It’s never too early (or late) to start planning your retirement. Maybe you’ve already spoken with a financial planner, or maybe this is the first time you’ve thought about retirement; either way, here you are and you want to know more. With some planning and thought about life goals and dreams, retirement can be an exciting stage in your life, even if you plan to keep working! To give you a good basis for information and inspiration, here is a list of retirement books you should read right now. The future is never very far away.
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won’t Get from Your Financial Advisor by Ernie J Zelinski
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Many retirement books focus on the financial side of retirement; specifically how much money you’ll need before the big day arrives. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is something different. This book focuses on life (and how to live it!) after retirement. It encourages physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being and improvements and helps the reader set goals to achieve a better life. And Zelinski is Canadian, so his humourous advice is not only relevant, but also practical. His is also the author of The Joy of Not Working: 21st Century Edition – A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked an equally humorous and inspiring book for retirement and potential retirees.
What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement, Second Edition: Planning a Prosperous, Healthy, and Happy Future by John E. Nelson and Richard N. Bolles
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This book comes highly recommended for anyone in the process of starting work, changing fields, or planning retirement. It focuses on retirement as a separate stage of life, not just something that happens when you stop working. The goal of What Color is Your Parachute is to help the reader become informed about all the variables involved in retirement and provide a practical guideline to be happy and successful. There are also exercises and worksheets, practical tools for hands-on learning.
Your Retirement Income Blueprint: A Six-Step Plan to Design and Build a Secure Retirement by Daryl Diamond
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Here is your financial guide. The book that can help you secure your future and plan for a financially successful retirement. It focuses specifically on Canadians, so you don’t have to worry about skimming over advice about American social security protocol or how to prepare for retirement in a country without universal health care. These tips were carefully put together with Canadian boomers in mind because many are nearing the end of their careers. It includes an easy-to-use, step-by-step plan to help readers secure their future.
The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read by Daniel R. Solin
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If you’re looking for your first book about retirement, this is a good place to start. It includes common mistakes that people make when planning or starting retirement and how to avoid them, simple financial strategies, and a general guide to retirement. The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read presents information in an easy to understand way, proving that retirement doesn’t have to be complicated and success can actually be quite easy to accomplish. Basically, this book will help you calm down if you’re freaking out about retirement.
The New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life by Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald
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This is another great book to pick up if you have no idea about how retirement works or how to plan for it. The New Retirement provides a comprehensive guide for the who, what, where, why and whens of retirement. It doesn’t just cover the financial aspects, but the many important facets of later life, including leisure time, travel, lifestyle, community, continuing careers, and real estate. The information is presented in a fun and lighthearted way, making it easier to understand and relate to.
The Procrastinator’s Guide to Retirement: How to Retire in 10 Years or Less by David Trahair
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This one is pretty straightforward; the title says it all. The Procrastinator’s Guide to Retirement is the perfect book for anyone who is nearing retirement, but doesn’t actually have a plan in motion. It provides information to ease your worries and increase your excitement as you near the end of your career. And as you can probably imagine, it gets real about your financials, focuses on how to maintain your budget, and improve your savings and investments. This book is a new release and was written by David Trahair, author of a series of books on financial myths, tips, and strategies.
You’re Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children by Dr. Seuss
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So many people view aging and retirement as a serious business, so why not take a moment to relax and laugh a little, courtesy of Dr. Seuss. You’re Only Old Once! is a humorous take on what it’s like to get older, when you exchange work for medical check-ups. A children’s book for those who might be advancing in age, but will forever be young at heart. It’s a parody only Dr. Seuss could create, providing a unique perspective on aging, and is especially effective for anyone who feels like they are getting too old.
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