By LORI CULLEN
Albany Times Union Posted on Fri, Feb. 01, 2008

When you envision your retirement, do you dream of playing golf and catching up on missed time with friends, or starting a new career?

A recent AARP survey found that 57 percent of American adults may have to keep dream-ing, because they have less than $25,000 in savings, are ill-prepared for retirement and have a false sense of security about their financial futures.

“Most people make a financial plan once, but then the kids come, and the house, and college,” says Carolina Lazzari, a certified financial planner at Commonwealth Financial Network in Schenectady, N.Y. “The plan goes out the window, and they forget about it.”

If your financial plans have fallen by the wayside, or you’re worried your current financial strategy might not meet your goals, there’s still time to fix it. We asked financial experts how to start a strategy — or jump-start an old one. Here are some tips that are compiled from interviews with Terry Jandreau of A.G. Edwards and Son in Albany, N.Y.; Leonard Valetta, Albany Financial Group; Bradley Konopaske and Paul Paska, Empire Asset Management, Albany; and Caro-lina Lazzari, CommonWealth Financial Network, Schenectady:

– Set goals: The balancing act required by families who have the difficult task of juggling mortgages, car loans and other bills while saving for college expenses and retirement could make an acrobat dizzy.

Different savings goals require different strategies, depending on whether you are saving to purchase a home or for retirement, experts say. Meeting these needs requires a careful balancing act in which you must make trade-offs and be mindful of their effects. Having goals can provide guidance when making tough decisions.

– Have a vision of where you want to go: Ask yourself, “What kind of lifestyle do I want to live?” Have a clear vision and define it. Then back into the vision and ask, “What does it take to live this lifestyle?”

– Prioritize goals for the next five years.

– List one-time expenses, like upcoming repairs, so as not to blow your budget.

– Plan for goals that will compete with or need to be funded alongside retirement planning — like putting children through college.

– Inform your financial advisers of any major events such as marriage, death, the birth of a child or a new job, all of which may call for revisions in your financial strategy.

– Remember your budget: Don’t think of a budget as something you’ve outgrown. Using a budget can be a useful tool for determining where you spend your money and deciding where you can cut and trim. Track your spending for three months with a spreadsheet, or even a spiral notebook, to see where your money goes. Adjust your budget based on your spending habits.

– Pay down debt: The money you save on interest is like earning money. If you don’t have enough money, you’ll either need to increase your income or revise your lifestyle. Making sacrifices now can go a long way toward meeting your future goals.

Make commitment to save.

Even the lowest earners can save something if they put their minds to it. You might be surprised to learn how small sacrifices can add up over time. For ex-ample, after adjusting for inflation, brewing your own coffee rather than spending $39.20 a month for 20 cups of coffee could net you more than $8,000 in savings over 10 years if you invested the savings and received a return of 8 percent. Imagine how much savings other small sacrifices could yield, such as downgrading premium cable television channels or cooking at home.

Life is a made up of choices.

Analyze where you are right now. Adjust and move forward. Find what’s most important and commit the energy and resources to accomplishing that goal:

—Save first. Have money automatically deducted, if you can.

—Begin an emergency fund to cover three to six months’ expenses.

—If your workplace offers a matching retirement savings plan, make sure you contribute at least enough to get the match — it’s free money.

—Take advantage of financial education that may be offered through your workplace. Companies that offer retirement savings plans are legislated to provide financial education. Studies show that households who have access to financial education are more likely to change their savings behavior after they’ve calculated how much money they’ll need in retirement.

—Get an annual checkup: Just like you need to work hard to keep your job, your money should be working hard for you. An annual performance review will show you where your funds are performing well and where they are slacking. If a component isn’t working hard for you, make adjustments. Give it a chance to shape up — or give it the boot.

—Review your workplace retirement plan (two-investor couples should study both of their workplace plans as a single unit).

—Reassess your investments. Rebalance to make sure your investment dollars are properly allocated and well-distributed.

—Assess the ratio of investments in stocks, bonds and cash, making sure your investments display a suitable level of risk considering your proximity to your investment goals.

—Protect your investments. Regardless of your age or net worth, you need to protect your family and your assets if you die or become disabled. The beneficiaries listed on your retirement savings accounts supersede those listed in your will. Even the best-made plans could fall apart if you don’t take steps to safeguard them.

—Make a retirement plan. Ibbotson Associates, an authority on investment research, recommends you aim to replace 80 percent of your net preretirement income to maintain your current standard of living in retirement. Unlike earlier generations whose retirements were modeled on a “three-legged” stool, consisting of a pension, Social Security and savings, today’s savers are watching as defined benefit plans are increasingly replaced by defined contribution plans, leaving them largely responsible for their own financial security. If you don’t plan for your retirement, it may never come.