Customer Reviews

Retire Rich With Your Self-Directed IRA: What Your Broker & Banker Don't Want You to Know About Managing Your Own Retirement Investments

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Are you 20-40 years old? Do you have $100,000 in liquid assets? Does your company provide a 401(k)? How about IRA's? Are you a current contributor to one? Would you like to retire in comfort, preferably before you are 70?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the book for you. I'll admit up-front that I only answered yes to three of these myself - and the liquid assets and 401(k) were not them. I bought this book, but I was afraid it would be filled with technical mumbo-jumbo that would make my eyes glaze over in defeat. Luckily that was not the case at all. In fact, I read this book in less than 24 hours, and plan on reading it again and again and . . .

Peterson starts out slowly, explaining assumptions and terminology. Then we get to meet Joanne Moneymaker (that's Jo for short) who, after being a victim of corporate downsizing, has to decide what to do with her 401(k) funds. The author walks her through all the choices, explaining them in simple language with plenty of illustrations and charts - and the benefits and disadvantages of each. For those of you who are more advanced than I, you can skip the first few chapters and plunge right on in to the hard numbers. Penalties, taxes, and general IRS red flags are covered and warnings are peppered throughout. That being said, this book walks a person through taking charge of their own retirement and finances by moving to a self-directed IRA and using said funds to:

1) Buy and sell real estate - traditional versus nontraditional real estate sources
2) Become a landlord
3) Become a lender
4) Owning a business
5) Buying precious metals

Additionally, Peterson covers areas within these divisions such as risk management, repossessions, REO properties, subcontractors, and credit risks. The book ends with planning for distributions and quite a bit of information about estate planning. Unfortunately, I am not in a position where I can go out and buy properties or make loans or buy precious metals. However, now I know what is out there and what I need to work towards. Whether you're just starting to plan your retirement or are well into the process, there is something here for you. Call it IRA's demystified!

It's a revelation! I happened upon this book and it revealed to me retirement options that I had no idea existed. The author, Nora Peterson, explains that unlimited opportunities exist for increasing the value of retirement accounts through the use of a self-directed IRA.

Instead of traditional approaches to investments, she says, consideration should be given to a self-directed IRA . . . a method of investment that is significantly more flexible than conventional IRA and 401(k) plans, conforms to IRS rules, and offers the investor full control over his or her accounts.

The book compares the results of investing using conventional strategies with the self-directed IRA and explains the route and rules for setting up a self-directed IRA. Ms. Peterson also describes investment options that I had not before considered, like investing in real estate-secured notes, real estate purchase options and precious metals, and includes chapters on estate planning and planning for distributions for the IRA account.

This books presents a novel approach to retirement investments, and presents it comprehensively. It's a more than worthwhile read.

One of the main goals of author Nora Peterson, in the publishing of this book, was to share information in an easily understood format to increase the awareness of the multiple options available to retirees and future retirees when considering how to invest and protect hard-earned money accumulated over a lifetime.

The book addresses a wide range of critical aspects to be considered when planning for a long-term retirement. It touches upon subjects we have heard about, some that we haven't, and yet others that should be considered when planning for our future and those of our heirs.

Taking control of our financial future
* Movement of retirement funds into a self-directed IRA
* Understanding the roles and responsibilities of an IRA custodian, trustee, and administrator
* Creating a team of professionals to maximize income-producing opportunities while effectively managing risks - especially as it pertains to unnecessary tax penalties which can and should be avoided

Non-Traditional IRA investment options
* Real Estate
* Purchase and sale of mortgage notes
* Owning a business within an IRA or participating in a business partnership
* Buying precious metals

Managing distributions from our IRA
* Circumstances permitting withdrawals prior to age 59½ without paying a 10% tax penalty for early withdrawal
* Withdrawals to pay for health insurance when unemployed, without incurring a tax penalty
* Withdraw $10,00 to purchase a first home for a child, grandchild, or parent without penalty

Asset Protection and Stretching Your IRA
* Designation of a single beneficiary; and
* Designation of multiple beneficiaries to minimize tax risks

Getting to the "point" according to Nora Peterson:

"The point is getting through this life with the maximum comfort and security you can arrange and ending up with at least a little left over when you're finished."

That is our intended goal, isn't it?

I'm not an investment expert--far from it. Truth is, I'm a Baby Boomer who's been ignoring one important financial fact for way too long: I'm getting closer and closer to the age when I'm "supposed to be" retiring comfortably. And I'm only now starting to worry about not being able to afford to retire.

Imagine my relief when I discovered Nora Peterson's Retire Rich With Your Self-Directed IRA and learned that it's never too late to put a game plan in place to accumulate greater retirement wealth. I can still chart a successful course to financial independence. Using a fresh, conversational tone that makes no lofty assumptions about the reader's investment smarts, Peterson delivers solid, nuts-and-bolts guidelines for finding and using the money-making tools and techniques we've all had access to all along--but didn't know about!

