I am a long way from retirement—from pulling back from the full-time day-to-day responsibilities of my vocation to instead begin winding down and preparing to step away. I am a long way from retirement, but not so far away that I can neglect planning for it. So, like most of my peers, I am doing my best to take advantage of the different programs that allow us to maximize savings, defer taxes, and otherwise get ready for the day our income will dry up and we will need to live off what we have accumulated.
(Parenthetical thought: Yes, I do intend to retire from full-time work at some point—not too early and hopefully not too late—so I can give greater focus to my family, my local church, and preparing my own soul to be with the Lord.)
Preparing for retirement necessarily involves focusing on numbers. There are lots of little numbers (e.g., the balance in this account, the maturity date of that investment, the potential tax owing based on a certain strategy) and then one big number. That big number, of course, is the one everyone asks at one time or another: How much do I need to save in
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