Monday, February 25, 2013

How to Retire Happy: My Review



About the Book:
From financial decisions like when to take money out of an IRA to lifestyle decisions such as where to live, How to Retire Happy, Fourth Edition, provides accurate and expert advice, served up in easy-to-understand step-by-step style.

My Comments:
I remember when retirement was something almost hypothetical, something far in the future that I guessed I'd reach one day, but not anytime soon.  Well, I'm one of the old-timers in the office now.  I started there when I was the mother of one eighteen month old son; now I'm the mom of a six foot something almost 21 year old son, a daughter who is a senior in high school and a nine year old.  Retirement is still a ways away, but it isn't looking so hypothetical anymore.  Are we ready?  What can we do?  What decisions do we have to make?

While Stan Hinden certainly gives the standard advice of saving money early, often and in large amounts, he goes beyond that to look at decisions that will have to be made about pensions, Social Security and personal retirement accounts.  What are the choices about Social Security?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?  How should you take your defined benefit pension if you are lucky enough to have one?  What happens to your 401K when you retire?  

We all know it is important to save for retirement, and most folks understand that compound interest means that saving when you are young means you need to save less than if you wait until you are old.  Hinden acknowledges though that young adults are often unable to save because of the costs of establishing a home and raising young children.  I know we find it a lot easier to save now than we did twenty years ago--our incomes have gone up far more than our house payment has.  

Hinden was a newspaper writer and it shows in his writing style; in other words, it is clear and easy to read without a lot of technical jargon.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

No comments:

Post a Comment


View My Stats