Retire on Less Than You Think, Revised Edition: The New York Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future

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Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-21
Summary: "The book your financial planner doesn't want you to read"

The perspective Brock presents is rooted in several key premises and his advice largely pertains to families that have been careful about managing their finances and avoided the financial dilemmas that befell many of their neighbors. Specifically, you should: 1) enter retirement with little or no debt; 2) capitalize on the equity accrued in your home by moving from an area with a higher cost of living to one [perhaps relatively nearby] with a lower cost of living; 3) recognize that Social Security can support a surprisingly large porion of the costs of living for many retirees; and 4) understand that the cost of living a relatively simple, somewhat frugal, but happy retirement is likely to be quite a bit less than the cost of living prior to retirement. Indeed, the experience of many retirees suggests that the cost of living can be dramatically lower. This perspective stands in contrast to the advice of many financial planners and columnists who insist that you view retirement through the lens of your pre-retirement demands--a mortgage, car payments, kids in college, etc.--and work long and hard to accummulate a nest egg necessary to generate at least 80% of your peak annual earnings prior to retirement. Although the edition I read was written in 2005, prior to the bursting of the real estate bubble, many of the lessons and principles still apply to persons who have been responsible in managing their finances. As far as other reviewers' comments about the author's political views concerning Social Security and health insurance are concerned, the past 5 years have simply borne out his concerns about our country's failure to address rising health care costs and the abuses of insurance companies. As a result, the greatest financial challenge for those retiring prior to becoming eligible for Medicare is likely to be medical insurance and costs for family members whose coverage is not paid by the retiree's former employer. Otherwise, the basic advice continues to hold true.

Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2010-06-10
Summary: "Disappointing lack of new info over previous edition, too much reliance on home value"

I was disappointed that not much new advice was offered over the previous edition. There is still too much reliance on the sale of one's home as a source of retirement assets--we all know how well that worked out in the last few years! I would have hoped to see some updating of the information, this was really a re-hash and not very valuable if you read the previous book.

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-08-12
Summary: "Interesting"

The author of this book argues that people can retire much sooner than they think. The conventional wisdom preached by the financial services industry is that a person needs at least 70 to 80 percent of preretirement income in order to retire. Of course, the financial services industry preaches it because they directly benefit from it. But the estimates are based on the fact that people during retirement years will have expenditures at the same level as during working years.

This book is controversial and questions the status quo, but people need to decide on their own what they will really need during the retirement years. It all depends on the lifestyle that one wants to lead. The author also argues that people over-save and have too much money during their retirement. I am not so sure I believe this. Now it almost seems like the problem is not having enough money during retirement. This book is definitely interesting.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2009-02-16
Summary: "Simplistic and not realistic"

As other reviewers have noted, this is a one-note book. The author presents a simple formula. Sell a home in an expensive location. Use the equity in your home and move to a less expensive place. Your social security will bring you more than you think.

He's half-right. Once you get past the cost of housing (and sometimes taxes, especially if you own), city life can cost less than small-town life. You usually don't need a car. You have all sorts of options for free or low-cost entertainment. Often food costs are less because you aren't limited to a few supermarkets -- and you may even have Trader Joe's!

But my biggest concern is that this book presupposes retirees come in pairs -- husband and wife. If you live in a small town (and many small cities) you will need a spouse or close relative to survive. When your car needs a brake job or tune-up, who will drive you to the mechanic? When you are too sick to take yourself to the doctor, who will drive you? You can't call a cab. It's no easier to make friends in a small community than in a large one.

As people get older, driving at night becomes more problematic. If you need a car, you're cut off from many possibilities. Driving along a country road means driving with no lights, few road markers and lots of uninsured drivers (who usually have a good reason they lost their insurance).

The idea that city people can have the best of both worlds by living just one hour away from a big city is ludicrous. That one-hour drive will become deadly when weather conditions deteriorate. A lot of those roads are shared by deer who enjoy marching right into your headlights. And if you need medical specialists but are too sick to drive, you need someone to drive you -- that's one hour each way, with several hours in the middle. You'll rarely find public transportation from small towns to big cities.

I've researched and written extensively on relocation. Moving to a new part of the country means changing cultures. It's not a step to be taken lightly. What we really need is a guide, "Where You Can Live Without a Car."

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-02-07
Summary: "The truth about retirement's cost"

As a writer of articles and a book on retirement finances, I think this book is excellent at teaching people there is a modest but pleasant way to retire within the finances many people have. He shows you how to stop wasting money and make the most of what you have. This is a great must read.