Is $2 million enough money for a comfortable retirement? The answer to this simple question is as unique and varied as each of us and our complex lives. Over the years I have had several conversations with friends about the money they think they need for retirement and the number they come up with often surprises me. The number is often overstated and the more assets they appear to already have, the higher the number appears to be. The concept of “your number” should ideally be simple enough where you know what you need to meet your monthly living expenses and a little extra for unforeseen circumstances. However there is a deep gorge between what is ideal and the ground reality.
Coming up with “your number” is difficult because it is a multi-faceted problem with a mix of unknowns, expectations, fears and desires. Some folks may not even have a good grasp of their monthly budget and savings. Starting today, we are rolling out a large number of free and paid tools on Inside Arbitrage that span the gamut of a DCF modeling tool to estimate the intrinsic value of an investment to a monthly budgeting tool that can help you figure out what your monthly budget is and how much you save. Once you have a handle on your total monthly income, your expenses, monthly savings and current assets (cash, investments, real estate, etc.), getting to “your number” may appear less daunting.