Retirement Readiness: A Guide to Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, and Preparing for Your Future [Paperback]

Mike Bonacorsi (Author), Deidre Randall (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2008

This interactive guide uses anecdotes, and end of chapter questions, to jumpstart the process of retirement visioning and create focus for the dreams/goals of retirement. It's a precursor to, and tool for, successful retirement financial planning. Bonacorsi draws on his 20+ years as a Certified Financial Planner, to offer sound financial advice. He uses a humorous style to bring general interest readers in touch with this sensitive subject, helping them make progress in retirement planning.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A praiseworthy primer, Bonacorsi meshes personal and financial >> gears to get retirement wheels rolling....In a voice that is comfortable, >> encouraging and direct, Bonacorsi approaches retirement the way a coach would >> approach a coming contest> are the tools you need to respond....This is bedrock stuff, and Bonacorsi >> makes it as black and white as possible, while fielding little nuances like >> inflation and tax rates. The worksheets alert readers to financial surprises >> and help locate bumps, mostly healthcare, in the road ahead. Particularly >> valuable is the author¹s overview of Medicare, which will make a few eyes >> bulge. Thought it was free, did you, after paying for it all those years? --Kirkus Discoveries Review

The day marked in red. Just the sound of it makes you a bit nervous. That day in red marked in your calendar, pinpointing the day of your retirement, will be one words cannot describe. As when you enter the wonderful world of adulthood/employment you are embarking on something that is unknown to you. Preparing to exit the workforce is just as important as when you were preparing to enter it. "Retirement Readiness; Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, & Preparing for your Future" is a guide to get you thinking, preparing and planning. Jumping into Chapter 1, "See Your Future," enables you to focus on your dream asking what plans you have for your day in red and the ones that follow. Many years ago people did not live for as long as they do now. The retirement lifestyle of today is very different from it was years ago. People are focusing on their health and now do way more than rock on the porch in a rocking chair watching traffic go by. About 80% of people today say they will continue to work after retirement - choosing what they would like to do. My father chooses to hand out grocery samples since his day in red. He was a business man at the local paper mill and had worked there since he was 21-yearsold. Why did he work after retirement? He didn't have to do anything; he was financially secure, and has more than enough money to last way beyond his years. He likes talking to the people in the store, for so many years he only talked business, now that he is retired he can talk to people for pleasure. Chapter 2 lays the groundwork to "Create a Plan." Chapter 3, "Take Inventory," covers how you can estimate the amount of money you will need to work your plan. Your plan could go on smoothly for years, but as life, you will, at some point have problems. Chapter 4, "Bumps in the Road." prepares you for the unexpected. And, when the time comes, Chapter 5, "Make Sure It Goes Where You Want It To Go," gives you the information you need to begin planning your estate for when you are no longer with us. In the concluding Chapter 6, "Now that I have Your Attention," Mike Bonacorsi states: "This is what I want you to get from this book. As you get close to retirement, I want you to put together a plan and communicate with your mate. Understand what issues apply and what decisions have to be made and how they will affect your lives." You should really spend the $14.95 to purchase this book! Just as the author intended, "Retirement Readiness" is a great item to get you thinking about your retirement. Easy to read and understand with worksheets throughout. I would highly recommend this to people in their 30s and 40s so they can better prepare for their future. --Reader Views November 20, 2008

