Step 2: Shall We Quit? Sure you like your job, but if you had the chance to retire early, say at age 50, would you take it? For most people, a 30-year career is quite enough, thank you very much, but is early retirement realistic for you? Let's take a look.

At age 50, the government says you have got about another 33 years to live. That is longer than your entire working career. With life expectancy increasing by leaps and bounds, you may want to think in terms of a 40-year retirement. Besides travel, golf, fishing, and shopping, what else is on the agenda? How much will it cost? If you are at a loss, take a look at our post-retirement expense calculator that will help you figure out just how much it might cost. Will you have enough to do it all? How much needs to be saved to ensure you have enough? Good question! You might want to take a look at our planning-for-retirement calculator as well.

Have you thought about inflation? After all, peering out 20 years into the future you know that the $50K that looks like a good annual income now will certainly have to be larger to buy the same things then as it does today. So, what is inflation going to be through the years? What impact will it have over the 40 years after I retire? You might want to take a look at our inflation effect calculator.

Where will you live? With luck, the mortgage will be paid off so all you have to worry about is property taxes. Maybe you will even move into a smaller place in a sunnier climate.

You should think about insurance as well. You are probably insured under group policies through work for disability, life, and health coverage right now. In fact, your employer probably kicks in some part of or maybe even the entire premium for that insurance. Retire, though, and you will most likely lose that coverage. What happens to your spouse if you are inconsiderate enough to die early or (heaven forbid) become permanently disabled? If required to do so, how will you pay for a major illness or hospitalization and all of the attendant physician's bills? Forget about Social Security or Medicare. You are way too young for either of those to apply, and even if you did qualify, will the assistance be enough for a survivor and/or all the medical bills? If not, what alternatives do you have, and what about long-term care costs?

We are confident you can retire at a reasonably young age without having to remain shackled to your desk. The trick is careful and through planning. We will take you step-by-step through the retirement planning process.

Retirement planning entails far more than just picking an age to do so and a beachfront property to do it upon. It requires a hard look at your lifestyle, your resources, and a whole host of factors that we tend to take for granted while we are working. Most, but not all, deal with money issues.

Now, let's figure out how much you will need to live that life you dream of in Step 3: what will it cost.