your situation. Think about what you want to happen in retirement, and then determine how much money you will need to make that happen. Now, look at how much you are setting aside right now, and figure out whether or not it's enough to meet your retirement needs. Figuring out how much you need involves estimating your expenses in retirement, as well as thinking about your cash flow during retirement. Be honest about your potential needs for the future. Then, look at what you are setting aside each month. Use a retirement investment calculator to realistically determine whether or not what you currently set aside is enough to help you reach your goals. The unfortunate truth is that you probably aren't setting aside enough. Someone who puts aside $100 a month starting in his or her 30s isn't likely to reach loft retirement goals. Instead of assuming that you are doing fine, actually run the calculations to see where you are at. Closing the Retirement Savings Gap Once you identify the size of your retirement savings gap, you need to work on closing that gap. If you are only setting aside $100 a month, but your calculations indicate that you should be setting aside $500 a month, you have a gap of $400 a month. Unless you find a way to contribute more, you won't save enough for retirement. Don't wait to fix the problem. Start figuring out how you can boost your regular contribution. There are two main strategies