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by Lane Scheiber (Author)
Most people hope to have a good work life topped off by a reasonable retirement. Shocking as it may be, the latest data shows most people reach retirement only to find that they have little or no money to live on. It's even more shocking to see the drastic changes that causes in those peoples life styles. To get an idea, visit some nursing homes. Not those you have to pay for. Visit the ones that take care of the people who have little or no money. No one wants to end up like that, so why is this happening? Basically, we work and earn a paycheck for two-thirds of our adult lives. Then we retire and live the last third on the funds we built during our working years. In other words, how you live those final 20, 30, 40, or more years depends on how well you prepared your finances to support you. It's your choice. Some want to arrange their finances such that their life styles can remain essentially unchanged as they pass from working to retired. We refer to these as rich. If you want to be part of this group, this book is for you. One's financial life can be thought of as consisting of three phases. I call them Getting Started, Taking Control, and Preparing for and Living in Retirement. This book reflects those three phases and is focused on helping people develop and arrange their finances in each phase so that they are able to retire with the same standard of living they had before the paychecks stopped. Phase 1, Getting Started, refers to the period in one's life where he or she obtains the education and skills to pursue the work life that one has chosen. In general, it extends from the later grades in high school through the early working years up to the point where one begins to have funds to invest. This is the time period when one generally realizes that companies don't hire people, they hire skills. Some even realize that it is not just having the skills, but having done something notable with the skills that really make a difference in management's mind. Phase 2, Taking Control, covers the period from the time one begins to get serious about establishing a retirement fund until retirement begins to come over the horizon. This is also often the time when one begins to realize that one cannot work himself or herself rich. One must invest to generate sufficient funds to have an enjoyable retirement. Phase 3, Planning for and Living in Retirement, covers the time from when retirement starts coming over the horizon through the retirement years, Areas covered include Social Security, Medicare, withdrawing funds from your retirement plan, taxes and the illusion of wealth, and strategies to make your money last a lifetime. It also includes some planning techniques that might provide opportunities to reduce taxes as one is about to enter retirement. As you begin to take control of your financial future, the author encourages you to identify your target, the sum you will need at retirement to maintain your lifestyle, and to track your progress. The book provides means to do both. Websites with the latest data are identified and tables are provided to help you identify your target. Charts are provided and their use described to help you track your progress. If you have an interest in your financial future, and from the above you can see that you should, then this book can help you get started and guide you along the way. As the book says, to be Rich or Poor, It's Your Choice.
