Customer Reviews

Double Your Retirement Income: Three Strategies for a Successful Retirment

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A must read for all of us underfunded baby boomers. There is something new for everyone. Mazonas lays bare an understanding of why we never got ahead investing I stocks and mutual funds. His reasoning and the math of why index tracking products are our salvation is to good to pass up.

What a chump I have been! I payed for my kids education out of pocket each year because I could. Mazonas' explanation of how much better off I would be now if I had used student loans and while funding my pension plan is astounding.

This is another book on the never ending topic of retirement. As many others it claims to have the formula that will allow you to retire with more money than you thought possible. It advocates invest all your retirement portfolio on index funds that track the market. Without judging if this is right or wrong; you should use caution as with any other "magical" investment mix and do what's best for you.

Mazonas tells us that by investing in those funds the savings on commissions and fees together with the miracle of compounding interest we will be able to beat 80% of the investments vehicles out there. Well, I have two problems with that; First if you are invested in securities that consistently appreciate 10% or 15% a year (and they do exist) and that pay dividends you are still better off than with index funds. Second, many 401k out there do not offer index funds, or if they do you may have only one option. And I hope you know better than to put all your money in just one basket.

So take it for what it is, another book with sound advice, but remember is not the Bible.

One annoying point is that we are continuously being directed to the author's website. RetireYes! to make use of the tools offered there. Well, there is no tools or forms or anything of the sort there, apparently it is a work in progress and it's not completed.

Peter gives a road map to a successful retirement by doubling retirement income. He offers practical advice on budget, planning, investing with details in the uncertainty of the safety net entitlement of Social Security and pension.

Following his lessons will probably get into a comfortable retirement. However, it requires allocation of resources. Sadly Americans saving rate is negative. This book only concerns personal finance with no attention to personal health. Diet, exercise and meditation will keep baby boomer healthy. If not, there will be no quality of life to enjoy in retirement despite the advance in medicine. A million dollar pension cannot buy too many years in long-term care, and health care. This is a must read book for the preparation of a successful US retirement.

Mazonas does an amazing job of relating the many complex trends in investment today into practical advice on how to factor these trends into your own planning. In many areas he even helps the average small investor find ways of leveraging their own contributions.

I recommend the book unreservedly, for anyone who wants to understand the bigger picture, whilst being advised on how it applies to their own circumstances.