The effec­tive­ness of any finan­cial plan is depen­dent on the qual­ity of infor­ma­tion taken into account. Do-it-yourself online cal­cu­la­tors are a great start­ing point, but you need more infor­ma­tion to make rec­om­men­da­tions that can truly be use­ful in cre­at­ing a plan that can reach your goal.