
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 : Life Begins at 50: A Handbook for Creative Retirement Planning
Author : Leonard J. Hansen
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Practical and informative, a valued addition to my library
At 48 I began looking ahead for my future as a 'senior citizen'. Mr. Hansen's book was recommended by a friend as a good resource. I found it to be practical, informative in an easy to read style. It is now a valued addition to my personal library.

Title : The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich
Author : David Bach
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Very well written, but not for everyone.
Over the past few years, I've bought and read several books on the theme of how to get rich. I have observed that these kinds of books come in three flavours;
1. Get rich by scrimping and saving (eg, "The Money Diet")
2. Get rich by making bold investments (eg, "Rich Dad Poor Dad")
3. Concepts on how to get rich (eg, "Think and grow rich")
The automatic millionaire is very much of the first flavour (scrimping and saving). In fairness, the author does a good job of disguising the fact that his approach amounts to little more than scrimping and saving by making his particular process "automatic" (I won't spoil the book too much by explaining what that means).
At the start of the book, the author describes a meeting he once once had with a couple of retired automatic millionaires, whose names escape me. He describes in depth how happy this married couple were now that they had held down steady (apparently low paid) jobs all their lives and were now reaping the benifits of many decades of savings and conservative investments. We learn about how they have two homes (one that they live in and one that they rent out) and how the husband drives a second hand car. We also are reminded over and over about how joyful and full of romance and wide eyed wonder this ageing couple seem to be now that they're cashing on their healthy pension schemes.
Whilst, I do not question that the automatic millionaire process has clearly paid off for these people, I was struck with a distinct feeling of disappointment as I read their story. Personally speaking, I find it very difficult to get excited about the idea of saving for the rest of my working life in the hope that I can life off a pension some day and drive second hand cars, like our happy couple described in the book. For me, this couple were precise examples of how I absolutely do NOT want to end up- maybe my expectations were too high going into this book!
Anyway, for what it's worth I have one or two other issues with the book that are of a slightly more academic nature. Although I'm no economics professor, I have read credible predictions of an impending stock market crash in the future when a tidal wave of elderly retired workers try to cash in on their pension schemes. Here in the UK, the government is on the verge of forcing everyone into signing up for pensions schemes. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to realise that the figures don't add up- surely we can't ALL get 10% interest rates on our pensions, as the author insists we can. Can we? I also think that his approach is dependant on you and I being able to generate a steady income (i.e., hold down stable jobs) until we retire in our fifties and sixties. Again, without trying to lecture too much or sound too negative, I think we live in an age where life long job security is something that is no longer on the table. So, personally I would put the case that the automatic millionaire process may not be as stable and as surefire as the author would lead us to believe.
Anyway, on a more positive note, the book is very well written and the author does a great job of keeping the subject both interesting and educational. In particular some of the mathematic models he presents are extremely eye opening and well presented.
In conclusion I would say this is a good book is you're a conservative, non risk taking, worker ant. However, for a faster, more exciting and (admittedly!) more risky road to richness I would be tempted to look elsewhere.

Title : The Last Chronicle of Fairacre: "Changes at Fairacre", "Farewell to Fairacre", "Peaceful Retirement"
Author : Miss" "Read
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Much-loved series reaches finale
Miss Read has written over 40 titles, with this handsome omnibus edition collecting her last three Fairacre stories.
"Changes at Fairacre", charts the heroine's relationship with her predecessor at the village school, Miss Clare. "Farewell to Fairacre" covers her decision to retire and the final tome shows how Miss Read copes with her new-found life of leisure.
In an afterword, the author says she is laying down her pen "with a thankful heart". It is all the more surprising therefore that these final tales show no sign of staleness. In particular, "A Peaceful Retirement" is quite playful in tone as Miss Read copes valiantly with a series of unlooked-for marriage proposals.
Given that the school year is so regular the author manages to describe events such as Christmas celebrations and harvest festivals with no sense of repetition, and as ever captures the tensions between town and country living, children's and adult worlds and men and women beautifully.
With "Last Chronicle of Fairacre", Dora Saint, the real-life Miss Read, can take her own retirement from authorship knowing that she has served her readers well.
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Title : 50 Fabulous Places to Retire to in America
Author : Lee Rosenberg
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great for finding the perfect place to retire
This is the wonderful book for finding the perfect place to retire. You learn about each city's climate, costs, taxes, real estate, crime, culture, recreation, transportation, education, medical care job market.
The overview section is very helpful for getting a feel for the city as well recognizing both its positives drawbacks. A listing of newspapers, a realtor, the Chamber of Commerce with contact information is also great aid.
Since a great climate is important to me, I also found the detailed data on weather helpful. It includes seasonal high/low temp, avg. rain/snow inches, avg. # of rainy days, avg. humidity. The # of days below 32 over 90 is also included.
As a bonus this book also helps you figure out how much money you will need how to make it work for you. Tips on moving successfully are also included. If you're thinking about retiring, or even just moving, this is the book you.

Title : Pay Yourself First: A Commonsense Guide to Life-Cycle Retirement Investing
Author : Timothy W. Cunningham
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : One of the most insight books on investing for the future.
This is a must read for people in their 20s and 30s, especially those who are married and have children. Most people think Social Security and the company 401K will take care of their retirement. A great many of those people believe if they start saving in their mid-30s they will accumulate enough wealth to retire comfortably. This book reinforces the need to begin saving for retirement as soon as you begin working full-time because of the power of compounding and all of the various circumstances like Bar Mitzah's, weddings and other financially draining events. It made me examine my own portfolio and strategy for future financial events. It is a very easy to read and understand book and can be read in a day.