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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 : Winning the Money Game Made Easy: Building Assets and Wealth for Your Future
Author : Bradley L. Gummow
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Comprehensive guide for building your own investment plan.

As I approached 30, I became a little worried about my future financial security. Not knowing much about the stock market, investing, IRAs and whatnot and being a do-it-yourself person, I went looking for a book that would help me in my financial planning. B.L. Gummow's book "Winning the Money Game Made Easy" jumped right out to me. I found this guide incredibly easy to read and use. Mr. Gummow, through a series of thoughtful relevant exercises, helped me evaluate my current financial situation and develop my own investment plan based on the things I want to achieve in my future. I had always felt that Wall Street symbols and jargon were very confusing. This book helped explain what things meant and empowered me to make my own decisions and not just regurgitated advice from co-workers and friends. I would highly recommend "Winning the Money Game Made Easy" to any self-starter who wants to make knowledgeable decisions about their future financial security.

Title : Secure Your Future: Financial Planning at Any Age (Successful Business Library)
Author : Chuck Tellalian
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Shows how debt affects net worth

The very good chapter here on determining your net worth helps emphasize the effect of debt on your planning and projections.
Michael Pellecchia

Title : General Washington's Christmas Farewell: A Mount Vernon Homecoming, 1783
Author : Stanley Weintraub
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : It takes chaos to invent a new order

Let's start on a personal note: I was in Cuba in January 1959, when the brutal dictator Fulgencio Batista fled in the middle of the night and Fidel Castro began making his way across the country to Havana.

The Cuban celebrations of the collapse of tyranny and terror were much like the events described in this book, a continuing rum-fueled celebration that lasted days and days in a nation at last free after years of terror. Castro made a triumphal procession across the country as a godlike liberator, just as Washington was hailed as the greatest man of his times. It is nice to celebrate the end of a war -- think of George Bush strutting across the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, wearing a borrowed flight suit with the banner 'Mission Accomplished' in the background. But, freedom is much more; it generates an ecstasy that stirs every emotion the heart, not merely the limited glory of victory, but also an unbounded hope for a better and brighter future without fear, fright or futility.

Washington, with a knowledge and wisdom rare among revolutionary leaders, went back to his farm. The ultimate tribute came from King George III, who personally knew something about the temptations and dangers of power, when he said that if Washington actually did return to his farm "he will be the greatest man in the world."

Think of Cuba today had Castro retired to a little rancho and learned how to cut cane instead of crushing gusanos. In Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide should have gone back to the priesthood after he tossed out the Duvalier regime. The list of "liberators" who seize power and try to impose their own rules is almost universal; Washington patterned his retirement after the Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus "who, victorious, left the tented field, covered with honor, and withdrew from public life, to enjoy civium cum dignitate."

Unlike Cincinnatus, who was twice recalled from his farm to become dictator, Washington was recalled from his farm only to establish an enduring legacy of democracy. It is a rare quality. Weintraub describes those perilous times with painful detail.

Painful? It was a time of chaos in America, much to the satisfaction of the English who thought the independent colonies would collapse of internal confusion. Congress was even flakier then than now. A third of Americans were loyalists who had supported King George; Washington understood the power of reconciliation rather than the retribution of describing anyone who had not supported him as an enemy.

In 1783, Washington kept urging greater power for the central government. He could have become dictator and imposed his own regal solution; instead, he stepped back and let the people and Congress, however slow in their many imperfections, gradually work out the system that now exists. Everyone was slow to listen, waiting until 1787 to even begin writing a new Constitution. But, after trying all other solutions, they finally listened to Washington. The old boy may have had wooden (or ivory) teeth, but there was no wood between his ears.

Weintraub has written a masterful book outlining the chaos, confusion and cupidity of the time; explaining how from the primordial soup of American independence a resolute democracy emerged. This book helps explain the resolute independence of the American spirit, nicely summed up by a departing British officer, "These Americans are a curious, original people; they know how to govern themselves, but nobody else can govern them."

It was a wonderful tribute to an exceptional people, and this book nicely explains the mood of the times.

Title : Brilliant Deductions
Author : Wade B. Cook
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Misnamed Title?!

