Customer Reviews

Customize. . . don't minimize. . . Your Retirement: 7 Paths to Explore Possibilities, Choices and Your Future Happiness

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I have been in the financial planning business since 1983 and over the course of time have read several books on retirement. "Customize don't minimize Your Retirement" is not a run-of-the mill retirement book. This book ranks as one of my favorite top three retirement-planning tools. It contains well thought out, practical information along with thought-provoking, decision-making worksheets. I plan on giving the book to our retirement planning clients to assist them in the process.

This is no one size fits all guide to a fictional retirement. This is a way to help us get to someplace real - and hopefully happy or at least gratified - as we move to changing from the routine of career life to the adventure of a life which we can try to make for ourselves. I find it thoughtful and practical.

This book is an easy to read handbook to get you thinking about retirement. The exercises are easy to use. You can pick from the many topics or concentrate on an area of your concern. The book is thought provoking and a good beginning as a talking point with your spouse, friends or partner. It could also be a great gift for someone you care about who might need a gentle "nudge" towards thinking about their retirement.

My husband and I put aside an hour or so every Saturday to sit down on the love seat together to discuss the fine points of this book. Customize...don't minimize Your Retirement is helping us plan for every facet of our future. After over 35 years together we are still learning new things about each other when we go through the exercises step-by-step. We now understand better that, for example, I may not be patient enough to be home with him all day long; or that we agree that we do not need a lot of money and material things to enjoy our old age together. With the help of this book we have begun to plan for the wonderful (and not so good) possibilities of both our active years and when we begin to need more help from care givers. Thank you Dee & Don for writing a fantastic celebration of the inevitable!

SPECIAL THOUGHTS ABOUT A VERY IMPORTANT SUBJECT,
by Bill LeGray, June 1, 2010.

Dee, and Don;

Retirement is truly a "Customizing Job", and for a couple merging two different life styles and desires, it can be challenging. With 20 years of Pre-, and 10 years into, Retirement under our belts, the need for course changes have lessened. We have found ways through the "7 Paths" (you have so aptly identified), and to say more gets too personal. Certainly, proactive Grand-parenting has played a role, and we celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary last year with family and friends.

One thought for you, which I stumbled onto while reading a prospectus for a short Lifelong Living Retirement Planning class is: "One may wish to be especially selective about entering group discussions regarding any of the 7 paths (i.e. not doing so with just anyone). Certainly, some paths demand more attention than others, and focusing for expertise may depend on circumstances. Your Guidebook facilitates handling a couple's special unique needs very nicely. It is a very valuable comprehensive digest with much timely information. With your Study Guide, a couple can truly "customize", rather than just "act out" someone else's prescriptions during their last years together."

Best wishes for continued success,

(Carol and) Bill LeGray

I found this book to be a very helpful way to look at how to be a success in retirement. In particular I found the chapter on Financial Planning to be one of the best comprehensive summaries I have ever read. Besides telling you what the various important considerations are it also enables you to determine what you can expect in the way of estimated lifetime income from your savings and investments. This is a very necessary calculation to know.

I read it and I loved it. As the author of several career books and as a founder of the largest career transition organization worldwide, I found this book superior to any that I have seen in the retirement field. The authors have put forth an excellent guidebook to getting from here to there. It is comprehensive, covering every aspect from finances to visioning to action to hitting the target. The best part of this book is its easy step-by-step approach. Whether retirement is near or far or right now, CUSTOMIZE...DON'T MINIMIZE...YOUR RETIREMENT is a must read. Customize. . . don't minimize. . . Your Retirement: 7 Paths to Explore Possibilities, Choices and Your Future Happiness Loretta Foxman Polsky

I gave the book as a gift to my parents and they were very grateful. My mother really loved it because she didn't know how to raise a number of the issues surrounding their retirement with my Dad. But due to the comprehensive nature of the exercises in the book they were able to have very meaningful discussions and my mother was relieved and reassured. Since my father has been ill lately, these in-depth conversations have become even more important and timely.

"Customize,,,don't minimize...Your Retirement" is truly a book that lives up to its title and the goals of its authors. It helps the reader to think seriously about the issues all of us face going into retirement and the ramifications of the choices we make,not only for ourselves but for our loved ones.

It is well-orangized, provides useful resources, and engages the reader immediately. It presents options and guides the reader, through carefully designed exercises, to explore the many possibilities retirement holds...if we are prepared.

Family and friends would greatly benefit from reading this book. It is clearly written with valuable insights and observations. I would highly recommend it to
individuals facing retirement and to professionals who work with them.

It would also be a great gift for all family members!


Marie Kisiel, Ph.D.
Professor of Humanities,Emerita
Executive Director, Carrus Educational Resources

This is one of the few retirement planning books that is both comprehensive and flexible. We were able to quickly understand the retirement planning challenges we have by completing exercises that point out these gaps. Then we focused on those challenges skipping over what was less relevant. The authors generated well designed exercises that helped us plan our strategy. They also offer one of the most comprehensive resource lists to be found on this important topic.

The book introduces the first time planner to the basics while it also provides sophisticated tools for the more experienced in retirement planning. This is the best guide on this topic to be generated in years.