By putting readers in the imaginary shoes of Joanne Moneymaker (Jo), the book steps us through a broad range of real world scenarios and little-known, proven strategies for taking control and steering past, present, and future IRA retirement funds toward greater wealth. Through Jo, we learn the secrets of paying less taxes, keeping what's ours, and building strong and sustained return on our investments. Nora Peterson's Retire Rich With Your Self-Directed IRA has arrived just in time with good news for us "boomers": A comfortable retirement is within our reach. And by using the know-how contained in these pages, we'll get there!

This was my intro to the Self-Managed IRA. I found the tables to be inadequate as many do not have a reference point. It is difficult to understand when their is only one indicator.

Seems the author is not a investment or IRA professional but someone who supposedly did a Self-Managed IRA. It would have been nice to see her track record, beginning with x$ and 5, 10, 15 years later revealing her growth.

I would look for a better reference book before embarking on what I consider to be the only way to have an IRA.

Gerald

Being self-employed and just out of graduate school, I knew very little about IRAs, self-directed, Roth, or otherwise, before I picked up this book. In fact, the thought of learning about them was something I absolutely dreaded. Fortunately, I found Retire Rich With Your Self-Directed IRA. Nora Peterson is a genius in presenting the information through the eyes of 30-something Jo Moneymaker, who learns the best way to invest from Bill Cash.

Through narrative, Peterson thoroughly highlights all the important considerations to make when choosing to have a self-directed IRA, including what is legally allowed when having a traditional IRA versus a Roth IRA. Several chapters also delve into real estate investing, including becoming a landlord and investing in real estate-backed notes. While I now have a much better understanding of self-directed IRAs, I definitely understand the need for an administrator, which Peterson covers in-depth, because there are so many rules and tax implications that make the chance for mistakes too great without the administrator.

Easily a five-star book! A refreshing read - Peterson has taken a somewhat dry and confusing subject and has brought it alive through her main character, Jo, making it well-worth the read.

Retire Rich with Your Self-Directed IRA: What Your Broker & Banker Don't Want You to Know About Managing Your Own Retirement Investments by Nora Peterson, published by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.

Rating: 5 stars out of five.

If you've ever lost money in the stock market while relying on a broker, banker, or other financial advisor, this book is for you. Retire Rich with Your Self-Directed IRA describes an alternative to letting others manage your retirement investments, the self-directed IRA. This book explains in 345 pages how to use an IRA, usually a Roth IRA, to build wealth through your own control. It covers setting up an IRA, the kinds of funds to invest, and how to move funds from a standard IRA to a self-directed IRA. It also describes how to manage your investments while allowing an administrator to handle the day-to-day paperwork, the laws of which to be aware, and how to avoid pitfalls in very specific advice. Insider secrets are included.

The author, Nora Peterson, has been involved in investing in financial markets for more than 30 years. In this excellent resource, she discusses a wide range of investments brokers don't offer and estimates potential returns. The returns she projects are much larger than earnings from stock market investments would be. In addition, she explains that there are no taxes on investment income from a Roth IRA, because the investment has already been taxed. This results in significant tax advantages of which I had never been aware. Everyone planning for retirement should read this book. It opened my eyes!

A good primer on self-directed IRAs and questions to ask to establish one. While this book had some good information,it is pretty dated. It also had a very strong real estate bias.

Nora Peterson has written a truly unique and informative work on the subject of self-directed IRAs. Having known nothing at all about IRAs or investing when I read this, I was surprised how much I understood the first time through. I especially liked the way she used examples throughout the book (her character "Jo") that made it very easy for me to understand what she was explaining. I would definitely recommend this book to those who know nothing on the subject and those who want to learn more.

From the moment you start reading Nora Peterson's book, Retire Rich With Your Self-Directed IRA: What Your Broker & Banker Don't Want You to Know About Managing Your Own Retirement Investments, you cannot help but feel at ease. It is clearly arranged in a very orderly fashion and very easy to follow. The use of her fictional character Jo, made it easy for you to follow along as if you too were walking along with Jo in her journey to financial stability after retirement. This book offers great insight into a world that many are afraid to even venture near, myself included. The step-by-step approach with the aid of the IRA Primer would help even the most common person with no prior knowledge or understanding of finance. It forces one to think about their goals in a long-term sense. The discussion around estate planning is one that is seldom addressed when planning for the future. It is necessary for a person to understand the tax codes and laws governing IRA's and other forms of retirement investment, especially when trying to avoid penalties and other losses to future income. The non-traditional forms of investing using the self-directed IRA were also very clearly explained and encourage the reader to think for him or herself. We are the arbiters of our own destiny! I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has questions or have not previously thought about preparing for their financial future.