Setting financial goals for 2009
By Amy Brown Bowers • Bankrate.com

Dhanji suggests people in this stage recalculate their retirement projection. "Are they still on track to meet their retirement objectives? Will they have to work longer or reduce their retirement income?" he says.

Lamontagne says this is also the stage at which you should maximize your RRSP and Tax-Free Savings Account, or TFSA, contributions. He suggests considering borrowing to invest if all of your debts are paid off.

"The interest you pay is tax deductible if the investment is made to a nonregistered account. The stock markets are at a low, so timing is good, and borrowing costs are very low, so the new monthly expense will be relatively small," he says.

If your debts are paid off, be careful of something MacKenzie calls lifestyle creep. With more income and fewer expenses, "there's generally more money available, and it is so easy to develop richer tastes. You get used to more expensive trips and more expensive clothes and a nicer car and going out more often ... What used to be a luxury becomes a necessity."

65 and older: Sustain your plan
While you reap the benefits of years of saving, make sure the way you spend doesn't mean you'll run out of money too quickly.

"Make sure the amount of money you are taking out of your investment portfolio to live on is sustainable. If you are forced to sell while the markets are down, then you won't be able to ever recover those losses," Lamontagne says.

If you are worried about having enough money, revisit your financial plan and talk to an expert about making any necessary changes.

"People 65 years of age and older should take no more risk than necessary, because they do not have the option of going back to work," says MacKenzie. "They need a financial plan to determine how much risk they need to take to get the return that is necessary so that they never run out of money. The financial plan will also show them how much they can safely spend."

Amy Brown-Bowers is a writer living in Toronto.