A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
Will you have over million ready for your retirement? If the answer is no, and this figure sounds totally out of reach, think again. A million dollars isn’t what it used to be. The truth is that Baby Boomers, who have enjoyed more abundance and pleasures than any previous generation, need more than a million dollars for a comfortable retirement. And you can achieve this-even if you don’t already have a net worth close to a million dollars-by starting now. In A MILLION IS NOT ENOUG
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How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
Imagine a retirement filled with blue skies, soft sand, and refreshing breezes. Picture yourself spending your days lounging in a hammock and listening to the waves roll onto the shore. You may be thinking that this scenario sounds great but that you cannot afford it. However, that is where you are mistaken. This book shows you how you can achieve your dream retirement without obsessing about saving and without overspending.
As senior citizens age, they tend to go through less money; in
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July 30th, 2010 at 4:32 am
Review by Armchair Interviews for A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
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Michael Farr’s book, A Million is Not Enough, covers retirement planning like a warm blanket on a cold night. It gives you a good sense of security, letting you know exactly where you stand and what you need to do to be successful in the end game. Fear not. The book doesn’t drag you through overly detailed explanations of what specific investment techniques exist, though it highlights them. Instead the book provides valuable succinct answers to the really important questions of the why and how of retirement planning.
I think everyone knows that a million dollars is not what it used to be. And Farr starts off by hammering this point home. What you need in retirement is relative to your current lifestyle, and the lifestyle you hope to lead without working. Ten million dollars might not be enough retirement savings for some folks.
Three major sections guide you through Farr’s retirement planning and execution processes.
1) Helps readers understand his view of the mission: Save successfully for retirement. Here Farr asks you to decide what you want out of life.
2) Talks to investing wisely, balancing risk and reward, but only after helping you assess where you stand relative to your goals. There’s even a monthly budget worksheet to gain insight into current spending, from which future spending can be predicted. The last section addresses building and maintaining a healthy investment portfolio.
The paperback version is under 300 pages, with enough figures and tables to keep your interest. I especially liked his example retirees and how their portfolios were allocated. Are you a Neo-Boomer, a Core Boomer or a Tail-end Boomer? I would have liked to see more references and a detailed index to make the book more complete. But the added benefit of the entertaining introduction by P.J. O’Rourke makes up for these small shortcomings.
NOTE: A leading financial analyst and strategist, Farr currently guest hosts on CNBC’s Squawk Box. His commentary can be heard on the Associated Press Radio and National Public Radio, and he is quoted regularly in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, and PBS’s The Nightly Business Report.
Armchair Interview says: If you’re looking for information on retirement planning, Farr’s has done a great job of presenting it for everyone to understand.
July 30th, 2010 at 4:46 am
Review by Tank for A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
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This book spends a lot of time helping you explore things like your current budget, how you can save more, and how much you will need in retirement. I’m sure there are some people who need this basic information, but you may be better off with the on-line retirement calculators and there are certainly better books available. My biggest concern is that he rocommends portfolios that are extremely focused on actively managed U.S. Large Cap Growth stock mutual funds, but does little to justify this approach. Choose a different book (like Bogleheads Guide to Investing)and invest in a diversified asset class portfolio of index funds and ETF’s.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:03 am
Review by James Thomas Williams for A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
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Thank you Mr Farr! Finally a book on financial planning which gets right to the heart of mistakes we make, how to avoid them, and all the little things that add up to success in retirement savings. This one is easy to read yet cleverly written. I used it as a way to critique my retirement saving strategy to date and so far have found ways to save at least $350.00 a month, increase my projected age 65 nest egg by $200,000, and free up money from current unneccesary expenses for an extra family trip this year. I passed it on to my secretary and she hasn’t stopped talking about it-she just became a grandmother and finds it very helpful in directing the family finances. It’s a fresh approach, full of wit and wisdom, and well worth the investment.
James Williams, MD
July 30th, 2010 at 5:52 am
Review by A. Simmonds for A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
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This book is full of great ideas on saving and investing. Beyond the ideas, though, Mr. Farr incorporates detailed and useful worksheets which allowed me to figure out exactly where I stand. With the economy the way it is, there is no better time to use this book to get your financial house in order.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Review by wotherspoon for A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You’ll Need
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Michael Farr has written a great book for retirement investment while making none of the usual assumptions about the financial situation of the reader. His advice and outlook is geared to anyone interested in securing their finances with a solid base and whether you start at 20 or 65 or you have or have not already made your first million he encourages you with the idea that it’s not too late(or early)to start. If you analyze your own money routine using the charts and schedules in the book you do see where you can take yourself financially by paying attention and using available resources. He even offers his own email address in case you aren’t quite sure of the appropriate direction. It’s an appealing method he offers to capture your own financial interest. Using humor and examples from his own life as well as clients he uses budget and cash situations familiar to the reader. This presentation allows the reader to identify and understand the point he’s making. I would recommend it just on the merit of it not making you scared of investing. The discussions are serious but clear and the usual glazing over of the brain when reading financial material did not occur. I hope you enjoy the book.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:33 am
Review by Stephanie for How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
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Practical retirement advice for every day folk. Easy to read, easy to put into practice. No matter the age, anyone will benefit from these financial strategies.
