Using a retirement calculator is one of the first steps (after having made clear, defined goals) that you take in saving money for your retirement. In addition to a private savings contract, these can be used to calculate your 401k contributions.

If you decide that you want to make regular 401k contributions to your employer 401k, then you're going to want to at least have a dollar amount in mind. A retirement calculator can help you do that. In this video, I cover the basics of what you need to do, where to go, and how to use these calcs. After that, it's up to you to pick your plan and investments and make the most of it.

It's hard to say what you or anyone else should invest your money in. A lot of that is going to depend on your goals and your purpose for saving money. Some financial products are better suited for long-term savings, others can handle short-term and frequent deposits and withdrawals.

I'm not going to lie to you, doing all of the work required in order to get accurate numbers isn't easy. It might take more than using just one calculator. In fact, it probably will take more than all of the "do-it-yourself" tools on the Internet. This will get you started though, and it will give you something to hand over to a professional financial adviser when the time is right.

For the complete novice, this process of gathering information and doing calculations can range from completely boring to downright frustrating. Figuring in all of the nuances for inflation, taxes, etc. and knowing what to worry about and what not to worry about is probably best left for professionals.