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Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want
 
 
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Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want [Paperback]

David Shapiro (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0131096710 978-0131096714 June 19, 2004

“How important is it to pay attention to this book? How important is it to live without fear? How important is it to be able to help your children and grandchildren? How important is it to be able to enjoy yourself after you retire instead of living in terror? How important is it to live on the golf course instead of in a single room of a retirement hotel? Or, to put it another way, this book is important, and rarely has a book so important been so much fun to read.”
—Ben Stein, Economist, Lawyer, Writer, TV Personality and Honorary Chair of the National Retirement Planning Coalition.

“Retirement Countdown offers a wonderful perspective on retirement issues. Not only does the book create awareness, it helps solve the problems faced by so many people who don’t know how to plan. By introducing Goal Oriented Retirement Planning, David Shapiro has created a breakthrough process for matching assets with goals and achieving success. This is must-read book!”
—Tom West, Retired Chairman and CEO, American General Retirement Services

“This book offers a comprehensive approach to retirement planning delivered in an enjoyable and easy-to-read format. I’m going to recommend it to all my clients in the pre-retirement stage. Shapiro makes the journey fun!”
—Pat Hanley-Peterson, Ph.D., Vice President, Director of Professional Services, Certified Executive Coach, Lee Hecht Harrison

“David Shapiro has for years been a source of information on financial instruments and trends for industry professionals. Now he uses that expertise to make information accessible to the general public. With this accessible book, David Shapiro makes the process of retirement planning less daunting for everyone, regardless of individual levels of expertise.”
—Juanita Brown, Senior Vice President, Associated Securities

“Don’t just read this book; use it. The author builds a powerful case for accepting personal responsibility for taking action now. Time is money. Invest yours now; you will love the rate of return. With Shapiro as your guide, help replaces hope.”
—Tim Freeman, President, Efficient Marketing, LLC

Protect your retirement, one step at a time—starting today!

  • Don’t outlive your assets! Know what you’ll need, how to get it, and how to keep it
  • Personal coaching from one of the world’s leading retirement planning experts
  • Overcome the #1 danger to your retirement: procrastination. Only Jerry Seinfeld can make money doing nothing!
  • Understand retirement investment risks—and manage them
  • Author provides interactive retirement planning tools at www.retirementcountdown.com

Concerned about retirement income? You’d better be. Don’t panic. Act! Retirement Countdown will help you every step of the way.

In this action-oriented book, you’ll discover where you stand, make a solid plan, and learn how to stick with it. You’ll assess all your options, discovering practical strategies for controlling risk as you build savings. You’ll learn how to tweak your plan to reflect changing times. And, once you’ve retired, you’ll learn the best ways to protect and stretch your savings.

Whatever your assets, whatever your investment knowledge, this book will coach you every step of the way on the road to the comfortable retirement you deserve.




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  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shapiro, a personal finance columnist and financial planning trainer, believes that many people don't plan for their retirement. The process intimidates people, or they're lulled—by the media or other authors—into believing they can do all the planning on their own. Shapiro advocates using financial planners and, more importantly, taking small careful steps. The book is divided into three parts, beginning with an overview of retirement. The second discusses specific investments like annuities. The third explains the various types of financial planners and how they are compensated. Shapiro coins the term GORP—goal-oriented retirement planning—and counsels readers to focus on their priorities. Throughout the book, he uses case studies to provide specific guidance to readers who can identify with people in similar situations. For instance, for an older couple who would like to take several long vacations each year, Shapiro divides their savings needs based on their income and other expenses. Much of this book is useful, especially for readers who aren't comfortable with financial terms and have not been involved in planning for the future. Each chapter has a "power checklist" and cautionary boxes to help readers focus their strategies. However, the author's argument gets bogged down in his use of mountain climbing as an analogy to financial planning. The book's focus on retirement is sufficient without such extraneous references.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher

Protect your retirement, one step at a time—starting today!

Don’t outlive your assets! Know what you’ll need, how to get it, and how to keep it
Personal coaching from one of the world’s leading retirement planning experts
Overcome the #1 danger to your retirement: procrastination. Only Jerry Seinfeld can make money doing nothing!
Understand retirement investment risks—and manage them

Concerned about retirement income? You’d better be. Don’t panic. Act! Retirement Countdown will help you every step of the way.

In this action-oriented book, you’ll discover where you stand, make a solid plan, and learn how to stick with it. You’ll assess all your options, discovering practical strategies for controlling risk as you build savings. You’ll learn how to tweak your plan to reflect changing times. And, once you’ve retired, you’ll learn the best ways to protect and stretch your savings.

Whatever your assets, whatever your investment knowledge, this book will coach you every step of the way on the road to the comfortable retirement you deserve.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: FT Press (June 19, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0131096710
  • ISBN-13: 978-0131096714
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Just the right balance, November 26, 2004
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This review is from: Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want (Paperback)
This book by David Shapiro strikes just the right balance between being two technical and too vague about how to plan for retirement. David hits you right between the eyes with the realities that face those who procrastinate in taking retirement planning seriously. However, the planning process that he outlines and the encouragement that he gives makes you confident that it's never too late to start...but START! It's just a great book that I plan on giving each of my children for Christmas.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I was amazed at how un-prepared i was for retirement, September 5, 2004
This review is from: Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want (Paperback)
I am 45 years old and after seeing the amazing david shapiro on your world with cavalto I relized how much trouble I was in. So as soon as I could I went to my local bookstore and bought myself a copy. By now I have probly read it 5 times and each time I find a new way to prepare myself. I was listening to my accountant and I feel that this book has prepared me for retirement so good that I might even be able to retire ealier than my accountant had said. After reading this book I fired my accountant and am saving money quicker than ever and at this rate making 150,000 a year I can retire by age 55. I would definately highly recommend this book.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars you must buy this retirement book, July 12, 2004
This review is from: Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want (Paperback)
This book is a must-have for all people who want to retire comfortably and in style. The author is funny (very witty) and makes the process of understanding retirement easy, even for the average layperson. It's a keeper.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
TURN ON CNBC THEY'RE GOING TO SHOW US HOW TO RETIRE. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
retirement countdown, variable annuitization, insured income, postretirement income, retirement goals, investment pyramid, immediate annuity, systematic withdrawals, financial planning firms, elimination period, assumed interest rate, annuity products, fixed annuities, income insurance, qualified plans
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Social Security, United States, Power Checklist, Ginnie Mae, New York, Mary Glover, Wake-Up Call, Dennis Glover, Dogs of the Dow, Efficient Frontier, Monte Carlo, Savings Bonds, American College, General Electric, Silent Generation, Wall Street, Bank of America, Corporate Executive Board, Elephant Island, Uncle Sam, Veb Site Information, Department of Labor, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Eastman Kodak, James Caird
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