Is saving 10% of your paycheck every month enough? 20%? 50%?

How much from every paycheck should you set aside for yourself? How much should you pay yourself before you pay out to anyone else?

If you set a plan for how much of your income to put away each month, and then do some math, you can project how much you'll have so many years down the road. The trick is in choosing what effective interest rate you'll get in those so many years.

But as the fine print always says:

past performance is no guarantee of future results

You can never know what interest rate you'll get on your money in the future. The corollary to this rule is, you can pick whatever rate you want to use. It doesn't matter, because it'll be wrong, but it will be as right as the next person's guess. That means whatever interest rate you use, you will be right, or as right as the next person's at least.

And you know what? Whatever rate you use, and whatever end result you get from doing the math, the end result won't be enough. When you get to your first million, it won't be enough. Your second million... Not enough. If you're not there yet you'll just have to trust me on this point. When you do get there you'll understand.

The only way to ensure you're saving enough from every paycheck is to save as much as you can. Go ahead and save 10% or 20% or whatever, but the only way to really be satisfied you're saving enough is to exceed whatever amount you set for yourself.

If you don't pay dearly for your retirement now, you probably won't be able to purchase the nice retirement you want.