Living a Happy, Healthy Retirement

Best Retirement Books

Mike

Best Retirement Books on Retirement Life

In addition to personally owning several of these best retirement books, I have found them on a number of “best of” retirement book lists. My reason behind this curated list is that I find so much of the mainstream thought is about only saving for retirement. However, that is just the first destination. What do you do once you get there? These first books on retirement life will give you plenty of food for thought as you enter this phase of life.

Looking beyond books, I encourage you to check out my post titled “Retirement Resources for Seniors” as well.

Mike

Tapas Life: A Rich and Rewarding Life After Your Long Career

by Andrew Robin

Retirement isn’t what it used to be. So, what’s your next move after being immersed in a decades-long demanding career? I often see people search for the next ‘big thing’ to replace the primary role that work occupied in their life. Some struggle to find it and drift longer than they expected in the years after their career comes to an end. But most of the clients I work with design a new ”portfolio” life with multiple areas of focus and they retire happy.

Andy Robin has created a clever way to describe this new way of post-career living. He likens it to the series of small meals you’ll eat Spain – a bit of this and a then bit of that. It’s an interesting way to think about retirement.

Robin stresses the importance of building a structure for your days and weeks in your post-career life. It’s one of the fundamental challenges of the transition to retirement. He offers sound advice on how to create this new structure gradually (one Tapa at a time) based on what you really want to do. It transforms the challenge of forging a new structure into an opportunity to thoughtfully craft your new existence.

Tapas Life describes various types of Tapas, ranging from ones focused on Meaning and Giving Back to Business, Health, and Flow. The author shares his experiences discovering each one and lessons learned along the way, as well as examples of the Tapas that other people are pursuing in their retirement.

The book notes the counterintuitive role of failure in this phase of life. In contrast to failing at something in your full-time working years, where there are consequences, it’s now usually something to embrace. Failing becomes reframed as a genuine learning experience that allows you to move on to your next adventure.

Robin shares useful advice on developing new social connections on re-contracting with a spouse or significant other as you embark on this transition. Tapas Life is a short book (133 pages), but it’s packed with entertaining anecdotes and practical advice on how to invent a new life in retirement.

Retirement Your Way: The No Stress Roadmap for Designing Your Next Chapter and Loving Your Future

by Gail M. McDonald


It’s time to break the retirement mold and do retirement your way. Whether you want to keep working beyond the traditional retirement years, enjoy a classic retirement playing golf and bridge, go back to school, or start a business, this book offers a clear 7-step roadmap to help you get there and enjoy the journey.

Design your dream Next Chapter, using all this retirement book has to offer:

Packed with practical guidance, useful research, and inspiring stories; Retirement Your Way will motivate you to let go of your stories, add your dreams, and keep exploring. Do it your way. Be a retirement rebel!

 

 

An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life

by Jeff Haanen


People talk about retirement like it’s supposed to be an endless vacation. But what if, like the majority of those facing retirement, you can’t afford such a luxury? Or, what if you just want something more from retirement? Some advocate for no retirement at all. But you’ve worked for decades and a rest and reprieve do sound appealing. What should you do? Does God have a purpose for your retirement?

Yes, He does. Learn how to discern what it is by taking an uncommon approach. Jeff Haanen looks biblically and practically at the need for rest and purpose in retirement. And teaches you how to:

Planning retirement doesn’t have to be distressing. Retire in a way that’s God-honoring, purpose-filled, restful, and truly biblical.

 

 

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won’t Get from Your Financial Advisor

by Ernie J. Zelinski

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free offers inspirational advice on how to enjoy life to its fullest. The key to achieving an active and satisfying retirement involves a great deal more than having adequate financial resources; it also encompasses all other aspects of life — interesting leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical well-being, mental well-being, and solid social support.

World-class author and innovator Ernie J. Zelinski guides you to:

 

Time for Wonderlust: Planning Your Retirement Renaissance

by Forrest J. Wright

RETIREMENT AS YOUR LAST SECOND CHANCE: This “Wonderlust” book speaks to those over 50 who are looking to rededicate their lives to something other than work. It’s difficult to know where to turn after a long career, so this book offers four helpful concepts.

YOUR NEW FUTURE MAY LIE IN YOUR PAST

1. You’ve probably had miraculous experiences in your life that are not fully appreciated for their significance. Revisiting them with a fresh perspective as described in “Wonderlust” could renew your sense of uniqueness and meaning and provide a strong foundation to pivot in exciting new directions.

