that will be easy, because in the past I have always kept all my New Years resolutions!

Right.