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It would be great if we could all retire with a nice portfolio of savings and pension income, without having to worry about paying the bills most retired people pay.

Yet...many retirees are living out their retirement on the breadline without much hope for even going on holiday without being assisted by relatives or even handouts. Don't let yourself be one of them...it's never too late!

Title : Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying
Author : Ram Dass
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Fierce grace

I have been fortunate enough to meet Ram Dass on two occasions including a five day meditation retreat. This book distills the experiences of a lifetime of searching for spiritual meaning. It is probably not the best introduction to him, but it will help anyone facing their "midlife crisis" or having to deal with experiences that confront you with your mortality. Will you "flunk the test" when it is time to leave your body behind?
It's worth keeping an eye out for the DVD "Fierce Grace" (from USA)which is a fine 90 minute documentary with interviews with Ram Dass before and as he manages his life after his stroke - as well as some excellent historical footage from his life in the sixties.
Namaste.

Title : Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well
Author : Ralph Warner
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Excellent Contrarian Viewpoint

This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks about retirement, from those just starting out in their 20's and 30's to those nearing retirement. The book is a refreshing, contrarian view to the conventional wisdom of "save tons of money for retirement", "you'll need 70-100% of your current income in retirement", etc., etc., etc. The traditional retirement literature is focused almost exclusively on money, with which Warner takes exception.

Warner's focus is on the whole person - he makes a very compelling argument that money is a FACTOR in a good retirement, but that it is also important to cultivate health, outside interests, friendships and family. He believes these latter factors have a FAR greater influence on a successful retirement than money. He bases this viewpoint on research among those enjoying active, successful retirements.

Warner is not a Pollyanna, saying not to even think about retirement savings (as some critics seem to suggest). The book contains some common sense ideas on savings and admits that having SOME money may help. Warner's point, however, is that money alone isn't going to make you have a successful retirement if you neglected your family, friends, outside interests, spirituality and health in order to get the money.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever thinks about retirement. You may not agree with the proposition, but the book will really help expand your view of the elements of a good retirement and may help you plan a more enjoyable life.

Title : One World, Ready or Not
Author : Wil Greider
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Take two aspirins, don't call me in the morning


A man goes to his dermatologist to have an ugly mole removed from his neck. He returns one week later to have his stitch removed.

"The good news is, you won't have any scar," the doctor says. "The bad news is, you'll be dead in six months."

Though many people criticize Mr. Greider's conclusions, few -- even eminent scholars -- can say why. They admit most of his facts are correct (damning with faint praise) without saying which facts are wrong. They provide simplistic parables about the economics of hot dogs and buns without benefit either of logic or evidence. In short, most of Mr Greider's "critics" seem more culpable than Greider of the crimes against intellectual integrity of which they accuse him.

Let's simply stipulate that Mr. Greider is like Ralph Nader, a Cassandra. Let's stipulate further that he is histrionic even paranoic. Let's simply rest with "the facts".

What we have left is the picture of a global economy in ICU, surrounded (a) by technicians who are not monitoring high performance, but failing vital signs; (b) by FedEx boxes for shipping body parts.

Had the world not already experienced an economic death but 70 years ago, we might dismiss Greider's prognosis.

So, his facts are worrisome; but, not as troubling as his prescriptions. He doesn't think it inevitable that the patient has to die because the "government" can somehow "keep it going" with a different IV solution, tracts to bolster the spirits of the patient's next of kin, and specific instructions to other governmental and cultural caretakers.

He doesn't satisfy me that he understands that we are not simply in another industrial revolution, but a post-industrial evolution. Yes, the whole world is changing, as it has several time before in the last 100,000 years -- but what comes from that process will be far better -- and simpler -- than what is now becoming ruins.

So, Mr. Greider gets full credit for research, and no credit for insight. Therefore, a 5.

--John Grassi

Title : The Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica: A Guide to Inexpensive Living in a Peaceful Tropical Paradise
Author : Cristobal Howard
Rating : 1 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great book--if you lack common sense

This book is great if are planning on traveling to Costa Rica as a tourist for a short amount of time; however, it really does not emcompass the complexity of moving or investing in a foreign country. Don't be fooled--this book lacks substinative information on starting a business in Costa Rica, other than the overarching message that "Not everything in the States will work in Costa Rica." Oh, really? My other favorite section was "How to Find a Nice Girl." After "interviewing hundreds of quality Costa Rican women" the author managed to whittle through the unrespectable, poor, uneducated women who were only after him for his money and find a nice girl. I guess the real shame is that he wasn't able to complete this process through a mail-order catalog.

