The Consumer Federation of America and DirectAdvice.com are teaming up to bring you five financial calculators that can help you get started with your financial planning decisions. With this set of calculators you can:

• Realize the tremendous impact time can have on meeting your financial goals.
• See just how powerful compounding can be on your investments.
• Determine potential rates of return by mixing stocks, bonds and cash.
• Discover the tremendous advantage tax deferred investments have over taxable accounts.
• Learn how important employer matching contributions can be on your company retirement plan.

These calculators are only a first step. The most important thing you can do is to develop a comprehensive financial plan that helps you consider all your financial goals. This financial plan should quickly let you know if you are on track to reach your goals. If not, it should suggest specific strategies to help you save more, reduce your taxes and invest properly. While the calculators can show the effect of various investment decisions you might make, they are not a substitute for a solid investment plan. A financial plan should be your real starting point to saving for retirement.

Note: We apologize but these calculators are an online tool only and results cannot be printed.