Don't play with bonds.

[ken-do-nim]

The more I read on financial sites, the more "rules of thumb" I start to throw out. Another one I think is bunk is basing your retirement needs on 70% of your salary the year before you retire. Absolutely not! Build a budget, think about travel expenses and what not, and go from there. Your retirement budget has absolutely nothing to do with how much you used to earn.