When you are retired, you will have time to travel wherever you want to go. You will be able to take up hobbies that you never had time for. Think about what you would enjoy doing when you are beginning to save so that you will have an idea of how much you will need. It costs a lot more to travel all over the world than to sit at the side of a pond fishing all day.

Another aspect of retirement planning that many people neglect is planning for a healthy retirement. If you are healthy, you will get a lot more enjoyment out of your retirement years. By eating well and exercising regularly, you can keep your body in good shape so that you won't have to limit your activities for health reasons once you reach retirement age.

You should also think about who you will spend time with once you retire. If all of your friends are at work, retirement can be pretty lonely. Try to make friends with people who will still be around when you are no longer working, such as neighbors, club members and people from your church.

Then, of course, there is the financial planning. Start by checking to see where you are. Check your social security statement (they send one every year) to see how much you can expect to receive once you retire. Do you have any retirement savings already? How much more will you need to save? How many years do you have left to save?

Once you have determined how much you need to save, you'll have to figure out how to do it. Talk to a financial planner to get an idea of the kind of return you can expect to get for your investments and to find out how much you will have to set aside each month to reach your goals. Then find a way to fit that amount into your budget and do it.