Brooks shows how anyone of regular means can retire comfortably. She offers simple tips for saving more and spending smarter. Complicated topics such as taxes, investments and Medicare made plain to understand.
This book will help the average person take above average steps towards their retirement goals.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:05 am
Review by C. Michel for How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
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This is a well written book bent on helping people retire without having to put away tons and tons of money. It explains how to eliminate your debt before retirement, gives ideas how to reduce your mortgage, and how you should be prepared for credit increases if you plan on taking debt with you into retirement. It also warns you about things like CDs and how the bank can cancel them on you with a “call feature”. It also explains IRA accounts and had just about everything you need in it to retire.
I found this book enjoyable and very helpful. It can help just about anyone whether they’re getting ready to retire, or are young and looking to put money away, or even those who are already retired and looking for ways to minimize their debt. I give this book a 5/5. Everyone should pick it up.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Review by An American for How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
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Given the current economic situation, this publication is very timely and sorely needed; especially for those who put off thinking about retirement until tomorrow. The author carefully points out that without planning in terms of what works for each of us, we all seem to walk down the street of by-and-by arriving at the house of never-getting-started.
The book is divided into three key sections. Starting with eliminating your debt before you retire, to investing for the future and finally with retirement and what it means to you.
Each of these sections in turn goes into topics about what it takes to accomplish the goal set by the section, such as with eliminating debt; it discusses the topic of credit cards, their use and abuse, and how to remove their painful spell upon us. Other topics in the section include: simplifying your life style by budgeting and making your homestead work for you. This last topic is especially interesting given the current circumstance of falling house values, and the credit crunch. It makes you confront the fact that if what you are earning to live on today is not enough, then how are you going to live on less when you retire without preparing for it?
This leads to the second section about investing for the future. The key term here is “future;” what has been and where you are today is not as important as where you want to be tomorrow. After reviewing the various types of investments from checking, savings and money market accounts; to CDs and treasuries; to 401(k)’s and IRA accounts; to investing in stocks along with researching stocks and selecting financial advisors, you are provided with some very sound advice along conventional lines of wisdom.
But, with the recent financial situation much of what is written here needs to be tempered with where you are in regard to your future retirement. If you haven’t started and you’re young enough, right now is as good a time as ever. If you are not young but still have time until retirement there are opportunities that need looking into and this section can help you decide what is right for you. Some kind of set-aside should be a part of anyone’s future plans. The degree to which you commit yourself is based upon your circumstances, financial resource availability and the professional advice you get.
The final section on Retirement and you is worth the whole price of the book. It allows you to confront yourself in terms of what retirement will mean to you and how you attempt to handle it. Each of us has a unique understanding of what it means. This section helps you explore various possibilities, such as retirement overseas. Also, how Social Security, Medicare and Insurance will play a roll in your retirement?
Added values to this book are the planning aids, such as guideline sheets, web sites and other information sources in addition to criteria to select financial advisors. There is also a user friendly glossary to help you understand investment and retirement terminology which often is difficult for those not in the know.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Review by Dana Hinders for How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
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The thought of planning for my retirement tends to inspire feelings of fear and panic. As a self-employed entrepreneur, however, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to start thinking about planning for retirement as soon as possible. Luckily, this book is a great guide for anyone who is ready to start preparing for the inevitable.
Some of the advice in ”How to Retire Comfortably and Happily on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need”, like eliminate your debt before you retire, may be construed as simple common sense. Ms. Brooks does offer several useful suggestions as to how to accomplish your goals, however, ranging from more efficient meal planning to making sure you’re getting the best deal on a used car. There are also a number of tips that are just good financial advice in general, such as learning how to separate needs from wants, considering the overall cost of too much clutter in your home, and asking whether or not downsizing your home might be a good way to save some money. The section on investing could probably have used more detail, but I suspect the author’s aim was to simply provide a basic overview for a working-class audience who is more concerned with getting by than building wealth.
What most impressed me in ”How to Retire Comfortably and Happily on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need” was the author’s creative thinking in regards to her ideas for generating supplemental income during retirement and saving money by retiring overseas. As part of the generation that expects to receive little or no help from Social Security, I believe creativity will be my best hope for a semi-comfortable recruitment.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Review by Lillianberrie for How to Retire Comfortably and Happy on Less Money than the Financial Experts Say You Need: Insider Secrets to Spending Less While Living More
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This was a good book. It explains many different investment options simply, and gives a risk rating for each. I do think it has helped me to have more of a long term “retirement view”. It’s a great book to get if you have at least 5-10 years before your retirement. It’s also not a bad book to get during retirement, because there are many tips for living frugally. It could help someone on a limited retirement budget to get by on less.