10 ways to boost retirement planning
By Leslie Haggin Geary • Bankrate.com

Flip through a magazine or turn on the television and it seems that there's an entire universe of happy, wealthy retirees walking along beaches without a care in the world.

Well, unless you invent some wildly popular software program or hit the jackpot, the road to sandy paradise is likely to be paved on a foundation of common sense, hard work and discipline.

So much for easy answers.

But here's the good news. If you can imagine strolling along that beach, globe-trotting in your 70s or some other definition of a perfect retirement, you're halfway there. So, what is it that you want to do after work? Take up cooking? Travel? Burn that briefcase? There are likely to be times throughout your career when it's easier not to think about saving for retirement, but having a dream can help you stay motivated.

Destination: Retirement Check out these surefire ways to help you reach the destination of your dreams.

10 steps to building a nest egg 1. Start saving ASAP. 2. Be consistent. 3. Sign up for that 401(k). 4. Take advantage of other tax-friendly retirement funds. 5. Diversify! 6. Don't touch savings. 7. Control spending. 8. Save raises and windfalls. 9. Talk to a pro. 10. Fall off the wagon? Get back on.

1. Start saving ASAP.
The numbers speak volumes.

Save a meager $2,000 a year, every year from age 25 to 65 and you'll have $559,562, assuming earnings grow 8 percent annually.

But wait until you're 35 to save that same $2,000 every year and you'd wind up with less than half -- $245,000 -- at age 65, assuming earnings continued at an 8 percent clip.