Investing is often easier when you have a clearly-defined financial goal in mind. In other words, something that you want to do (e.g., retire) or buy (e.g., new car) that requires a specific amount of money within a specified time frame. This page includes links to worksheets that you can print out or use online to calculate the amount of money required to invest to fund a future financial goal . As with all calculations, the more accurate and realistic the information and assumptions used, the more accurate and helpful the answer.
The list consists of Cooperative Extension resources that are listed alphabetically by state, as well as the widely used retirement planning tool, The Ballpark Estimate.
The RCRE
fact sheets are in PDF format. Click on the icon to get your free Adobe
Acrobat PDF reader.
American Savings Education Council – Ballpark Estimate Worksheet
http://www.asec.org/ballpark/index.htm
Idaho – Your
Financial Action Plan for Retirement-
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/Family/finance.htm
(click on title of publication)
Indiana – Planning For a Secure Retirement (online 10-module retirement planning course with dozens of links) www.ces.purdue.edu/retirement
Mississippi – Piecing Together Retirement, Peace of Mind: Financial Planning Provides the Framework www.msucares.com/pubs/pub1688.htm
Nebraska – Ballpark
Estimate of Retirement Financial Needs
www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/homemgt/nf379.htm
New Jersey – How
Much Do I Need To Save For Retirement?
Fact Sheet 431
http://www.rcre.rutgers.edu/pubs/pdfs/fs431.pdf
New Jersey- Planning
Ahead For the Cost of College Fact Sheet 634
http://www.rcre.rutgers.edu/pubs/pdfs/fs634.pdf
Wyoming – Estimating
the Amount to Save for College - Worksheet
www.uwyo.edu/ces/FCSpubs.htm
Maryland – Achieving
Financial Goals
www.agnr.umd.edu/ces/pubs/topics/familyfin.html
Nevada – Getting
What You Want: Saving $$$ to Achieve Your Goals
www.extension.unr.edu/FamilyRes/getwhatyouwant.html
New Jersey- The Time Value of Money: How to Calculate the Cost of Future Financial Goals www.rcre.rutgers.edu/pubs/pdfs/fs825.pdf
Oklahoma – Master
Your Dollars: Setting Financial Goals
www.agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/fci/econ
Tennessee – Setting
and Achieving Financial Goals
www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/finance.htm
Last updated on May 09, 2005