There are two schools of thoughts as to how you should treat your emergency fund.

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I was just talking to a co-worker about how I turned 33 this month when it hit me.  How often do you hear people say “Another year older” when they talk about their birthday?
Today, I realized the opposite of that saying.
Your birthday is another year closer to retirement.
Adding another year to your life is not […]

Editor’s Note : I will be posting a weekly roundup of postings on personal finance topics I enjoyed reading in the personal finance blogosphere. These bloggers can be found my Blogroll page. Whenever possible, if I come across a new one I like, I will add them to the Blogroll and try to include them in my roundup.

Knowledge gives you choices.

By knowing what the Rule of 72 is about, you are giving yourself the knowledge to make decisions regarding your personal finances. Knowing whether you want to see your money double in 3 years or 18 years will help you figure out what kind of annual return you will need.

Keeping a Rule of 72 chart handy in your investment folder will help you know what to expect when you are researching investment opportunities. There are many kinds of opportunities ranging from Certificate of Deposits to commodities. An annual interest rate of 4 percent or 28 percent will be an important factor in determining your investment horizon should you desire to see your original investment returned to you sooner than later.

Each time I think about the word “retirement”, all I can conjure up in my mind is a mysterious shroud. I have no idea what retirement means to me.

The only thing that comes to my mind immediately is the impression of retirement which means I am no longer working for someone else. I am sure you can identify with that, a desire to no longer be an employee doing someone’s else bidding.

Still, this does not lift the veil of mystery as to what retirement means to me. For example, does it mean I am to completely stop working?

While I may not want to work for someone else, I certainly would not mind working for myself operating my own bed and breakfast in paradise or volunteer to help with primate conservation efforts. I am sure you have something in mind for yourself.

Another piece of the mystery troubles me, what if I were to “retire” by the age of 40 but continue working for myself until I was 80? Or perhaps “retire” at the age 60 and dabble in some business part-time for myself for the next 20 years?

You and I both have heard stories of the old and new “retirees” who retired from their employment lifestyle and yet they still continue to find a way to make themselves useful working for themselves or supporting a cause.

I think the word “retirement” is a myth perpetuated by financial companies in the business of making money off you from the cradle to the grave. That’s just me.

It could be my 30-something self talking out loud but then again, it’s hard to dispute it when there are so many people out there who have shown us otherwise.

One thing I know for sure is that if “retirement” means I am no longer working for someone else, then I have free time to do whatever I want.

Either way, it is important to all of us who are interested in retiring at some point to set a retirement goal for our retirement portfolios.

Whether your retirement is in the near future or 50 years from now, you need to set a goal to have a specific amount of funds you can draw from to make your retirement lifestyle comfortable enough for you to do what you want to do with your free time.