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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 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 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 : Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying
Author : Ram Dass
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A gentle, clear perspective on living all of your life.

Ram Dass has aged, and while thinking about aging, had a massive stroke from which he has recovered his speech. The words are more thoughtful now, clearer. There is an economy which has lead to clarity. Reading this work helps one to see what to hold onto and what to release. There can be joy in where you are, though it is clearly not where you were, once, nor where you thought you would be. This is a gift. In each chapter he reminds us, in a gentle, loving way, to love ourselves. Knowing that he has come back from the stroke, that his body is not going to stop relying on the wheelchair, that there was fear and pain in his experience, all this makes his words ring true. Give yourself this gift. And give it to others.

Title : Discounts and Good Deals for Seniors in Texas: The Best Bargains and Deals from Abilene to Zavalla for Ages 50 and Up
Author : Sylvia Spade-Kershaw
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Excellent, layout is very good and easy to use

Contains information I was not able to find anywhere else. In my opinion, Sylvia did a very thorough research on this subject. I found the information to be very complete. The only exception is one grocery store in Georgetown that offers senior discounts of 5% on Wednesdays. This was offset by at least 12-15 discounts that were new to me. The book is very well organized. It provides listings by type of discount and location (city or town). It exceeded my expectation!

Title : Celebration
Author : Harry Crews
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Not for the faint of heart

As someone else noted, this probably isn't the best introduction to Crews' work for the uninitiated and the faint of heart. But for hardcore Crews readers and others who can look the human beast in the face without flinching, this is some of his best work, and indeed some of the best work being done in contemporary fiction.

If you need the status quo definition of Justice and Beauty to get to sleep at night, don't read this book. But if you can't turn away from the dark spectacle of the raw human heart, this is for you.

Title : The Roth Ira Made Simple
Author : Gary R. Trock
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Finally a book that makes sense!

Finally, a source for some interesting considerations to take into account, before jumping head first, into a Roth IRA conversion. This book was very informative about the process of conversion into a roth IRA. The author was very intresting and easy to understand. I would recommend this book for anyone that is concernd with there investments for there retirement future.

Title : The Old Fool's Retirement Guide
Author : Rob Davies
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Disappointing book from an excellent stable

The 'Motley Fool' series is a really excellent one. For the first time reader of their works this book will provide something, indeed much, of interest. However, compared to their other books (and I have read them all) this is a disappointment. There is little which is new in this book and the retirement sections of, for example, the Motley Fool UK Investment guide, are actually more informative. The authors of Motley Fool really must decide on a standard version of thier investment philosophy and develop this, rather than simply repeat it in several differnet ways.

The book really cant make up its mind whether it is for those saving for old age, or already in it and trying to decide how best to take their income. It tries to do both and falls short on both counts, but particularly the latter. There is little or no discussion of many things -such as bonds or zeros - if only to dismiss them. These are (albeit briefly) explored in the Motley Fool UK Investment Guide - where the section on 'Hermiones old age' was very informative. If ths present book could have used this as a starting point we could have learned much more.

Likewise, there is little consideration of those already in their forties but with little or no investment. The book all to often assumes you are in the early stages of a career or at the end of it.

Buy this book if you are a first timer to the Motley Fool - otherwise stick with the UK Investment Guide and wait for the second edition of Old Age.......

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