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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 : The New Golden Door to Retirement Living in Costa Rica
Author : Christopher Howard
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : The content was great; I dropped a star for the editing.

I breezed through the book in an afternoon/evening and found it to be extremely informative and accurate based on my limited ten day stay in Costa Rica. The author presents both sides for those considering relocating to CR. It is a wonderful place to visit which motivated me to inquire what it might be like to live there.

Title : You're Fifty - Now What?
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.

Look for and find the best choices!

Title : Investing from Scratch: A Handbook for the Young Investor
Author : James Lowell
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Intelligent advice for thoughtful investors.

Lowell's writing voice is engaging, intelligent, and refreshingly free of finance jargon. This is a primer for people who have more on their minds than their mutual fund returns. One of the very few books of this genre I could actually relate to, as someone with a healthy skepticism towards the American dream of riches and retirement. Written uncondescendingly and with attention to the often ignored but important issues of investors' social responsibilities, and if it is in fact possible to do well and do good at the same time. One of the few books of this genre that doesn't alienate me.

Title : Mrs. Ted Bliss
Author : Stanley Elkin
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Beautiful language, ugly plot

Mr. Elkin has a wonderful style, with phrases that you reread and say out loud to yourself, that you remember when you put the book down. But that's about all you remember, because the plot and the characters leave much to be desired. I think Elkin put a little too much into forming the most perfect, most beautiful sentences, and not enough into the actual story. I never cared about what happened to Dorothy, or anyone else in her mundane existance. Literature is not literature if it doesn't move you, and Mrs. Ted Bliss most definetly failed in that regard.

Title : You'Ve Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire
Author : Suze Orman
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Every woman's book on pitfalls in planning: Read this FIRST!

I grabbed this book on impulse, knowing that I have a bad track record with money management subjects. I thought it would be laying around gathering dust for awhile...

Was I surprised when I started reading the first page and then plowed right through it in 1-1/2 nights! So easy to read and understand. (The Wall St. Journal series, with all their glitzy colored pictures couldn't do what Suze did with her real-life stories as examples.) Maybe it's the woman's touch, but she got through to me. The whole picture of retirement issues and planning became clear.

I highly recommend this as a first book for financial planning -- it's NOT JUST ABOUT RETIREMENT, it's more about protecting women by arming them with vital information... every woman should READ THIS BOOK BEFORE MAKING ANOTHER DECISION involving money (or before someone makes one for her).

Title : Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well
Author : Ralph E. Warner
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A common sense approach to planning for retirement.

This book should be required reading for people in their 30's and 40's. It emphasizes keeping active, having a wide variety of interests, and developing friends of all ages. It's a good antidote to all those financial planners who try to make you feel guilty about not having "X" millions of dollars invested so they can make commissions off your money. A good gift for middle age yuppies.

Title : The Roth Ira Made Simple
Author : Gary R. Trock
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great tables to evaluate whether Roth or Traditional is best

I bought this book to help me prepare for seminars I presented on the Roth IRA. It gave a clear understanding of the rules for Roth contributions, but its greatest strength was the tables that let one compare the future benefits of Roth/Traditional IRA based on current and future tax brackets, rates of return, as well as present age. Another feature was dealing with the future value of what Gary calls "Opportunity Costs" when considering a conversion from traditional IRAs to Roth Conversion. Opportunity costs is the future value of the money that needs to be paid to the government when the IRA is converted. Again, current and future tax brackets, age, and rates of return are clearly presented. A must for anyone who really wants to get a grasp on the numbers and not just skim along the surface.

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