Customer Reviews

Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's interesting to read a book that was written prior to the financial collapse. It's almost like a snapshot in time. On the one hand, this book had lots of basic, good advice for people who don't understand how to go about creating savings. For anyone who is already a saver/investor, this book will be too basic for you, but there are large numbers of people out there who do need this sort of advice and I thought the book was very good at explaining things at a level that would be useful for beginners. For that, I would give it 5 stars.

The problem is that the assumptions the author used for her examples of compounding are so outdated that they are almost dangerous. She consistently used an 8 -10% expected return on investment to illustrate how small amounts of money could grow over time. Years ago, that may have been a reasonable rate of return, but not in this decade, and most "experts" think that you will be lucky to earn 5% return on your money in the future, especially if you want to keep your risk at reasonable levels. The problem with using 8-10% is that it gives a completely unrealistic view of how much money you will need to save to reach your goals, and how long it will take you to get there. Given the current state of the economy, if you rely on optimistic projections such as these, you are liable to fall far short of your goals, and by the time you realize that, it will be too late to make it up in your savings. Plus, someone who is unsophisticated enough about money to need this book will also not recognize that these assumptions are outdated. Because of that, I have to mark the book down. Therefore I'm giving it 3 stars.

Being in retirement already, I found this book still very enlightening and very easy to read. A chatty, warm style lets the reader feel as if a knowlegeable friend is giving advice without making the reader feel as if he/she missed out and can never catch up. A non daunting approach to investing makes the MarksJarvis book interesting, worthwhile, informative with good links to investment calculations.

Grandparents would serve their grandchildren well to forgo taking the kids on fancy trips and put the money into the kid's IRA account at a young age.

I sent a copy to my daughter because there is something here for every age group.

Marie Taylor

I'm sure I can speak for many who have read this book when I say I wish it would have come out ten years ago. Not only is it incredibly educational, its light hearted style doesn't make you feel bad even if you are starting from square one with regards to saving and investing. It's simple and direct when dealing with an intimidating subject and I am certainly going to put into place the advice Gail so clearly lays out for her readers. KUDOS!

I do not come from a family who is good with money. I have already told my parents and siblings to read this book. It is more beneficial to us than you can even imagine. Thanks.

Zach Barber

Every once in awhile a 'self help' book comes out that might actually work. This is one of them. No hype. No secret formulae. No scolding.

Although I haven't finished reading it, Marksjarvis' book hits the mark with its practical examples and straightforward explanations about 'what to do and how to do it'. The book also links the reader to her website, [...] that contains the latest links to excellent online calculators that make it very easy to play out various saving scenarios.

I plan on checking out our savings plan against this book as well as buying a couple copies for our adult children and see that they get them on April 15 -- that one time of year when Uncle Sam requires us to do an accounting of our yearly income.

After purchasing several retirement books, this book stands out for the no nonsense approach to retirement. The books also provides web links with up to date tools and calculators that make it even more practical. One especially great feature of this book is that regardless of your age, income, or current retirement knowledge, it provides a way for all to get in the game and get on track to retire. I highly recommend this book.

No one ever tells college students how important it is to start saving for retirement early. This book stresses that goal and makes it really easy to achieve. It offers up easy ways to begin saving while not affecting your budget. I recommend it highly to anyone of any age, but especially those young professionals who are looking for ideas about how to start putting away a few bucks. A MUST READ!

Investment advice based on 10 percent returns? You gotta be kidding me. This book needs an update, badly.
She must have done all her research and writing pre-2008. Terribly off the mark. If you expect the returns she repeatedly assures you of, you will be sadly disappointed.

Good basic info regarding IRA and 401 (k), but really repetitive. Seems like a collection of articles merged into a book.

At least it was free the day I downloaded it...

First, thanks to Gail for writing such a wonderful book. I learned more in one week reading "Saving for Retirement" than I have my entire investing life.

After reading the book I have reworked our 401K accounts and have contacted Gail to get her professional opinion on what I had done:

Currently my spouse and myself have saved $190,000 towards retirement.

I am 38 and my spouse is 36 and we both work for for the same company.
Our total income is $113,000
We had been contributing 6% each pay check and after reading your book I changed to 12%.

Gail emailed back the very next day and is going to look over my changes that I made to my 401K.

This book should be manditory reading for anyone who is enrolled in a 401K or about to start an IRA. I also would love to see it used in schools, if I would have had this information in school I would be in AWESOME shape for retirment. As it is I am in much better shape than I thought and the book helped me to realize a lot of mistakes we were making (fees, loads, etc.).

Do yourself a favor and read this book at least a few times you will thank yourself when you are retired and enjoying life instead of wondering why you have no retirement. IT IS NEVER TO LATE TO FIX YOUR MISTAKES.. Start today...

THANKS GAIL.

What I like best about this book is that it offers specific, detailed advice about how to divide up your retirement portfolio amongst different types of assets - and explains why you should divide it that way, and how to adjust the proportions over time. The author provides historical trends and an explanation of the global stock markets so that you can understand for yourself why she offers her advice, meaning that you're not just taking her at her word. Best of all, after you read this book, you really just need to implement her advice and then rebalance your portfolio every year. I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know.

I'm giving this book to everyone in my family. It is packed with helpful financial advice that everyone will be able to follow and actually implement.