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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 : 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.

Look for and find the best choices!

Title : The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked
Author : Ernie J. Zelinski
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : This book should be required reading for everyone over 15!

Everyone should read this book as soon as possible -- not just the retired, the unemployed, and those otherwise without work. Even though this book confirms my beliefs of making the most of life and leisure, Ernie still manages to make me think some more. I have recommended this book to many of my family, friends, and former (since I have quit the corporate life too!) colleagues. Ernie makes it clear that there is more to life than a job, TV, and materialistic dreams. I'm buying 5 copies to give to family and friends!
Ron Verstappen

Title : Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich: How to Get Rich Quickly and Stay Rich Forever! (Rich Dad)
Author : Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Essential Look at How You Must Think and Act to Prosper!

This book deserves more than five stars for its exceptional clarity, authenticity, relevance and eloquence.

Those who love the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books will adore this one. I found it to be the best book in the series since Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Mr. Robert T. Kiyosaki speaks with the authority of experience. He did retire young at 47 while his wife was 37. At that time, his expected annual income was between $80,000 and $125,000. Many people yearn for early retirement with wealth, mostly because they hate their work. Mr. Kiyosaki was soon back at work, establishing new businesses. Most of his wealth was created after he retired. "I keep working because there are so things that need to be done." So, he has clearly moved from earnings a living, to living a mission of self-expression. That's very wonderful, and I hope you will accomplish the same result!

Although the subtitle says this is "how to" book, it's really more of a "what to think" book. The fundamental concept is to leverage your mind, your plans, your actions, and your priorities to get wealth faster and more easily.

As usual, Rich Dad provides some wonderful quotes. Here are a few of my favorites.

"David could beat Goliath because David knew how to use the power of leverage."

"Cash flow is the most important word in the world of money. The second most important word is leverage."

"Leverage is the reason some people become rich and others do not become rich."

"Because leverage is power, some people use it, some abuse it, and others fear it."

"Getting rich begins with words and words are free."

" . . . do more and more with less and less."

The first books in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series have been about cash flow. This one shifts over to leverage. Section 1 is about leveraging your mind, section 2 looks at leverage from a plan to retire, section 3 addresses leverage from actions. The book goes on to give you a final exam on your attitudes and a challenging thought to chew on to help get you focused properly: making lots of money with no money to start with.

Now, any book about leverage would normally have lots of pages on how debt leverage works. In fact, that is only a small part of what this book talks about. You will find that discussion in part of chapter 16, which looks at all of the forms of leverage in real estate.

One of the strengths of the book is a fine discussion of how to think about risk and reward. It's not how often you fail, but how big the costs of your failures are compared to the rewards of your successes . . . and your determination to keep trying until you succeed. For instance, 9 out of 10 new businesses fail. But the value of the 1 in 10 that succeed should vastly outweigh the costs of the 9 failures.

The book is excellent in warning you against the risks that you are unconsciously taking. Most people have 100% of their financial futures tied up in government pension and Medicare payments and the stock market. Mr. Kiyosaki correctly points out that this assumption is probably faulty, because there are far more Baby Boomers depending on these two resources than there are resources. One part of the leverage concept is to have more streams of cash flow. He also has excellent ideas on how to reduce risk in your current and potential sources of cash flow.

You are also given a list of good habits to pursue. And top tips from the prior books are repeated in a convenient section near the end of the book.

If you follow the advice in this book, it will be worth more to you and your family than all the other investment and retirement books that you read combined. But you have to take action! Thinking about taking action won't get you there.

I would describe this book as being a lot like Tony Robbins's book, Personal Power, except it is focused effectively on the emotional and mental disciples needed for financial security and investing.

By the way, I have known many people who have retired young with the assistance of being rich. They all embody the principles captured in this book. By contrast, at age 65 only 5 percent of all Americans will be able to afford to live a wealthy life style. Most will be looking for more income. Act now . . . to have a choice of future life style.

Think and live the thoughts that will make you as rich as you want to be! The solutions are there if you look for them.

Title : Life Begins at 50: A Handbook for Creative Retirement Planning
Author : Leonard J. Hansen
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A valuable, user-friendly tool for constructing one's life.

As my own writing sometimes includes advice columns, an editor recommended I read "Life Begins at Fifty" as a primer on how to make a wide range of sometimes complex topics easily accessible for the lay reader. It proved an excellent direction. Mr. Hansen has obviously covered the waterfront for a long time, and the breadth of his knowledge and the manner in which he integrates and conveys his subjects provides a stark contrast to most of the platitudes and off the shelf advice readers are subjected to. My spry 82 year old mother found the book a fascination and said that if she'd had access to it decades ago it would have significantly influenced and changed a number of her decisions. I know the book will prove an interesting tool for me, as it prods me toward topics I know I should be thinking about but keep putting off. One of the most evident virtues of the book is that Mr. Hansen never seems to be fighting a rearguard action as Father Time starts piling on, but instead clearly views the last half of life as when things really get interesting, a viewpoint readers of his book are likely to embrace.

Title : Peaceful Retirement (Windsor Selections S)
Author : Miss" "Read
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Another gentle and charming book from my favourite author

A change in direction with not only retirement but marriage proposals as well for my most loved fictional character. With all of the Fairacre books, a book I have read over and over - only with particular sadness as it appears that this may be the final book. I found the illustrations a bit off putting - part of my love of Miss Read's books are due to J Goodall's beautiful illustrations - not that these are bad, just not what previous readers may be used to. My only complaint is that it is too short!

Title : The Roth Ira Made Simple
Author : Gary R. Trock
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Very helpful

Prospective ROTH IRA purchasers should read this book before investing.

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