2. Trying to understand these peak experiences–moments of transcendence–can create curiosity about how they affect others. Can we look for answers in the arts, philosophy, or psychology? Learning about the Axial Age and pleasures of the mind can not only be fun but create wonderful moments of happiness as you find meaning in retirement.

3. Full retirement provides the best environment–when work concerns don’t compromise your limited free time–to explore these concepts. Considerable financial planning, though, is needed to insure comfortable full retirement living.

4. You learn about the threats to finding leisure time, such as conspicuous consumption, and how you can “own your job” even before you retire.

 

Retirement Reality Check: How to Spend Your Money and Still Leave an Amazing Legacy

by Josh Jalinski

Josh Jalinski, host of the popular Financial Quarterback™ radio show, offers his SWAN (sleep-well-at-night) retirement that works for people in all stages of their careers. This proven system for secure retirement planning lets you enjoy your money, and teaches you:

The truth is, a 401(k) is not enough for most retirees. Its time create a new paradigm, one that will stand up against market volatility and be there when it’s time to enjoy the years you worked to earn.

 

What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement: Planning Now for the Life You Want 

by Richard Nelson Bolles, John E. Nelson

Once upon a time, retirement planning was just about saving money. But retirement is changing. Today, we’re living longer and expecting more from those vital years. For many of us, the question isn’t “What work will I retire from?” but “What life will I retire to?” Inspired by the timeless wisdom of WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE?, the bestselling career book in the world, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? FOR RETIREMENT will help you prepare for the next stage of life, whether you’re in your early, mid, or late career or you’ve already retired. What does retirement mean to you? Do you know what will give you the most fulfillment years down the road? How do you plan for your health and happiness? Filled with practical exercises and resources, this step-by-step guide will help you answer these questions and develop a complete picture of your ideal retirement. From taking inventory of your income to discovering your calling, you’ll create a map for your retirement journey so that you not only survive but also thrive throughout the years. Whether you decide to quit working, pursue a new career path, or try something in between, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? FOR RETIREMENT will help you satisfy your lifelong goals, passions, and dreams.

 

 

Keys to a Successful Retirement: Staying Happy, Active, and Productive in Your Retired Years

by Fritz Gilbert


Congrats on your retirement! But now what will you do with all that free time? With Keys to a Successful Retirement, you’ll discover everything you need to know to get your retired years off to a great start.

Covering topics like finances, embracing your passions, and dealing with feelings of aimlessness, grief, and depression that may crop up, this in-depth guide to retired living answers all the burning questions you want to ask—as well as those you’re afraid to. Take a complete look at your newfound freedom and explore what it really means to have a successful retirement.

This in-depth guide includes:

An exciting new chapter of your life is starting—get a helping hand ensuring it’s the best it can be!

 

Purposeful Retirement: How to Bring Happiness and Meaning to Your Retirement (for Men)

Purposeful Retirement: How to Bring Happiness and Meaning to Your Retirement (for Women)

by Hyrum W. Smith


Hyrum W. Smith, the author of Purposeful Retirement, is an award-winning author, distinguished speaker, and successful businessman. He is one of the original creators of the popular Franklin Day Planner, the former Chairman and CEO of Franklin Covey Co., and the recognized “Father of Time Management”. For four decades Hyrum empowered people to effectively govern their personal and professional lives. In Purposeful Retirement, Hyrum combines wit and enthusiasm with compelling principles that inspire lasting personal change. He encourages you to discover your true passion and try new possibilities. Learn how you can move from your world of work, simplify life, and enter what can be the most satisfying phase of your life─a new world of purposeful retirement.

Aging well and a happy retirement. You have had a successful career by almost all measures and now you are concerned about aging well and looking toward a happy retirement. You are definitely not a couch potato.

If you are a fan of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, you’ll love Purposeful Retirement.

Best Books on Retirement Planning

Here you will find some of the best books helping you to not only save for retirement, but how to manage your nest egg responsibly and effectively once retired. May these books help you to find a happy, healthy and financially secure retirement.

Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement

by Larry E. Swedroe


Fully revised and updated second edition.

This is your one-stop, definitive resource as you prepare for a secure and comfortable retirement.

Investment and personal finance experts Larry Swedroe and Kevin Grogan present uniquely comprehensive coverage of every important aspect you need to think about as you approach retirement, including:

Overall, this adds up to a complete retirement guide, packed with the latest and best knowledge. Don’t enter your retirement without it.

 

The 5 Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most

by Emily Guy Birken


A comprehensive guide to planning your future retirement before it’s too late!