Title : Rich Dad's Prophecy
Author : Sharon L. Lechter
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Massively dissappointing addition to an outstanding series

Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" series has become a seminal work for those seeking financial freedom and success. Following the guidance of his previous works I, my family and colleagues have made huge strides in increasing our net wealth and still consider the day that we read the first book to have been truly life changing.

This latest book, however, is a huge disappointment for anyone who is an experienced 'follower' of Kiyosaki. There is very little new and it appears that the series is becoming a cash cow for him to milk money out of in return for repeating previous material. The amount of content regarding the key topic (the financial impact of the change in the US population make up) is tiny and adds little to what is available free through simple internet searches. The tendency to use the text to advertise other "Rich Dad" products is increasingly annoying and adds to the feeling that the author is not really interested in adding value, except to his bank balance.

For newcomers to the series, though, the book could be useful as it combines topics from all of the previous four texts; a low cost way of getting the most for your money. I still reccomend the original "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" as an outstanding stand alone work (for its attitude alone). This new book would add to that nicely as a pair, saving the need to purchase the intermediate series or numerous attached products.

For those of us who have awaited Kiyosaki's output with anticipation, this is depressingly bad and verging on a deliberate rip off. Stick with the original and look for answers to the questions about the coming decade elsewhere.

Title : How to Retire Rich
Author : James O'Shaughnessey
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Started good, but then...

I don't know how to take this book. On the positive side, it offers seemingly reasonable investment strategies for inexperienced investors. At worst, the strategies are thought provoking. At best, they may be providing strategies that will make alot of people retire rich. On the negative side, I am skeptical of the author's intentions of writing this book. He sells mutual funds that implement the strategies (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but the funds have yearly fees of 1.5% each! That is very high for a passive fund. Why so high? All of a sudden, I want to stop reading. Finally, the book didn't teach me 250+ pages of info. It may be good for the new investor, but for one like me that has read a few books (but not done alot yet), it didn't offer alot of new insight. (I just can't get that 1.5% out of my head...)

Title : Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life
Author : Marc Eisenson
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Get High Returns on Your Time, Energy, and Money!

"Our goal for Invest in Yourself is to motivate you to take charge of your life and make the most out of your time, energy, and money." That's a novel and valuable perspective that's worth five stars for this book.

Too many self-help books focus on helping you get more money or more out of your money, but ignore the costs in terms of the time, attention, effort and stress involved. Invest in Yourself looks beyond that overly-narrow focus. That's the good news about this book.

The bad news about this book is that it has taken on more than one book can hope to fully deliver on. I hope the authors come out with sequels that expand and magnify what is here.

The six secrets are:

(1) Make your own lifestyle decisions.

(2) Put your family first.

(3) Wherever you work, be in business for yourself.

(4) Make the most of the money you bring home.

(5) Turn your debts into golden investment opportunities.

(6) Map out your financial future.

The three authors have an unusual perspective. They have dropped out of the "get ahead at the office" rat race and "shop until you drop" lifestyles much more than most. As a result, they have lots of money-saving ideas based on their own life experiences. Much of what is in the book, Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge would approve of. If you are like me, you will find money-saving ideas that would never have occurred to you, otherwise. My parents have always shopped are yard sales, but it had never occurred to me to use these routinely for the kind of around-the-house items that I will seldom use like unusual garden tools.

One of the strengths of the book is that it is not a "one size fits all" approach. They realize that each person will have a different set of life goals, and the advice is couched to accommodate that.

I also liked the way that the book challenged the automatic assumptions that many make: Career comes first; job comes first; exciting consumer experiences are a main reward for success; and only the best will do.

By having three authors, the perspectives and ideas were much more varied than I have seen in other, somewhat-similar self-help books. That also was a strength.

The weakest section was the last one on mapping out your financial future. Almost everyone will need more guidance than is here. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are lots of books about creating financial plans that you can use to supplement this one.

On the other hand, those who buy into the traditional American Dream and will happily pay the price for economic success will find less in this book than will those independent souls who listen to their own intuition for guidance. Despite ideas for making penny-pinching fun, it's not going to be fun for everyone. I do applaud pointing out how saving money for essentials is far more valuable than expanding income due to the income tax effects on progressive income. The advice about paying off your expensive debt is pretty standard, but I liked the way it was couched in terms of thinking of it as a high return investment.

I hope you will not only read this book, but apply its lessons. As you do, I encourage you to expand your perspective even more broadly than the book does. What other areas do you have important values in, besides time, money, and energy? How can those values be honored in your tradeoffs? The more you do this, the better life you will have . . . the richer your life will be in terms of its effect on those around you.

Enjoy, live long, and prosper!

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