What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement: Planning Now for the Life You Want (Paperback)

~ Richard N. Bolles (Author), John E. Nelson (Author) "Why are you reading a book about retirement? Perhaps retirement is a long way off for you, but you're looking ahead, way down the road,..." (more)
Key Phrases: retirement money, signature strengths, strengths themes, Retirement Well-Being, Ideal Retirement, Social Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...seeing the future you'd like to have decades down the road and being shown ways to walk toward it. -- Better Investing, July 1, 2007

"A useful, practical roadmap for anyone thinking about retirement, no matter how distant." -- USA Today

"Filled with exercises and resources on such matters as making lasting friendships, evaluation medical treatment plans and finding the ideal place to settle down." -- Employee Benefit News

"The idea that leisure activities alone can produce an enjoyable retirement is more than half a century out of date." -- Bottom Line Personal

³...like the original Parachute, a good blend of readable advice and inspirational big-picture thinking.² -- Kansas City Star, June 12, 2007

³a useful, practical roadmap for anyone thinking about retirement, no matter how distant.² -- USA Today, May 29, 2007

Product Description

For more than 35 years, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? has guided millions of job-hunters to find satisfying careers. Now, PARACHUTE FOR RETIREMENT will help them plan for the next stage of life. Going beyond financial planning, Richard N. Bolles and retirement expert John E. Nelson tackle readiness in terms of money, health, and happiness, using the latest research from economics, medicine, and psychology. PARACHUTE FOR RETIREMENT will inspire readers to take the helm of their retirement destinies, while fulfilling their lifelong goals, passions, and dreams.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580087116
• ISBN-13: 978-1580087117
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #88,866 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

138 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This Parachute Has Holes in it, June 11, 2007

By	George Fulmore (Concord, California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read and reviewed quite a few books on retirement, I was excited about getting a copy of "What Color is Your Parachute? For Retirement," by Richard Bolles and John E. Nelson. The original "Parachute" book has sold millions, and has stayed popular for decades. Hopefully, the "Parachute" format would map successfully over, and add new insight into the advice, to date, on a life in retirement.

But we're off to a bad start in the first of two introductions, when Richard Boles pretty much tells us that he did not write the book. And, even worse, he comes right out and tells us that he hates the word "retirement." To him, he says, it implies "being put out to pasture"...and a "'disengagement' from both work and life, as one patiently - or impatiently - waits to die."

What a God-awful statement for a supposed co-author of a book on retirement to make. The guy sounds like he hates the concept of retirement from the start. But I think things only get worse when we're encouraged several times within the book to read the original version of "Parachute." Geeezzz! Is this new book really "For Retirement," as we have been led to believe? Or is it more of an advertisement for the original book?

But, let's move on. Now that we know that Bolles didn't write the book, we can explore what author John Nelson has to say, starting with HIS introduction. Here, he tells us that the book is not a finance book, or a book on health or psychology. It could be, he says, seen as an introductory seminar...or an advanced seminar. And, get this, he tells us that the book should be useful to "people of all career stages... Whether you're just starting your career or already retired...."

So, now that we've included just about anyone on the planet as a possible reader, we're off to Chapter one, where we are told that retirement today is not like the old days, when retirement planning was "all about money." It was? Yes, according to the author, but today, retirement is all about retiring "to something - your next stage of life....(And) to make it what you really want, you'll have to figure out what that is and go about getting it. That's where this book comes in."

O.K. I'm game.

But, in my opinion, from here on in, the book is in a free fall, parachute and all. One early concept discussed is about putting the individual in charge of the retirement event, not the employer. Sounds fine, but in the list of "Ten ways to customize your retirement," nine involve continuing to be employed. The other says you can retire early, assuming that you have saved enough to do so.

Isn't that what saving for retirement is all about? Are my chances really only one in ten, or is the author bent on encouraging anything but this early retirement option? Looks like that may be where we are going.

And how's this for a concept? The author talks about how the term "retirement" needs to reinvented. A list of new "labels" is suggested. But in the end we're told that as "more and more people take the new approach" we won't need an alternative name after all. We'll still get to call it "retirement." How's that for coming full-circle?

But now that we fell like we have just returned to "Go," we're told that we don't just want to "survive" in retirement. No, we'll want to "thrive." So, we turn the page, and find the next 30 pages or so talk about the basics of retirement financials. And later, we'll find another 30 or so, which means that more than 20% of the book involves retirement finances. Wasn't that something we weren't going to talk about?

But, let's get back to the "thriving" and into what could be the trust of the book: The Retirement Well-Being Model, which consists how one's prosperity, health and happiness intertwine.

I've told you that the prosperity part is covered by about 20% of the book, so that's enough of that. As for the happiness component, there's a long chapter on this, where the elements of pleasure, engagement and meaning are compared. But the writing, in general, I find to be trivial. Things like: "when the challenges in your life are too far below your level of skill, they create boredom." And we're introduced to a system designed to "jog your awareness of your own strengths, so that you can incorporate them into your retirement." This comes with exercises and options and all kinds of stuff. But, who, I ask, would actually want to do all of this stuff?

