Buying a lottery ticket can give the purchaser a quick rush. There's that wonderful, captivating fantasy of winning. Oh, sure, realistically we know that winning is highly unlikely, but isn't it delightful just to have the dream even if it only lasts until the drawing unless you're one against overwhelming odds.
Picture By J. Patrick Fischer - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Planners. Financial Planners advise us to save systematically throughout our earning years so that we will have sufficient funds for our retirement. It's good advice, and the people who follow that systematic approach are like the people who make New Year's resolutions and keep them.
Dreamers. Others are more like the typical lottery purchaser. They hope that all will work out for the best. They may be fortunate and work for an employer who does the planning for them in the form of an employer sponsored retirement plan. Sometimes opportunity presents itself and the dream becomes reality.
Risk Takers. Most of us tend to be risk takers. We follow the opportunities and challenges that come our way in the course of our lives and we try to make the most of them. Life involves risk. Things can go wrong, e.g. the company we thought would sustain us through our whole career encounters tough times and is sold. Or, things can go right, e.g. suddenly the company stock, in which we invested under the employee stock ownership plan, goes on a tear as a hot product takes off in the marketplace. We are suddenly rich... at least on paper.
Thinking Ahead
When to Start? Is it too late?
How much will I need? How can I get there?
Getting lucky: What are the chances that it will all work out for the best?
Taking Stock: Where are we and how can we get to where we need to be?
Click here to get started thinking about what might work for you and what some of the pitfalls are along the way
