We all hope for good luck, and sometimes a little comes our way. But hoping for that break isn't great retirement planning. Good financial planning should be based on what's important to you.

We have put together five situations where sound financial planning, rather than depending on a lucky four-leafed clover, made all the difference.

1. Maximize windfalls. Sometimes you can get a little lucky. It might be that your stocks increase in value; you may find that your house and land have significantly increased in value; you may even win some money. But all that luck could quickly evaporate if you do not plan correctly. Lucky breaks and windfalls can come with tricky tax implications and may even trigger events that result in your losing more money than you have gained. Good advice can prevent this, but relying on luck alone to carry you through could be risky.

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Saving and building your retirement assets is challenging enough. Not taking advantage of all the possible tax opportunities makes it even more challenging. Let's review some of the potential opportunities:

401(k) or 403(b) Plan: These are retirement accounts that you can put contributions in pre-tax from your paycheck through work. By pre-tax, we mean that for every dollar that you put in, it reduces your taxable income by a dollar, with you saving a portion of that dollar at your applicable marginal tax rate. Often companies match all or a portion of your contributions (hint: don't turn down the match!), which you also don't have to pay tax on at that time. The balance of the account grows tax-deferred. Withdrawals are considered ordinary income tax, which can be a catch later on down the road if all you have for retirement assets are these types of accounts, leaving you no choice but to pay tax on every dollar you withdraw from your retirement accounts. Don't worry, there are ways to balance out that "catch" later on.

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