Are you tired of relying on hope and luck to achieve your financial goals? If so, how likely do you think it is that following the same strategy that got you where you are today will get you where you want to be?

Give Your Retirement Plan the "Acid Test"

Do you know what your retirement account will be worth in 10, 20, or 30 years… or on the day you plan to tap into it?

If your answer is "no" or "I'm HOPING it will be worth $X" -- you don't have a plan!

And if you're relying on a financial advisor, stock broker or plan administrator for advice, ask them if they can tell you what your account will be worth on the day you plan to retire. Then follow it up with, "And will you give me a money-back guarantee if you don't hit that savings target?"

The Power of Rationalization…

Remember the scene from the 1983 movie classic, "The Big Chill," where the character played by Jeff Goldblum asks, "Have you ever gone a week without a rationalization?"

Well, many business owners and professionals today are trying to rationalize away the fact that they won't be able to retire when and how they had planned by trying to convince themselves that retirement is overrated.

They now talk about continuing to work in some capacity as long as they can.

While there's no question that this can give you more of a sense of purpose and fulfillment and keep you from dying of boredom, the reality is that many people are being forced to retire earlier than they can afford to. Job layoffs and health issues are the primary reasons for this.

I love what I do, and I hope to be doing it for a long time. But shouldn't the decision to retire -- or not -- be a matter of choice, not necessity?

If you believe it should be a matter of choice, what's the best way to invest your money?

I've researched over 450 savings and investing products and strategies over the past two decades, as a consultant to financial advisors. I ultimately concluded that Americans have been brainwashed into believing we must risk our money in order to grow it.

Wall Street and the financial planning industry have led us to believe that "saving" and "investing" are the same thing. However, they are not. The money you have in "savings" is money you don't want (or can't afford) to lose. Money you "invest" is subject to loss.

Most people today "invest to save," and as a result, have no idea what their nest egg will be worth when they hope or plan to tap into it.

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© 2010 Pamela Yellen, author of Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future

Financial security expert, Pamela Yellen, is author of the best-selling book, Bank On Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future. For more information, visit: www.BankOnYourself.com  and to take the $100,000 Challenge, visit: www.BankOnYourself.com/challenge .