Customer Reviews

How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a well written book bent on helping people retire without having to put away tons and tons of money. It explains how to eliminate your debt before retirement, gives ideas how to reduce your mortgage, and how you should be prepared for credit increases if you plan on taking debt with you into retirement. It also warns you about things like CDs and how the bank can cancel them on you with a "call feature". It also explains IRA accounts and had just about everything you need in it to retire.

I found this book enjoyable and very helpful. It can help just about anyone whether they're getting ready to retire, or are young and looking to put money away, or even those who are already retired and looking for ways to minimize their debt. I give this book a 5/5. Everyone should pick it up.

Given the current economic situation, this publication is very timely and sorely needed; especially for those who put off thinking about retirement until tomorrow. The author carefully points out that without planning in terms of what works for each of us, we all seem to walk down the street of by-and-by arriving at the house of never-getting-started.

The book is divided into three key sections. Starting with eliminating your debt before you retire, to investing for the future and finally with retirement and what it means to you.

Each of these sections in turn goes into topics about what it takes to accomplish the goal set by the section, such as with eliminating debt; it discusses the topic of credit cards, their use and abuse, and how to remove their painful spell upon us. Other topics in the section include: simplifying your life style by budgeting and making your homestead work for you. This last topic is especially interesting given the current circumstance of falling house values, and the credit crunch. It makes you confront the fact that if what you are earning to live on today is not enough, then how are you going to live on less when you retire without preparing for it?

This leads to the second section about investing for the future. The key term here is "future;" what has been and where you are today is not as important as where you want to be tomorrow. After reviewing the various types of investments from checking, savings and money market accounts; to CDs and treasuries; to 401(k)'s and IRA accounts; to investing in stocks along with researching stocks and selecting financial advisors, you are provided with some very sound advice along conventional lines of wisdom.

But, with the recent financial situation much of what is written here needs to be tempered with where you are in regard to your future retirement. If you haven't started and you're young enough, right now is as good a time as ever. If you are not young but still have time until retirement there are opportunities that need looking into and this section can help you decide what is right for you. Some kind of set-aside should be a part of anyone's future plans. The degree to which you commit yourself is based upon your circumstances, financial resource availability and the professional advice you get.

The final section on Retirement and you is worth the whole price of the book. It allows you to confront yourself in terms of what retirement will mean to you and how you attempt to handle it. Each of us has a unique understanding of what it means. This section helps you explore various possibilities, such as retirement overseas. Also, how Social Security, Medicare and Insurance will play a roll in your retirement?

Added values to this book are the planning aids, such as guideline sheets, web sites and other information sources in addition to criteria to select financial advisors. There is also a user friendly glossary to help you understand investment and retirement terminology which often is difficult for those not in the know.

Practical retirement advice for every day folk. Easy to read, easy to put into practice. No matter the age, anyone will benefit from these financial strategies.

Brooks shows how anyone of regular means can retire comfortably. She offers simple tips for saving more and spending smarter. Complicated topics such as taxes, investments and Medicare made plain to understand.

This book will help the average person take above average steps towards their retirement goals.

The thought of planning for my retirement tends to inspire feelings of fear and panic. As a self-employed entrepreneur, however, I've come to the conclusion that I need to start thinking about planning for retirement as soon as possible. Luckily, this book is a great guide for anyone who is ready to start preparing for the inevitable.

Some of the advice in ''How to Retire Comfortably and Happily on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need'', like eliminate your debt before you retire, may be construed as simple common sense. Ms. Brooks does offer several useful suggestions as to how to accomplish your goals, however, ranging from more efficient meal planning to making sure you're getting the best deal on a used car. There are also a number of tips that are just good financial advice in general, such as learning how to separate needs from wants, considering the overall cost of too much clutter in your home, and asking whether or not downsizing your home might be a good way to save some money. The section on investing could probably have used more detail, but I suspect the author's aim was to simply provide a basic overview for a working-class audience who is more concerned with getting by than building wealth.

What most impressed me in ''How to Retire Comfortably and Happily on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need'' was the author's creative thinking in regards to her ideas for generating supplemental income during retirement and saving money by retiring overseas. As part of the generation that expects to receive little or no help from Social Security, I believe creativity will be my best hope for a semi-comfortable recruitment.

This was a good book. It explains many different investment options simply, and gives a risk rating for each. I do think it has helped me to have more of a long term "retirement view". It's a great book to get if you have at least 5-10 years before your retirement. It's also not a bad book to get during retirement, because there are many tips for living frugally. It could help someone on a limited retirement budget to get by on less.

The book, "How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial
Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More," by Connie Brooks is something more than just an interesting title. It's an absolute must-read for anyone twenty years away from their projected retirement date. Preaparation is everything, and this is a book full of advice that will jump-start you into making the right decisions now for that time of your life when work is no longer an option, or no longer available for whatever reason.

Brooks gives hard-hitting facts and figures that can make anyone more aware of how you can save your money now to insure a comfortable future in the retirement years. After all, retirement should be something to look forward to, not something you're uncertain of. If information is truly power, then read each chapter and apply this information now, and chances are, your retirement years will be spend enjoying your life instead of worrying about how the bills get paid. It is absolutely true that good financial habits build wealth, and this book is more timely than ever. Using Brooks' words, it is true that "your retirement could be the biggest vacation you ever take."

From solid common-sense how-to's on designing a budget now that will help to eliminate financial worries from your future to how shopping for groceries and eating better can save you both money and health issues, Brooks' book is an easy read. She relates how to downsize your home, your vehicles and your expectations to have a manageable life - one that you and you alone can afford - based on simple truths. It's not all grim. You won't have to give up everything you love just to exist - and that's her point. Brooks gives you the straightforward answers to how to love the life you're going to live.

Watching the stock market tank and everybody freak out about the disappearance of their retirement portfolios, "How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money Than the Financial Experts Say You Need" is certainly timely. However, this book is not just riding a trend. Connie Brooks has written some very easy to follow, common sense instructions that should be obvious to most people as flat out good sense. She is not spouting fluff here--the advice in the book is reasonable, well-thought out, and applicable.

Unlike many who harp on exclusively about one's investments in retirement, she starts by tackling the need to retire debt free. Bluntly pointing out that paying off Visa and Mastercard is a barrier to a relaxed retired life, she also hit details many books overlook--planning your bills, dealing with clutter in your home as you retire, dealing with the kids and many others. She is quite frank about homes and vehicles as money holes in retirement and goes to into fabulous detail about how to deal with these expenses. And when she does get around to investments, her advice was much more practical than much of what is presently circulating.

Worksheets in each section help with applying the book to your life. It was a good read, very straightforward and thoughtful, and not shying away from the realities we are all facing as we look to retire.

This is a good resource. There are sections on money management, and a large section that explains the different investment options for retirement simply.

There are a few editing mistakes within the book, which is why I do not give it five stars. However, I will be keeping this one and using it as I plan my own retirement because it's easy to find what I'm looking for.

I liked that the point of the book is that you can change small things within your life right now and end up with a whole lot of money to invest.