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

See Your Future >> >> Dream a Little Dream >> >> It's 5:45 in the morning and Tom and Mary are lost in their version of the >> same dream. It's one they've both been having for the past few months. >> >> Tom's dream is that he is lying in the grass beside his grandson on a >> riverbank. They're watching the clouds float by and comparing thoughts about >> their shapes. They see boats, cows, and a car. Nearby, two fishing rods rest >> at an angle held up by two forked sticks pushed into the ground. Their tips >> are pointing toward the sky. Suddenly a rod tip bends and together they yell >> their battle cry: Fish on. They scramble to their feet. >> >> In her version, Mary has just finished a pastry course at a prestigious >> culinary institute. Two days later she is contacted to fill in at an >> important political dinner at a four-star restaurant. Her specialty dessert >> is a success; she hears the room erupt in applause. Diners are calling her >> name and asking her to take a bow for her creation. The restaurant owner >> offers her the position of head pastry chef. >> >> The sound of the alarm clock jolts Tom and Mary awake. They roll over, say >> their good mornings, and then follow a ritual that began about six months >> ago. Each reaches into the drawer of the nightstand on either side of the >> bed. They pull out identical day-to-day pocket calendars, cross out today's >> date, and flip forward to 147 days in the future-a day that's circled in red, >> a day they've thought about for the last twenty years. Now, as it gets >> closer, they feel the rush, shake a little, and sometimes giggle to >> themselves. >> >> This is their retirement day, the day they've decided to walk away from their >> nine-to-five jobs and begin a new life. They stare at the page on their >> calendars for a few minutes trying to bring back their dreams, then sigh in >> unison. They close their calendars and get ready to get through another day. >> Another day that will bring them closer to the date circled in red. >> >>

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193180771X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931807715
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Ready for Your Retirement, January 31, 2009

By 

Rod Harrington (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Retirement Readiness: A Guide to Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, and Preparing for Your Future (Paperback)

We're all going to face it at some point: the last day on the job. What follows may be 10, or 20, or even 30 years of retirement. What will we do and how will we finance it? That's what this book is about.

The first third of the book focuses on our dreams: now that I've finished my 9 to 5 years, what will I do with my time? Will I just veg out? Will I travel? Will I write the Great American Novel? Will I need to take another job? What will I do to keep in shape physically? And mentally?

The author encourages us to block out our retirement in 5-year segments, and to prioritize our goals. If I want to climb Everest, I'd better block it our earlier rather than later. Worksheets are provided to help us come to grips with what has to be thought about.

Most of the book deals with that indispensable ingredient: money. Can I afford to retire when I'd like to? Will I be able to enjoy the standard of living I've had? This is a book to help us get ready for retirement--hopefully starting decades early. It helps us take inventory of all the assets we'll have when we retire. It looks at all the ways to save money in preparation and how to keep the taxman from grabbing what should be ours and our children's.

I'm a Canadian, so a few of the chapters on finances didn't 100% apply to me--but they are right on for American readers. Social Security and Medicare, for example.

This isn't a big book, but it is comprehensive. It's a book to make you think--to make you get out pen and paper and start getting practical. Anyone is going to benefit from this book--that is, anyone who follows the suggestions, fills out the worksheets and starts getting pragmatic about their retirement. I'd recommend it.

The subtitle says it all: "Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, & Preparing for Your Future."

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Book for Retirement Planning, December 3, 2011

By 

Roberta K. Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retirement Readiness: A Guide to Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, and Preparing for Your Future (Paperback)

In just 93 pages Mike Bonacorsi manages to give you the essentials for planning your retirement. What can be overwhelming and scary is made understandable in this terrific little book that speaks to the heart of the issues from a practical as well as an emotional perspective. Mike understands what people need when they're facing retirement decisions and how complicated it can be, particularly for couples who may not be on the same page. There are several worksheets that offer questions to inform your decision making process and put you in charge of your future. The personal accounts and stories add a human dimension which is often not found in books on retirement.
Kudos to Mike Bonacorsi for writing a book about finances that is actually easy, interesting and fun to read!
Roberta Taylor, M.Ed. Retirement Coach, Consultant, Speaker

5.0 out of 5 stars Retirement Readiness, January 28, 2009

By 

Yvonne Phillips FSII (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retirement Readiness: A Guide to Creating Your Vision, Knowing Your Position, and Preparing for Your Future (Paperback)

Mike Bonacorsi gave you the book! This is the first book that I have read on retirement that doesn't have me closing it immediately. It is very professional, very thoughtful and most of all easy for us Boomers to understand. It is a reality check and we all need that, but along with that he gives some great tips that I will be using immediately.

Retirement is not about your neighbors or your friends lives, it is all about yours. Mike focuses you on YOUR dreams, what are they? I never thought of sharing my dreams with husband, I guess I assumed by osmosis, that he will know what I am looking for in my retirement year.