We all have hectic lives, which can make planning for retirement a challenge. After all, it's hard to think about an event that could be decades away when you have more pressing day-to-day concerns. However, if you want to have a successful retirement, you need to take the time now to visualize what exactly you want that retirement to look like. After all, if you don't have a concrete goal, you can't possibly accomplish it.
The first step is finding some time in your busy schedule to think about your ideal retirement. Take a few moments to visualize what you truly wish to do when you stop working, whether that is traveling, starting a business, doing charitable work or indulging in your favorite hobbies. You need to have this vision of what you will do, because without it, you won't be able to create a plan to turn that vision into reality.
Of course, perhaps you've already taken the time to visualize your ideal retirement. However, if you did this 10 or 15 years ago, you may need to adjust your retirement expectations. That's because the retirement lifestyle that looked feasible a decade ago may now be out of reach given some of the recent economic trends.
No matter where you are in the retirement planning process, the important thing to realize is that without a clear retirement vision (and without taking the time to adjust your vision when necessary), you'll never achieve your retirement goals.
To learn more about visualizing your ideal retirement, watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTDVORiunz4&list=UUmVm6e6c604JVkssZEB9HyA&index=2 Mark Singer is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and the author of
The Changing Landscape of Retirement—What You Don't Know Could Hurt You. He has been The Retirement Guide to thousands of investors for close to 25 years and is the creator of the Retirement Roadmap and the Financial Organizer System, both of which contribute to a solution to investors' greatest concerns—properly coordinating their financial affairs.