Spring’s officially sprung, and April brings us thoughts of Easter. Remember the baskets with the coloured cellophane nest filled with chocolate Easter eggs and other goodies. We approached this time with anticipation. How satisfying now when we look at our ‘nest egg’ of savings that we have set aside for emergencies, a special trip or our retirement. How much should we have set aside? The answer to that question varies greatly among financial advisors. Commonly, people think of setting aside one month’s salary, but it is best to determine how much you need to meet all your basic obligations for one month and start saving with that amount in mind. After that, you can save to have two months of expenses set aside and more after that. Saving for retirement should be just that, not a nest egg that we keep dipping into but set aside for the ‘golden years.’

Doris Minervini, Abakhan & Associates Inc., Abakhan.com