Do you imagine yourself enjoying life during retirement, or struggling to make ends meet? If you want to live life on your terms when you retire, you've got to plan properly ahead of time. All of us want to enjoy our retirement years, visit the grandchildren travel the country, relax on the front porch, but that can only happen if we plan for it now.

Unfortunately most Americans don't think about retirement until it's too late, this according to the National Retirement Planning Coalition. A recent stuffy by the same organization polled 77 million baby boomers, finding that few had sufficient retirement income. Another troubling statistic shows that nearly two thirds save for vacations and necessities of life, but few save for retirement.

This could simply be a matter of not being uninformed, since few know the exact amount of money they'll need for retirement. More important, how they plan to make that money last for their lifetime.

If you have a good job, are paying the bills, possibly taking a vacation when needed, perhaps you believe you're doing fine financially, most Americans feel is way. And possibly their right for the short term, but there's no guarantee your job will continue, but it's a guarantee that one day, should you live long enough, you will reach retirement age.

In order to retire comfortably, unless you're independently wealthy, you'll need a combination of incomes to make ends meet; this would include your pension, savings accounts, and Social Security. However, the smart person will take a portion of every dollar they earn and invest it for retirement. That is simply sound planning for the future.

The good news is our life expectancies continue to rise, allowing us to 25 to 30 years to enjoy retirement, but those 25 to 30 years come with a price, and that the rising cost of day to day living.

While there are multiple ways to invest, diversification is crucial to a proper retirement strategy. It's not so important how much you put away, but how consistently you do it over the years. You should spread your money among savings accounts, money markets, mutual funds, 401(k)s, IRAs, and variable annuities. By discussing this with a certified financial planner you'll have the best opportunity of multiple streams of income during retirement.

RETIREMENT STATISTIC: the percentage of Americans who are planning correctly for retirement has fallen consistently from 78% in 2000 down to 71% in '03 and 68% this year.

How much money do you think you'll need in order to live comfortably when you retire? There are various online calculators to help with the exact number, but here's a simplified formula; if you're used to living on $50,000 a year, you'll need $500,000 invested to replace your income, (this is based on a 10% rate of return). Of course some retirees will not require that much, so adjust that figure accordingly.

PROPER PLANNING IS THE KEY: few American households take the time to plan their retirement needs and goals. Statistics show the number of Americans who have actually calculated the amount of money they'll need to retire, has fallen from 53% in 2000 to 42% this year.

Once you arrive at a number that makes sense, then it's time to visit with a licensed financial planner. This is a professional who can offer sound financial advice, and guide toward properly investing your money.

Planning for retirement is not something that should be postponed tomorrow will be here sooner than you think.