This affirming, positive, and practical book will better prepare retirees and their families for the changes and challenges of retirement in an uncertain economic, social, and political climate. A Simple Guide to Retirement: How to Make Retirement Work for You is a book for older Americans planning for retirement. It is also for people who have left work before they were ready and are now experiencing anxiety, depression, and/or financial weakness in their new role as retirees. Written to be at once affirming, positive, and practical, the book covers all of the many topics that will help retirees better prepare themselves for a positive, fulfilling, and satisfying retirement-beginning with financial security. These topics include saving for retirement, working part time, staying healthy and fit, dealing with the emotional and financial burden of health care, cultivating optimism, and much more. Case examples and vignettes will help readers apply the principles to their own lives. 10 illustrations

Discover Your Unique Gift

"Creative aging is a choice . If we remember that transition always begins with endings, moves on to a wilderness period of testing and trying, and only then do we reach the beginning of something new, then we can embrace this encore period of life with hope and curiosity, remembering always that it is our true nature to be creative, to be always birthing new ways of sharing our planet together." from the Epilogue

In a practical and useful way, Marjory Zoet Bankson explores the spiritual dimensions of retirement and aging. She offers creative ways for you to share your gifts and experience, particularly when retirement leaves you questioning who you are when you are no longer defined by your career.

Drawing on stories of people who have reinvented their lives in their older years, Bankson explores the issues you need to address as you move into this generative period of life: Release Letting go of the vocational identity associated with your career or primary workResistance: Feeling stuck, stagnant, resisting changeReclaiming Drawing energy from the past, discovering unused giftsRevelation Forming a new vision of the futureCrossing Point Moving from stagnation to generativityRisk Stepping out into the world with new hopeRelating Finding or creating new structures for a new kind of work"

Everyone says they would like to retire early, but Rodney Rothman actually did it -- forty years early. Burnt out, he decides at the age of twenty-eight to get an early start on his golden years. He travels to Boca Raton, Florida, where he moves in with an elderly piano teacher at Century Village, a retirement community that is home to thousands of senior citizens.
"Early Bird" is an irreverent, hilarious, and ultimately warmhearted account of Rodney's journey deep into the heart of retirement. Rodney struggles for acceptance from the senior citizens he shares a swimming pool with and battles with cranky octogenarians who want him off their turf. Before long he observes, "I don't think "Tuesdays with Morrie" would have been quite so uplifting if that guy had to spend more than one day a week with Morrie."
In the spirit of retirement, Rodney fashions a busy schedule of suntanning, shuffleboard, and gambling cruises. As the months pass, his neighbors seem to forget that he is fifty years younger than they are. He finds himself the potential romantic interest of an aging femme fatale. He joins a senior softball club and is disturbed to learn that he is the worst player on the team.
"Early Bird" is a funny, insightful, and moving look at what happens to us when we retire, viewed from a remarkably premature perspective. Any reader who plans on becoming an old person will enjoy joining Rodney on his strange journey, as he reconsiders his notions of romance, family, friendship, and ultimately, whether he's ever going back to work.

An estimated seventy-eight million baby boomers will hit retirement age in the coming decades. It's an exciting time, but many retirees miscalculate their retirement readiness before leaving their jobs and seeking a more carefree life. In "Don't Eat Dog Food When You're Old " author Roger Roemmich-who has more than forty years experience in the field of finance-presents a big-picture look at what you need to know to plan for your retirement or to better manage the various components of your financial life if you already are retired.

In this guide Roemmich first looks at whether you can afford to retire and then discusses retirement planning and financial management. He introduces his unique CAMP score methodology-considering cash flow, aging, medical needs, and purchasing power-that both provides a basis for quick evaluation of retirement readiness and serves to identify remedies for inadequacies. He also identifies the most important aspects of six key areas and helps show how they factor into having excellent cash flow throughout retirement.

You can calculate your retirement readiness accurately if you know the right questions to ask. Roemmich's guide-which assumes little or no prior knowledge but a keen interest in doing the right thing-helps you move forward carefully and confidently so that you can enjoy financial peace of mind during your golden years.

Get rich slowly Financial independence is a marathon, not a sprint. The financial crisis revealed the hazards of financial illiteracy. Governments desperately want citizens to become financially independent so they'll be less of a burden on them. Findependence Day presents personal finance in a "can't put down" story format easily digested by young adults entering the work force and the world of money. Because money problems often cause marital breakups, it focuses on the financial journey of a young couple who experience the usual ups and downs of job loss, buying homes, raising children, investing and pensions, starting businesses, coping with stock market volatility and more. The secrets of financial independence are critical wherever you are in the financial life cycle: Newlyweds embarking on family formation will discover the importance of financial planning. Debt-plagued graduates will be motivated to embrace "guerrilla frugality." Home-owners will learn the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home. Those in their first jobs will embrace employer 401(k) plans, traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. New parents will discover the need for life insurance and saving for children's education. Mid-life investors will learn how to cut costs in their portfolios while benefiting from the expertise of financial planners. Those near retirement will learn about advanced concepts like annuities and Asset Dedication. Jonathan Chevreau is the editor of MoneySense magazine, former personal finance columnist for the Financial Post and author of nine financial books, including The Wealthy Boomer: Life After Mutual Funds. He's active in social media and blogs at www.findependenceday.com. "Once in a blue moon, a financial book is written that should be required reading for all. Such is the case with Findependence Day." -- Peter Grandich, The Grandich Letter "A tour de force: a personal-finance book that is hard to put down." - Larry MacDonald, CanadianBusiness.com "Having some fun while learning what's good for you is a double win -- particularly learning what we all need to know to live happier lives." - Charles Ellis, author of Winning the Loser's Game This revised all-American edition features end-of-chapter summaries of financial concepts learned, a glossary and bibliography of books that will boost your financial literacy - or that of your kids.

Americans are now living for up to thirty years after retiring. Are you ready? In What If You Live? author and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional, Paul M. Gargano, offers advice, investment strategies, and motivation for taking charge of your future.

In this financial guide, Paul shares his philosophies on investing. He views the investment world as if it were one very large ocean: calm at times, violent at times, but always unpredictable. The key to wise investing is determining which boats best fit the risk and goals of each individual. By using a "multiple boat philosophy," retirees (and retirees-to-be) are more likely to weather any type of market situation. With the changes in today's economy, some of the old rules no longer apply; you can't be too prepared for retirement.

With simple strategies, thought-provoking questions, and empowering knowledge, What If You Live? motivates you to start preparing for your future now. With proper planning, you may significantly increase the likelihood that you will be able to live a comfortable lifestyle in your retirement and twilight years, no matter what the market does.