AND THESE TWO ANSWERS DEFINITELY WILL NOT WORK:
"I'm planning for retirement, I'm saving and investing."
"Oh, I'll have $250,000 when I retire, that should be enough."

Why? Because neither answer tells you if that money will GENERATE the income you need! 

The key to security isn't some mystical number. The key to security is to make your pensions, savings and real estate PAY YOU ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE ON, year in and year out until you die. 

So, how can you do that? First, you estimated you life span. Then you calculated your annual expenses. It's not rocket science to figure your  income should cover your expenses every year. So, can you just multiply the number of years in retirement by your annual expenses and save that much money? NO. That's way too much money!

Unfortunately, there's no simple formula, otherwise we'd give it to you. Why is it complicated? Inflation changes every year, so it takes more money to live the same way each year. At the same time, Social Security and pensions reduce the amount of money you need, and they may adjust, too. Your savings are gaining interest or paying dividends. Your portfolio and real estate values change. You're slowly drawing down on your savings. And on and on.

There is a simple and direct solution to the question "How much is enough?" RetireMite™ does all the heavy lifting for you. Just plug in your savings, real estate, and the retirement income you know about (like Social Security and pensions) and RetireMite™ does the rest. Take a virtual tour. Just click on the icon to see how easy the whole thing can be!  RetireMite™.