The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably [Hardcover]

David F. Teitelbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2001

For everyone who put off saving, forgot to invest, or just can't believe they've hit middle age with no money in the bank, this book promotes a happy message: there's still time to take control of their financial security and build a comfortable retirement. And the book explains step by step how to do it, from setting up a financial plan to using IRAs and salary deferral programmes to practising smart investment strategies. Baby boomers are alarmingly underfunded for retirement - their average net worth is less than US$50,000. This book should save the day for latecomers to budgeting, saving and investing. The precarious state of company pension plans and social secutiry has made individual investing and financial planning an imperative and this book provides a crash course in the fundamentals of money management. The book covers more territory than most books aimed at boomers - including tips for paying off mortgages (not always early); where to buy mutual funds (not the bank); which college tuition plans maximize available cash; why "hot" tips should be ignored; and how to curb impulse spending and get out of debt.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Terrific book for people over age 40 who don't have the time to devote reading The Wall Street Journal everyday -- Times Herald, Philadelphia August 12, 2002

About the Author

David F. Teitelbaum (Washington, D.C.) is a financial planner and an economist with the federal government. He writes frequent articles on personal finance for various Washington-area publications and has appeared on local radio shows to discuss the topic.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1st edition (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814406211
• ISBN-13: 978-0814406212
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,637,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge Is Power, May 5, 2001

By 

Noreen Hannigan (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably (Hardcover)

The author makes a very good point in this book--that most of us are not taught in school this basic life skill of budgeting and investing our money. He makes another good point that the quality of each person's life in retirement will depend to a great extent to how well he/she has planned and invested, because no longer do most of us work for paternal companies that take care of us. Even the federal government's retirement plans are not what they once were. We're expected to make more and more choices for ourselves, and most of us are oblivious about what we'll have in retirement. We also don't want to think about long-term care, but we can see how important it is as we look around and see our parents needing care and are suddenly surprised to see that Medicare/Medicaid doesn't go far. I, for one, never was exposed to any of the basics, and I admit have no head for it. My eyes glaze over at the mention of dollars and cents. But this book is so easy to follow and so logical that I feel like the author is personally holding me by the hand and starting me out with Step One. There are background chapters about, for example, how Social Security got started; how it used to work; how it works now; and what we can and can't expect it to do for us in retirement. There is an excellent index that enables the reader to search for specific topics. There are easy-to-follow headings on things like What Drives Up the Market, Paying for Long-Term Care, and Buying Mutual Funds At Banks. The author even includes website information, which makes the book all the more useful. In short, this is a basic handbook--not just for baby boomers, but for younger people starting out. I've given two copies to recent college graduates entering the workforce because I don't want them to be as oblivious as I was for so many years. I want to thank the author for opening my eyes before it was too late!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for Procrastinators, March 22, 2001

By 

Daryl C. Weinert (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably (Hardcover)

I do not consider myself a financial planning procrastinator, yet I found this book to be one of the best guides to financial planing I have read. The writing style is simple, concise and to the point. I never had a sense (as I do with so many financial planing books I have seen) that the writer was trying to sell me anything. Mr. Teitelbaum seems to genuinely care about this subject matter and the people he may impact. This is a book to read thoroughly, but also a book to consult for years to come as you plot your financial future.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Baby Boomers, March 31, 2001

By 

Thomas (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Financial Security: How Anyone Over 40 Can Still Build a Strong Portfolio--and Retire Comfortably (Hardcover)

Though this book is aimed at baby boomers, I, who have been collecting Social Security for several years, found the book illuminating and educational. Like most Americans, I grew up disinterested in what I perceived to be too difficult in learning more about savings and investing - both how to do it and why they are both so important. I'd certainly be more comfortable in retirement now had I had this knowledge years ago! In addition, numbers have always baffled me. David Teitelbaum's book provided an easy gateway to learning about financing retirement, getting out of debt, how to start investing, and how the markets work. His writing is warm, friendly, and easy to follow, and you certainly feel that he cares about you as well as what he is writing about. I particularly found the chapter on Family, with its discussions on life insurance, long-term care planning, and wealth transfer, both useful and helpful. Because of what I have learned from his book, I am encouraging my adult children and grandchildren to read it and be more prepared than I was.