Then, for some reason, there is a chapter on relocation in retirement, a subject that has been done over and over again in other books and magazines. It doesn't add much of anything new. And there is a chapter on health in retirement, most of which seems to be a rehash of, again, what one can read elsewhere.

Taking a few things out of context from what we've covered so far might seem unfair, but I'll do it anyway to show some other weaknesses of the book. One section tells us about a "Retirement Hogwash Detector," which I found sophomoric, at best. It's main point seems to be to poo-poo some common retirement choices, including a romantic getaway cruise, buying a luxury car, having cosmetic surgery done, and moving to an active adult community, as if these were inherently poor choices. Another is a section that takes a paragraph to define what a "perk" is. Come on, isn't this book written with educated adults in mind? A third example comes in one of the chapters about finances, when he gives us a silly analogy about a variety of plants in a garden to explain the concept of financial "diversity," a term/word that, hopefully, everyone who has ever thought about retirement investing is familiar with already.

At last, we're now down to the final chapter, which is meant to wrap things up. The author congratulates the reader for getting this far: "It takes a heroic effort to step back from your everyday life and make an effort to see things clearly, as you have done." I have? Yep, per the author, since you have filled in the blanks in the exercises in the book, it is simply a matter of putting the pieces together and, just in case you are not burned out on all the twists and turns introduced so far, he says that "you can choose from a variety of methods to assemble the picture of your Ideal Retirement."

But there is still more: In the case that the "assembled picture" fails to disclose, immediately, some obvious direction or callings for you in retirement, you are urged to seek counsel from a list of possible "helpers," which includes your attorney, realtor, financial advisor, personal trainer or therapist. Hey, what about my mother? She could be of some help?

But we're not done just yet. There is also the challenge of bringing this vision of your Ideal Retirement back into the world of "everyday life." And -- are you still with me -- there are once again multiple ways to do this, in this case: the "no-brainer approach," "the right-brain approach" and the "left-brain approach."

Had enough? Obviously, I have by this point. But the book ends, almost unbelievably, with the concept that maybe you can find some ideal JOB out there that gives you all the happiness, prosperity, health, pleasure, engagement and meaning that you could ever imagine in life. In which case, you are one of those lucky dogs who really doesn't have to deal with retirement issues any more, or bother reading any more books even remotely related to the subject, I'd guess. And, of course, if you are at all intrigued in this idea, you are encouraged - I kid you not! -- to read the original Parachute book.......or did I mention that before?

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parachute flys high above the retirement clouds!, June 21, 2007

By	MEW "Young at Heart" (Midwest) - See all my reviews

What a great book! It really ignites new thoughts about retirement planning. Whether already in retirement, not there yet, or just starting a first job, this book shows that retirement is an entirely separate life stage that requires some careful thought and planning. As someone who has worked in the retirement field for over 20 years, this is a message that both young and old need to hear and by taking the approach suggested in the book, it can be a great help in deciding how much needs to be saved to support a retirement lifestyle.

I'm one of those people who are "kind of" retired, but still working and I'm not alone. Studies show that between 60% and 80% of retirees and pre-retirees today are planning to continue some type of "work" - whether for pay or volunteering - well into their retirement years. The reasons for working are generally because the retiree is bored, needs a social network and/or wants to add some purpose to their life.

Unfortunately, most people don't have a clue about how to actually plan for what their retirement lifetime will be like or even think about what their "dream retirement" is. What this book does is offer an approach that will let you picture your future and help you plan how to get there.

What I found really great about this book is that it is more than just something to read. I was able to complete the exercises/worksheets and really learn something about me and what I want to get out of my retirement years. It gave me a whole new perspective about what I can do when I "grow up" and really retire.

Will this book be for everyone? Maybe not. (I really disagree with the last reviewer, though.) If you already know what your retirement life will be like, you probably aren't looking for a book about retirement. However, if you haven't thought about planning for a retirement lifestyle - not just saving and investing money - or you are just leaving your retirement happiness to chance, this is definitely a book you should read.

You may not agree with everything that is in there but it will definitely make you think. And, after all, isn't that what a book like this is supposed to do?

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! -- A Comprehensive Guide to Retirement Planning, May 29, 2007

By	T. Nuckles "Demiglaz" (Wausau, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In terms of a comprehensive approach to retirement planning, this book is truly The Missing Link. Every other book on retirement I have read has focused on just the economics -- personal financial planning. The authors of Parachute address financial planning, but go far beyond it to emphasize the less-tangible aspects of preparing for and then living in retirement. The book helps you understand who you are now, and then helps you determine how your personal attributes can create an optimal retirement. Optimizing the "three dimensions" of retirement is your goal, and the book gives you several tools to help you through this planning process. The intangibles will directly affect your fulfillment in retirement, and indeed will affect your financial needs, as well. I now realize that financial planning for retirement is improved when one uses this comprehensive approach.

I wish this book had been available 10 years ago. If you are starting planning for your retirement, read this book FIRST. It will give you a great roadmap. You can then turn to other resources as needed to fill out a particular aspect of your retirement plan. The book cites many valuable resources. I can definitely recommend this book to those interested in a holistic approach to retirement planning, one that goes beyond the typical dollars-and-cents approach.