Format for printing

Part 1

Download your workbook. (Do this by clicking on the word "workbook." You can download either a .pdf version, which you will be able to save and print, or a Word version, provided you have Microsoft Word.)

Pick your retirement date!! (Okay, we don't need the exact day of the month, but a year would be good.) You may end up revising this later in the seminar, and that's okay. But for now, come up with a tentative date, figure out how long your retirement might last, and write it down in your workbook.

Some questions to ask yourself could be:

What does retirement mean to me?

Where might I want to live?

Will I get involved in charity work? For-pay pursuits?

To what extent am I willing to trade a little security for the satisfaction of non-financial goals?

Think carefully about these questions. Discuss them with your spouse or significant other. If you find yourself paralyzed with indecision, just take your best guess and pluck a date out of the air. You'll live with it for a while, and you can see how you feel about it. You can always change the date later.

Wondering when other people taking this seminar think they're going to retire? Take this poll and see when your classmates plan to hang up their hats.

Head over to the boards. You'll notice that there are three boards specifically for this seminar. Why three boards? Each board focuses on a specific issue that we deal with in the seminar, so it's easier for you to jump into a conversation that is pertinent to your interest. Each lesson will direct you to the board that makes the most sense, but feel free as you have questions to jump around among the boards:

• Your Dreams -- A board to discuss what you want to do in retirement, how and where you want to live, and all those lifestyle issues.
• Investing for Retirement -- A board to talk about identifying your retirement costs, how to save for retirement, and your current and future retirement investments.
• Retirement Realities -- A board that will help you delve into some of the "reality" costs and issues in retirement, including health care, estate planning, taxes, and wills.

Take a minute and introduce yourself on the Your Dreams board. Give us a sense of who you are and what retirement dreams you have. You can add as little or as much as you like. You might want to head to the start of the board and look for the first post that says A TMF Welcome.  This is a welcome message from some of the Fools here at Fool Headquarters who will help you on your journey. Then take a few minutes to see who else is around.

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Lesson 2: Running The Numbers »