Many people today live to work and when their working years are over the loose all purpose in life and die shortly thereafter. How much better it would be if their plan for the future had taken into account a meaningful life in retirement.

If our financial planning for retirement fails to provide a reason to go on living when our first careers have ended, the result is often tragic.

The purpose or goal that you hope to achieve will keep you focused and help you stick to your financial plan. No matter what your status in life - if you come from a family with money and will benefit from a large inheritance one day or if your family has nothing and you work hard every day to get by deciding what you want to get out of life will help you establish your own financial plan and happily stick with it.

History has proven that the love of money and material wealth and the constant striving after that shatters lives. It definitely gives no one a purpose for living.

There are some extremely wealthy people whose main goal was not to simply make lots of money. Bill Gates, for example, has shown that his goal is to make a difference in the world around him. That purpose has made him successful and he enjoys his success because the focus for him was not only to attain wealth.

We must acknowledge that millions benefit when wealthy people are motivated to use their millions or billions to help others. We cannot deny the positive impact that has on the world.

Bill Gates has a goal for his golden years - a second career goal. This is the secret of successful financial planning for retirement. We need a purpose to live for when we leave our careers.

If you are not sure what you want out of life and what goals you want to accomplish give that some serious thought. Make a commitment to yourself to determine what you want for your future and then start developing a plan to help you get it.