The Motley Fool's Money After 40: Building Wealth for a Better Life [Hardcover]

David Gardner (Author), Tom Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2004

With their famous wit, seasoned advice, and impeccable business savvy, the best-selling financial duo shows baby boomers how to build wealth and security -- and how to afford anything they want when formal work is done.

Whether retirement is on the distant horizon or right under your nose, The Motley Fool's Money After 40 is for anyone who wants a stress-free financial future. The Motley Fool's Money After 40 explains how to:

* Organize your finances to preserve the funds you already have
* Master estate planning
* Create and protect wealth for your children and grandchildren
* Live a healthy, productive life free from anxiety and spiced with adventure

Using real-life examples and action plans that eliminate the drudgery of money management, the Gardners will help you understand how to draw up financial plans sturdy enough to transport dreams. The Motley Fool's Money After 40 is a one-stop financial guidebook for gilding your golden years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Co-founders of The Motley Fool financial education company, the Gardner brothers have built an empire out of their ability to make matters of personal finance so simple that any "fool" can learn to sort through them with a sense of confidence. Four of their last 10 books have been bestsellers; their latest offers comprehensive advice on the issues faced by the over-40 set, shared in their typically irreverent, blunt and highly informative way. From their clear explanation of why saving for retirement is more important than saving for a child’s college education to their instructions on how to assess financial advisors based on their fee structures, the Gardners arm readers with sufficient background and direction-not to mention prodding-to realistically improve their balance sheet regardless of how much or how little they have already saved. And true to their hands-on philosophy, the authors have designed their volume to be "a to-do book, not a how-to book": it overflows with Action Plans and references to additional sources (including their own Fool.com website). In their attempt to address every possible financial aspect of a reader’s future, the Gardners even cover one of the most important and most overlooked aspects of retirement planning-the "why" behind the whole retirement concept. In doing so, they drive home the point that attaining the "good life" in retirement requires more than just a solid savings plan: it requires a plan for what one will be living for as well. Only a wise fool could have put the matter so frankly.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Their latest [book] offers comprehensive advice on the issues faced by the over-40 set, shared in their typically irreverent, blunt, and highly informative way."

-- Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (May 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743229991
• ISBN-13: 978-0743229999
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,205,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent advice, if a little vague and too-cute, June 12, 2005

By 

Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Motley Fool's Money After 40: Building Wealth for a Better Life (Hardcover)

David and Tom Gardner's writing style seems to try to imitate their speaking style on their NPR show, but it doesn't always translate well to the page. Some of their off-the-cuff humor is actually funny, but much of it just gets in the way.

Nonetheless, they've compiled a decent collection of all the things we boomers need to think about as we near the end of our regular working days. They ask us to think about why we want to "retire" (while shunning the word as sounding too much like withdrawing, which is not what a good retirement is about); they help us figure out how much we'll need; they remind us about such topics as health care, long-term care, caring for our parents, and estate planning.

Although much of the information was a bit vague (mainly because no one book can describe the best plan for everyone), I found many useful tips and resources (I've bookmarked dozens of websites) in every chapter, including the chapter on saving for your kid's college education, despite the fact that I have no children. (I do, however, have nieces and nephews, who might just benefit from one of the tips...)

If you read this book, you should make sure you read other financial-type books too (Suze Orman and Jean Chatzky are two authors whose books I've liked, and I have one from Money Magazine in my queue), as differing viewpoints will empower you to discover what's right for you in your situation.

25 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A retirement book for the boomer generation, June 17, 2004

By 

Marysz "Marysz" (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Motley Fool's Money After 40: Building Wealth for a Better Life (Hardcover)

David and Tom Gardner walk the reader through retirement planning in their usual good-natured style. Everything is covered here for us age-phobic boomers, such as investments, insurance, housing, social security, health care, educating our kids and taking care of our aging parents. I particularly liked their suggestions about the need to downsize our oversized houses and to sell off our excess possessions on eBay (presumably to unsuspecting members of Generations X and Y). A well-written and sensible book. Now all I need is enough common sense to follow their advice.

2.0 out of 5 stars Ship this one, August 9, 2011

By 

dawnya - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Motley Fool's Money After 40: Building Wealth for a Better Life (Paperback)

The earlier Fool books offered tasty nuggets (though sometimes in a rambling, self agrandized way). I think the only real nugget in this one was "don't pay for your kids' higher educations. This is when you need to be stockpiling for yourself. That's it!