Most people under the age of 30 don’t really spend too much of their day thinking about retirement.  For many of them it seems like they’ll never reach retirement age, it’s just not something they can even relate to.  Therefore it’s no wonder that many of these same people, and even some that are far older, have never really sat down to make a savings or investment plan for their retirement.  Well if you’re one of those people, you should take the first step in your retirement planning and check out www.simplifi.com.

Simplifi is a website that allows its users to make a roadmap, or blueprint for their own retirement as the site puts it.  It took me about 30 minutes to really do a good job of entering my information accurately and completely.  Once you give the site your age, expected age at retirement, and other information about your income, assets, and liabilities, it uses tools to help calculate exactly how much you will need to save in order to meet your retirement goals.  It even allows a user to add life goals like marriage, a home, car, or boat, or children into the equation.

According to the site, by taking the time to really figure their retirement plans out now, a person is over 250% more likely to have enough saved up to meet their retirement goals.  Meeting your goals, no matter what they are in life takes planning.  Simplifi is the first step.  I have used other financial planning websites like www.mint.com and www.feedthepig.com in the past and would consider Simplifi to be right in the middle of those two in usefulness and ease of navigation and use.  It’s a little hard at first to be honest about your retirement, a topic that is not usually discussed or even thought about by many in this country.  Perhaps the latest recession will help shift the tides and get more people talking about, thinking about, and planning for their own retirement.

Simplifi does not use your information to sell you anything nor does it sell your stats to any other third party.  It’s a web-based financial planning tool that has come in handy for my close friends and family.  There are even videos and cartoons to help you learn more about exactly what it takes to retire comfortably.  The site also gives users a grade from A+ to F, relative to how well they are planning for and meeting their goals.  It’s possible to plug in just about anything in terms of financial, material, or familial and figure out precisely how much savings and how long it will take to reach these goals.

I really wish more Americans, especially those in their 20’s and 30’s were actively participating in planning for their own retirement.  With Social Security inevitably about to dry up, and the recession in full bloom, now is as good a time as any to begin laying the foundation for a comfortable retirement.  Understanding retirement is the second step, and is certainly made easier by sites like Simplifi.  The true first step to successfully retiring comfortably is planning.