Retire Happy: What You Can Do NOW to Guarantee a Great Retirement

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Retire Happy: What You Can Do NOW to Guarantee a Great Retirement Pub. Date: 3/14/2008 Publisher: NOLO

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Overview

When planning for retirement, it's easy to become preoccupied with stock portfolios, 401(k) balances and doomsday predictions about baby boomer's lack of savings. But happiness in retirement isn't about how much cash you can manage to sock away before the age of 65. Everyone wants a comfortable retirement—but most also plan to have some fun, maintain an active social life, and enjoy a healthy old age.

In Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement, author Rich Stim shows readers how to become rich in the ways that matter most. He encourages future retirees to balance financial concerns with an enriching lifestyle.

"Don't fall for the retirement industry scare stories or calculations about how much you'll need to retire safely," he advises. Instead, Stim instructs readers on how to estimate real retirement needs and create a workable savings and investment plan. Even more important, he advises readers to make personal preparations for life after work, including:

cultivating interests outside work
leading a healthier lifestyle
revitalizing family relationships
spending more time with spouses
embracing religion, spirituality or meditation
nurturing friendships and making new friends

Retire Happy helps readers prepare for retirement—not just financially, but in every aspect of their lives.

Editorial Reviews

St. Petersburg Times

If you are among the majority of people who have never tried to calculate their financial needs for retirement, this book is worth it just for these discussions.

Library Journal

These are the first three titles in a new series coproduced by Nolo and USA Today. In The Busy Family's Guide, USA Today personal finance columnists Block, John Waggoner, and Kathy Chu focus on the building blocks of family security: budgets, savings, investing, insurance, and estate planning. They begin by coaching readers on how to talk about money and how to set up a plan, then tackle taxes and tax breaks, controlling and dealing with debt, home buying and mortgages, and the components of an estate plan. A chapter on investments demystifies the options by comparing and explaining cash investments, stocks, and mutual funds.

Attorneys Fishman (Lower Taxes in 7 Easy Steps) and Fitzpatrick's Work from Home Handbook is for those considering working at home either as an employee or a freelancer. Essentially, it is a narrative checklist of issues to consider and the steps to take to make home-based employment feasible. Readers will learn to assess whether a job can be done from home, how to make the case for it with an employer, and how to find existing telecommuting jobs. The section on freelancing helps those ready to create their own home-based businesses with information on setting fees, finding clients, and dealing with tax implications.

Finally, in Retire Happy, attorney Stim (Patent Pending in 24 Hours) and Nolo cofounder Warner (How To Run a Thriving Business) advocate thinking through retirement well before turning out the office lights. They present strategies for constructing the elements of a successful retirement (e.g., health, money, rewarding activities, a circle of friends) and devote significant space toretirement money issues. Particularly useful is the section on calculating the amount needed for a long and secure retirement. Each of these books is clear, practical, and nicely enhanced by charts and checklists. Recommended for public libraries.
—Joan Pedzich

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781413308358
Publisher: NOLO
Publication date: 3/14/2008
Pages: 264
Sales rank: 482,255
Series: Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement Series
Product dimensions: 8.98 (w) x 10.88 (h) x 0.52 (d)

Meet the Author

Richard Stim, a legal and business editor as well as an attorney in private practice, has written several Nolo books, including Music Law, Patent Pending in 24 Hours and Whoops! I'm in Business.

Ralph Warner is a co-founder of Nolo, and is the author of several do-it-yourself books, including Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court and How to Run a Thriving Business. Both make their homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement 1. Visualize Yourself Retired
Keep Busy
Think Ahead
Make an Action Plan
Work Part-Time
Volunteer
Pursue Personal Interests
Continue Your Education
Buy an Action-Packed Retirement
Embrace Life, Not Money
Get Some Retirement Role Models
Dare to Be Authentic

2. Imagine Yourself Healthy
Stop Smoking
Clean Up Your Diet
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Control Your Blood Pressure
Control Your Cholesterol
Prevent Brittle Bones
Manage Stress
Get Needed Medical Tests
Embrace Sex
Embrace Prayer or Meditation
Exercise Often

3. Revitalize Your Family
Spend More Time With Your Children
Work for a Family-Friendly Employer
Keep Your Family Unit as Extended as Possible
Don't Take Family Leadership for Granted
Develop a Sense of Humor About Lifestyle Differences
Don't Give Up on Black Sheep
Improve Your Spousal Relationship
For Men Only: Look Beyond Your Paycheck
For Women Only: Avoid a Lonely Old Age

4. Friendly Persuasion
Make Some Younger Friends
Make Friends Outside of Work
Form New Friendships
Couples: Make Sure Your Friends Are Really Yours

5. Reach Out for Help
Find Positive Mentors
Look Inward
Participate in a Group Process
Form a Peer Group

6. Avoid Nursing Homes
Stay Out of a Nursing Home
Support Community Efforts to Provide Senior Services
Consider Long-Term Care Insurance

7. You Don't Need a Million to Retire
Don't Fall for Retirement Industry Calculations
Know How Much Retirement Savings Is Enough
Accurately EstimateYour Retirement Needs

8. Figure Out Where Your Money Will Come From
Calculate Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
Calculate Your Pension and Individual Retirement Savings Plan Income
Continue to Work if . . .
Calculate Your Income From Savings and Investments
Don't Fall for Retirement Scare Stories
Calculate How You Really Need to Save
Calculate Potential Inheritances and Gifts and Consider Uncertainties
Take Advantage of Early Retirement Incentives and Buy-Outs
Withdraw Equity From Your House
Rent Out One or More Rooms in Your House
Move to a Less Expensive House
Sell Your House and Become a Renter
Get a Reverse Mortgage

9. Save-Even If You Think It's Impossible
Learn How the Poor Pay the Rich
Improve Your Credit Habits
Break Your Credit Habits
Avoid Car Payments
Prepay Your Mortgage
Make Your Savings Add Up

10. Know Your Investments
Maximize Bank Savings Accounts
Buy Bank Certificates of Deposit
Invest in Money Market Accounts
Purchase US Government Inflation-Adjusted Securities
Buy US Treasury Bills
Buy US Government Bonds and Notes
Buy Municipal Bonds
Buy Corporate Bonds
Buy Stocks (But Be Careful)
Buy Mutual Funds
Buy Annuities
Invest in Real Estate
Invest in Precious Metals and Exotic Investments

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