You've Earned It, Don't Lose It : Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire [Paperback]

Suze Orman (Author), Linda Mead (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

It's Your Money. What Happens To It Will Directly Affect The Quality Of Your Life.

"You don't want to become a story in one of my books, and you don't have to," says financial advisor Suze Orman, who goes beyond the usual financial primer to describe how to safeguard your financial future, illustrated with stories of ordinary, real-life people who faced misfortune because of naivetÉ, procrastination, or misinformation. So that you can avoid making similar mistakes and so you an better protect the money you have earned and saved, Orman gives you this easy-to-understand guide to eight vital areas essential for your security and well-being. With simplicity and clarity, complete with resource lists and glossary, she covers:

1. Choosing and assessing financial advisors.
2. Trusts, wills, gifts, joint tenancy: Which is right for you?
3. Early retirement: What to do and how to avoid penalties when receiving your retirement money.
4. Joint and survivor benefits: Making sure you protect those you love.
5. Long-term care insurance: How to choose the right policy and what you should pay for it.
6. Estate taxes and probate costs: How to avoid them.
7. Durable power of attorney: How it works and why you should have one.
8. Minimizing expenses and maximizing income: getting the most for your health-care money; getting the most for your life.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Considering how hard people work for the majority of their lives with an eye towards retiring, it's surprising to find that many give little thought to actually funding their retirement. In You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire, financial advisor Suze Orman addresses this sad fact and "goes beyond the usual financial primer to describe how to safeguard your financial future." A specialist in retirement issues and a Certified Financial Planner, Orman knows her stuff, and she shares it in a straightforward manner that's especially helpful for those new to navigating the often-confusing course of retirement planning. Beginning with an overview of investment advice and what to look for in an investment counselor, Orman moves on to eight chapters filled with financial planning wisdom--offering focused discussions of trusts vs. wills, long-term care insurance, early retirement, durable power of attorney, estate taxes and probate costs, minimizing your expenses/maximizing your income, joint and survivor benefits, and a successful retirement. Also included are resource lists, handy quick tips, informative graphs, and personal accounts, making this an invaluable tool in planning for one of the most important turning points in your life.

From Publishers Weekly

This hard-nosed, pull-no-punches money guide lays out what to do on the way to retirement in seven crucial financial transitions of a lifetime. The author explains, in understandable language, vital aspects, wrinkles and angles that many people will have never heard of. Citing harrowing situations that many have unexpectedly encountered upon early retirement?loss of a spouse, long-term illness, investment collapse or a poorly prepared estate plan?California-based certified financial planner Orman analyzes dismayingly complicated IRS tax rulings, decisions about trusts vs. wills, long-term health-care insurance policies, powers-of-attorney and the effects of unexpected death involving former spouses and their children. Particularly informative is a section on withholding costly life-support procedures in cases of hopeless injury or terminal illness. In closing, Orman tenders cheerful advice on making money?by saving it.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Newmarket Press; Revised Edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557043167
• ISBN-13: 978-1557043160
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Oprah®

More About the Author

Suze Orman has been called "a force in the world of personal finance" and a "one-woman financial advice powerhouse" by USA Today. A two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, #1 New York Times bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today, Orman is undeniably America's most recognized expert on personal finance.

Orman has written seven consecutive New York Times bestsellers and has written, co-produced, and hosted six PBS specials based on her books. She is the host of the award-winning Suze Orman Show, which airs on CNBC and XM and Sirius radio, and a contributing editor to O: The Oprah Magazine.

Orman was twice named one of the "Time 100," Time magazine's list of the world's most influential people, and was the recipient of the National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign. In 2009 she received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Orman, a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, directed the Suze Orman Financial Group from 1987 to 1997, served as Vice President--Investments for Prudential Bache Securities from 1983 to 1987, and was an account executive at Merrill Lynch from 1980 to 1983. Prior to that, she worked as a waitress at the Buttercup Bakery in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1980.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every woman's book on pitfalls in planning: Read this FIRST!, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: You've Earned It, Don't Lose It : Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire (Paperback)

I grabbed this book on impulse, knowing that I have a bad track record with money management subjects. I thought it would be laying around gathering dust for awhile...

Was I surprised when I started reading the first page and then plowed right through it in 1-1/2 nights! So easy to read and understand. (The Wall St. Journal series, with all their glitzy colored pictures couldn't do what Suze did with her real-life stories as examples.) Maybe it's the woman's touch, but she got through to me. The whole picture of retirement issues and planning became clear.

I highly recommend this as a first book for financial planning -- it's NOT JUST ABOUT RETIREMENT, it's more about protecting women by arming them with vital information... every woman should READ THIS BOOK BEFORE MAKING ANOTHER DECISION involving money (or before someone makes one for her).

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not to be read in one sitting, May 2, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Leeper "kem2070" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You've Earned It, Don't Lose It : Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire (Paperback)

Suze Orman wants to help you make the most of your money. In this book, it is not so much how to make more with what you have, but she wants you to keep what you have. This book walks through different scenarios and cases to show you how to do this.

As mentioned before, this is not to be read in one sitting. Orman begins each chapter with a testimonial from someone who has lost assets due to poor planning or bad circumstance. These stories will make you angry and sad. Reading them all at once will wear you out. Orman uses these scenarios to walk you through estate planning, wills, retirement, and benefits.

There is also a section on minimizing your expenses while maximizing your profits. This section has worksheets to help you visualize where you stand. Likewise, Orman is very good at giving specific examples to explain an idea to you. This is great, but read it a chapter at a time to allow the information to sink in.

I would recommend this book for everyone. These are things we all need to know.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must READ!, June 15, 2002

By 

The Accidental Reader "The Accidental Reader" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You've Earned It, Don't Lose It : Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire (Paperback)

I have recommended this book to countless children of aging parents. Mistakes made by others can be incredibly instructive and interesting to read. Orman has done well here to tell stories of such mistakes made by people not so unlike me and my friends. Such stories could draw in even the most reluctant of financial readers. I get the sense that many of my friends would rather perish than read about money management, but the stories in this book grab you! You want to keep reading just to find out how to avoid skipping blissfully and ignorantly down the same path.