This title is misnamed. There are no suggestions in here on where to deduct your union dues. This is more of Wade's asset protection strategies that he teaches in his seminars. Why is a cabdriver talking about taxes? Some professionals spend their entire careers working with, studying, and researching taxes. A cabdriver thinks Section 179 on asset expensing is a secret. All the tax professionals know about this advantage. A cabdriver wants to sell you on his seminars, tapes, Nevada corporations, internet service, etc. All the Wade Cook information is the same repackaged in a new format. It makes interesting reading, but follow your local professional's advice.

Title : The Baby Boomer Financial Wake-up Call: It's Not Too Late to Financially Secure!
Author : Kay R. Shirley
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : I used the book to motivate my parents to plan

I like the real world examples. I really felt as if I could apply the techniques to my life. I liked the author's personal interjections. It made her more credible.

Title : You're Fifty--Now What: Investing for the Second Half of Your Life
Author : Charles R. Schwab
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : The Best Book on Financial Planning for the Over 46 Age Set

My biggest complaint about most books on financial planning is that they try to cover everyone with one approach. Mr. Schwab's book is a pleasant exception to this rule. By at least focusing on those of around middle years (46 through 56), he can be more specific and make the information more relevant to each reader. Naturally, I would like to see future books be even more focused than this one, but Mr. Schwab has certainly moved in the right direction.

I found this book to be vastly superior to 52 Weeks to Financial Fitness by Marshall Loeb, which was also written for people in this age category.

Mr. Schwab's profits as author from this book are all being donated to the Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation to provide for the needs of seniors.

The book is divided into two parts: First, planning for the rest of your life; and second, getting organized to implement that plan.

The planning section is very well done because it covers materials at a level of perspective that goes from the needs of most beginners to handling the needs of all but the most sophisticated people. Fundamentals are covered in sidebars so as not to clutter-up the main text for those who do not need the information. The subjects covered include how much money you will need in total, determining the value of what you have available, estimating the gap between your needs and resources, understanding how to think about asset allocation in your investment funds, establishing the proper cash flow to match your needs, and readjusting your investment mix over time.

Each section is clearly written and provides formats to make it easier for you to assemble and think about your information. I was particularly pleased to see Mr. Schwab challenge some conventional wisdom about financial planning. Many people use a rule of thumb that you will need 70% of your preretirement income. In practice, many people find that they spend more than that because some costs go up more rapidly than inflation, like medical care, or they take on new interests. Mr. Schwab suggests 90%. I think even that may not be conservative enough. I think a better assumption is to have the percentage grow over time, slowly. Eventually, it will probably exceed 100%.

In addition, many people will tell you to plan on spending 6% of your assets each year after you have to start drawing on them. Mr. Schwab wisely suggests that 3-4% will be more appropriate for most people. I liked that advice very much.

The advice on investing is much more conservative than you would expect from someone who heads an on-line brokerage house. But appropriately so. He suggests you stay in common stocks as long as possible, because you may well live much longer than you think. But he has all but 10% of your portfolio in either no-load index funds or conservative bond and cash positions. If you skip the idea of owning any individual stocks, the advice is quite appropriate for the average person. It also has you reducing your exposure to stocks over time, as the years appraoch when you will need the income. So even if stocks stop performing well (as some warn) in the next few years, you will be relatively safe.

Part II of the book gets you into deciding whether you need a financial advisor or not, and how to select and work with one. It also looks at the most important questions about insurance, estate planning (get thee to a lawyer), and how to handle your donations so they bring you the most satisfaction and least after-tax cost.

The book has several other nice qualities. It emphasizes the rest of your life as being the "second half" rather than the downhill slide or some other negative concept. In sports, we all know that the winners are usually those who play the second half the best. Also, at half-time, the coach often makes adjustments that lead to winning performance. It is a very nice metaphor for financial planning at this stage in life. "What do I want for the second half of my life?" is the key question posed in the beginning of the book for you to consider.

I also liked the optimism of the book. Rather than focusing on the fear that people have about outliving their money, the book emphasizes the potential for good things to happen. You may live longer, and think of all the good things that could follow. "Anything is possible" was my favorite line from the book, which followed examples of wonderful accomplishments by seniors of advanced years.

Unless you already have been through this exercise recently with a financial advisor, I suggest that you get the book and use the exercises.

Further, I suggest you take even more time to think through the possibilities that the post child-rearing and tuition years may offer you. It's almost like getting to start over again, but with much more in the way of resources and wisdom.

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