How much money do you really need when you retire? While you won't ever know exactly (inflation, how long you'll live, health status, etc.), you should have an amount in mind for the moment you retire.

While investing, we often get hung up trying to beat the market as a whole, a certain index, or our friends. While it's great if we can do all of that, the real point of investing is to secure our own futures.

if your friend has $1,000,000 saved and is earning 5% on his money, but you only have $50,000 saved as you approach retirement, then beating him and making 6% on your money is good, but does not help you very much.

In this instance, you'll need to stash away as much money as you can, and earn double-digit returns on it, while your friend may be content with what he has.

Never try to beat the market, and index, or anyone else without first having in mind what your actual investing goal should be.