Even though half of all Americans put money aside for retirement, it isn’t until they reach their sixties that many realize that they haven’t saved enough. With The Five Years Before You Retire, you’ll hone in on what you need to do in the next five years to maximize your current savings and create a realistic plan for your future. This book guides you through each financial, medical, and familial decision, from taking advantage of the employer match your company offers for your 401k program to enrolling in Medicare to discussing housing options with your family. Covering every aspect of retirement planning, these straightforward strategies explain in detail how you can make the most of your last few years in the workforce and prepare for the future you’ve always wanted.

Whether you just started devising a plan or have been saving since your first job, The Five Years Before You Retire will show you what you need to do now to ensure that you live comfortably for years to come.

How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide

by Jane Bryant Quinn

“Jane Bryant Quinn is America’s dean of personal finance…The book is a true treasure chest of financial secrets.” — Forbes

With How to Make Your Money Last , you will learn how to turn your retirement savings into a steady paycheck that will last for life.

Today, people worry that they’re going to run out of money in their older age. That won’t happen if you use a few tricks for squeezing higher payments from your assets—from your Social Security account (find the hidden values there), pension (monthly income or lump sum?), home equity (sell and invest the proceeds or take a reverse mortgage?), savings (should you buy a lifetime annuity?), and retirement accounts (how to invest and—critically—how much to withdraw from your savings each year?). The right moves will not only raise the amount you have to spend, they’ll stretch out your money over many more years.

You will also learn to look at your savings and investments in a new way. If you stick with super-safe choices the money might not last. You need safe money to help pay the bills in your early retirement years. But to ensure that you’ll still have spending money 10 and 20 years from now, you have to invest for growth, today. Quinn shows you how. At a time when people are living longer, yet retiring with a smaller pot of savings than they’d hoped for, this book will become the essential guide.

 

The Retirement Rescue Plan: Retirement Planning Solutions for the Millions of Americans Who Haven’t Saved “Enough”

by Melissa Phipps

When financial planning expert Melissa Phipps decided to quit her 9-to-5 and start her own business, she told herself, “the time is now.” It wasn’t retirement, but it was the first step. Not long after, she found herself in the middle of a large and unanticipated financial dilemma. And in order to survive it, she had to make some major changes that ultimately came down to one thing: redefining retirement.

The Retirement Rescue Plan will prepare you for retirement in a way that takes you into account—allowing you to define “retirement” in a new, realistic, and exciting way. The goals are simple: work less, earn enough, and be happier than ever. Are you ready to get planning?

Nothing compares to the joy and relief you will feel when you find your way from financial despair to a fulfilling future, as you start to enjoy retirement in a way that works for YOU.

 

Guided Retirement Income Planning: (Introducing the GRIP Roadmap)

by Barry Moschel

It is always best to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to retirement income planning. This book is intended to help you think about what it takes to retire with personal and financial confidence. It provides a methodical approach to retirement income planning and touches on important topics that will keep you organized and on track for a successful and happy retirement.
By definition, a grip is the act of grasping or taking hold of and seizing firmly. A roadmap is a type of navigational map that provides a sense of direction. It serves as a strategic plan that defines a goal or desired outcome and includes the major steps needed for achievement. As well, it is a mechanism that is designed to hold onto desired goals and help stay on course over a long period of time. Putting this all together, we developed The GRIP Roadmap as an approach to enable you to firmly “get a grip” of your plan for an ideal retirement. The book “Guided Retirement Income Planning” introduces the GRIP Roadmap to help you with important planning decisions along the way. Ultimately, the entire book is the GRIP Roadmap (Chart 5.1 outlines it).

 

How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?: Uncommon Financial Planning Wisdom for a Stress-Free Retirement


by Todd R. Tresidder

Learn how retirement really works before it’s too late…

Most so-called “experts” plug your numbers into a retirement formula to tell you how much money you need to retire. Unfortunately, the conventional approach is fundamentally flawed. If you fail to learn how retirement savings truly works, then you’ll either underspend and be miserable or overspend and run out of money.

How Much Money Do I Need to Retire takes you beyond the scientific facade of modern retirement planning. Author and former hedge fund manager Todd R. Tresidder has helped thousands of people find financial freedom through his website and podcast. Now you too can use his advice to take the guesswork out of your retirement planning.

In this book, you’ll learn:

Accolades:

Read this book to know more about your retirement planning than your financial adviser. Tresidder’s book contains refreshingly straightforward, easy-to-understand, and concise advice on how to retire wealthy. This missing link of personal finance books will make you sleep easier. No retirement is secure without it.

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