A thumb-rule is a convenient standard or an average that you can use for estimation. Thumb-rule may not be very accurate, it it gives you a fair estimate with very little effort. And this makes it useful.

Financial planners use these thumb-rules as starting point in retirement planning exercise and you can use them too whenever you think about planning your finances for retirement. Applying them to your personal situation gives you a starting point, from where you can build your own customized financial plan.

Go through this short course to know more about these thumb-rules.