Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well, Fifth Edition

Retire happy and healthy without keeping a million bucks in the bank! The financial-service industry wants you to believe that in order to avoid financial destitution, you need to put aside huge amounts of money that you -- let's say it together -- "should have begun saving years ago." Not true, states Ralph Warner, Nolo co-founder and the author of Get a Life . Although a sensible savings plan makes good horse sense, many other actions and decisions will determine whether you enjoy your retirement years. Get a Life shows you how to beat the anxiety surrounding retirement, and to develop a plan to make your golden years the best of your life by: developing family relationships maintaining and creating friendships improving health keeping active developing a robust curiosity for the world realistically calculating how much money you need and how to secure it The 5th edition provides the latest research and studies that show physically and mentally active retirees live longer and enjoy happier lives. New in 2008: Also in this category, by coauthor Ralph Warner, Retire Happy: What you Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement. (20090101) Table of Contents 9 Introduction 15 1. What Will You Do When You Retire? 21 Plan to Keep Busy 22 The Importance of Thinking Ahead 24 Making an Action Plan 31 Working Part-Time 32 Volunteering for a Good Cause 40 Pursuing Personal Interests 46 Continuing Your Education 48 Can You Buy an Action-Packed Retirement? 55 A Conversation With Ernest Callenbach 59 2. Health and Fitness 67 Some Immediate Ways to Improve Your Health 69 Finding Time to Exercise 85 A Conversation With Arthur Levenson 91 3. Family 97 The Value of Close Family Ties 98 How Healthy Is Your Family? 101 Ways to Improve Family Functioning 103 For Couples: Improving Your Relationship 115 For Men Only: Look Beyond Your Paycheck 123 For Women Only: Avoid a Lonely Old Age 125 A Conversation With Henry and Althea Perry 127 4. Friends 135 Make Some Younger Friends 141 Make Friends Outside of Work 143 Forming New Friendships 144 Couples: Make Sure Your Friends Are Really Yours 146 Why It’s Wise to Join Early 151 A Conversation With Yuri Moriwaki Shibata 155 5. Loving Life 163 Embrace Life, Not Money 164 Retirement Role Models 167 Dare to Be Authentic 170 A Conversation With Hazel Peterson 177 6. Reaching Out for Help to Create Your Successful Retirement 183 Find Positive Mentors 188 Look Inward 189 Forming a Geezer/Geezelle Group 195 A Conversation With Carol Thompson 201 7. Nursing Homes: How to Avoid Them, or Pay for Them If You Can’t 207 Staying Out of a Nursing Home 209 Long-Term Care Insurance 214 A Conversation With Cecil Stewart 223 8. How Much Money Will You Need When You Retire? 229 A Closer Look at the Retirement Industry 230 How Much Retirement Savings Is Enough? 234 Estimating Your Retirement Needs 237 A Conversation With Afton Crooks 247 9. Where Will Your Money Come From After Age 65? 253 Social Security Retirement Benefits 254 Pensions and Individual Retirement Savings Plans 259 Continuing to Work 267 Income From Savings and Investments 269 Inheritance 275 Gifts 285 Early Retirement Incentives and Buy-Outs 287 Withdrawing Equity From Your House 289 A Conversation With Babette Marks 295 10. How to Save Enough—Even If You Think It’s Impossible 301 Credit Card Interest: How the Poor Pay the Rich 304 Looking at Your Credit Habits 308 Plan to Avoid Car Payments 314 Prepay Your Mortgage 319 Adding Up the Savings 325 A Conversation With Peter Wolford 327 11. The Savvy Peasant’s Investment Guide 333 How to Invest Like a Savvy Peasant 334 Your Investment Choices 340 Index 365 Related Products 387

Retire happy and healthy without keeping a million bucks in the bank!

The financial-service industry wants you to believe that in order to avoid financial destitution, you need to put aside huge amounts of money that you — let's say it together — "should have begun saving years ago."

Not true, states Ralph Warner, Nolo co-founder and the author of Get a Life. Although a sensible savings plan makes good horse sense, many other actions and decisions will determine whether you enjoy your retirement years.

Get a Life shows you how to beat the anxiety surrounding retirement, and to develop a plan to make your golden years the best of your life by:

- developing family relationships
- maintaining and creating friendships
- improving health
- keeping active
- developing a robust curiosity for the world
- realistically calculating how much money you need and how to secure it

The 5th edition provides the latest research and studies that show physically and mentally active retirees live longer and enjoy happier lives.

Get a Life shares with readers sensible ways to ensure a fulfilling retirement ways that have little to do with accumulated wealth and everything to do with quality of life. Warner stresses the importance of: developing family relationships; maintaining and creating friendships; improving health; keeping active; developing a robust curiosity for the world. Conversations with a variety of active, older individuals also featured.

The financial-service industry wants you to believe that in order to avoid financial destitution, you need to put aside huge amounts of money that you -- let's say it together -- "should have begun saving years ago."Not true, states Warner, the author of Get a Life. Although a sensible savings plan makes good horse sense, many other actions and decisions will determine whether you enjoy your retirement years. Get a Life shows you how to beat the anxiety surrounding retirement, and to develop a plan to make your golden years the best of your life by:*developing family relationships *maintaining and creating friendships *improving health *keeping active *developing a robust curiosity for the world *realistically calculating how much money you need and how to secure it The 5th edition provides the latest research and studies that show physically and mentally active retirees live longer and enjoy happier lives. The Adobe Reader format of this title is not suitable for use on the Pocket PC or Palm OS versions of Adobe Reader "Although few people in mid-life are ready to hear it, the chances of enjoying an active, fulfilling retirement have almost nothing to do with money. What really matters are the life choices you make before you retire. They will largely determine whether retirement will find you busy or bored, happy or lonely, healthy or sick. Of course, putting aside a financial nest egg makes sense. but spending all your time working to save money--and neglecting family, friends and your own health in the process--isn't the path to contentment"--Back cover The premise of this book is simple: Popular advice that says you'll need to save a big pile of money to have a successful retirement is hugely exaggerated and sadly incomplete.