The first question to ask yourself regarding retirement is, “What do I want my retirement to look like?” 

When asked this question, many people can usually mention one or two things they want to do, see, or focus on in retirement.  But you would be surprised how quickly they trail off after that!  It’s a surprising fact that many people don’t have a clear vision for their golden years…just a nebulous one. 

That’s a problem for two reasons.  One, it can end up limiting all the possibilities of what retirement can be!  Second, it makes the actual process of planning for retirement – saving, investing, budgeting, maximizing, managing risk – much more difficult.  Why?  Because when people don’t know what they’re saving, investing, and budgeting for, it’s impossible to know how much they’ll actually need. They definitely won’t know what they should do or when they should do it. 

This is why asking yourself, “What do I want my retirement to look like?” is so important. 

To answer the question, I recommend actually making a list.  Sit down with a pen and paper, let your mind wander, and then write down whatever pops into your brain!  It doesn’t matter if the items on your list feel random, difficult, or even out of reach.  The simple act of listing your goals, dreams, and ideas can help you prioritize and even process information more easily.  It will help the future seem less nebulous and more clear. 

And it will help you find the answer to all the other retirement-related questions you’re likely to have along the way. 

As the great baseball player Yogi Berra once said: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.”