[.ca] Retire On Less Than You Think (ISBN 0805087303)

New perspective on retirement!:
This book is truly a new perspective than the one you hear from the financial community. Fred Brock debunks the myths that it takes millions of dollars to retire. Every financial website has a calculator to tell you how much you have to save and invest to have millions to retire. This just isn't practical for most people. He shows that if you own a home with a 30-yr. mortgage, by the time you retire it should be paid off. So, there is no longer a mortgage payment which is usually your greatest expense. Also, if you move to a city that is one of the best places to retire (he gives the web address to find these cities), the money you have will go much further while maintaining the same or better standard of living. Also, healthcare is a concern for retirees. He directs you to ehealthinsurance.com to compare rates. I did this and changed my insurance plan and am saving $50/month. This book is an eye-opener for anyone planning to retire but after reading the book you should feel relieved that you can really can retire on less than you think.

Some good points, but overly repetive.:
The first time book mentions how Wall Street's "70%-80% pre-retirement income" recommendation is self-serving, it's interesting. By about the 10th mention, it's like "OK. Got it. Let's move on." Appreciated emphasis on importance of simplicity, freedom, and meaning, vs. sufficient means to sustain a bloated, materialistic lifestyle.

Political NOT practical:
If you can get past the author's jaded political views on the Canadian healthcare system and his rose colored view of Social Security's viability, you'll find not much more than a simple worksheet by which to calculate your post-retirement needs. The practical suggestions (there are some) are limited and at times obvious.....ie: Ignore Wall Street's rules of thumb on how much you'll need to live on. The rest is NY Times op-ed filler. What a shame.....he had the right idea...just didn't follow through.

Exceptional Advice:
What a useful book! So many of the magazine articles and books I read about retirement these days seem to spit out the same old stuff, again and again. But this book is a surprise. From the moment I opened it, I was delighted to find that someone has finally brought some fresh eyes to the subject of retirement. I'm probably like many other people in believing the same myths about retirement that this book debunks. Most of the time it seems that the so-called experts enjoy just making us afraid of what we won't have when we retire. I'm happy to say this book shows us what we can have and just how we can get it.

Buy this book!:
What a refreshing take on retirement! Instead of retirement plans that make life wonderful for Wall Street brokers and mutual fund companies, Mr. Brock, gasp, has some serious ideas here for potential retirees. He shows how you don't need as much to retire as the fund companies would like you to think you need. And why would they like you to think that? Because they make money off of your investments. This book also puts the so-called Social Security crisis in perspective, showing how there really isn't a crisis at all. The system is rock solid for years to come. (Who would gain from privatizing Social Security? Wall Street.) One of the amazing things about this book, with all these "radical" notions, is that it is written by a columnist for the establishment - The New York Times. Buy this book and learn how to get out of the rat race a little bit earlier.