A great retirement isn’t just about having your financial situation in order.
It’s easy to be preoccupied with stock portfolios, 401(k) balances and saving options, but true happiness in retirement comes from simpler, more enjoyable things like an active social life, family time and leisurely travel.
In Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement, author Rich Stim and Nolo co-founder Jake Warner show you how to become rich in the ways that matter most. They encourage you to balance financial concerns with a lifestyle you always envisioned for yourself.
The book advises you on how to estimate real retirement needs and create a workable savings and investment plan. Even more importantly, it advises you to make personal preparations for life after work, including:
cultivating interests outside work
leading a healthier lifestyle
revitalizing family relationships
spending more time with spouses
embracing spirituality or meditation
nurturing friendships and making new friends
All the money in the world won't make for a happy retirement unless you're satisfied with the rest of your life. So start today.
A great retirement isn’t just about having your financial situation in order.
Table of Contents
Will You Really Retire?
1. Start Your Planning (and Dreaming) Now
The Four Things You Need in Retirement
Look Outward and Inward
2. Invest in Your Health
Four Conditions You Should Treat Now
Exercise and Diet
Three More Tips
3. Strengthen Family Ties
How Strong Are Your Family Ties?
Five Ways to Improve Family Function
Couples Power: The Tie That Binds
If One Spouse Retires Before the Other
4. Appreciate Friends, Old and New
Friends: Many Concepts—One Goal
Four Paths to Friendship
Members of Couples: Find Friends Who Are Yours Alone
Those Furry Friends
5. Develop Lifelong Interests and Activities Now
Volunteer
Do the Things You Always Meant To
Educate Yourself
6. Figure Out Your Number
Using Online Retirement Calculators
The Choices and Variables Underlying Your Number
A Do-It-Yourself Retirement Calculator
7. Convert Debt Into Retirement Savings
Can You Avoid Car Payments?
Heading Into Retirement With Credit Card Debt?
Should You Prepay Your Mortgage?
8. Where Will the Money Come From?
It’s Not Too Late to Begin
What to Expect From Social Security
Employer Pension Plans
Individual Retirement Savings Plans: IRAs and 401(k)s
Withdrawing Money From Your 401(k), IRA, or Annuity
Savings and Investments
Inheritances and Gifts
Early Retirement Incentives and Buyouts
Reverse Mortgages
Immediate-Fixed Annuities
9. Growing and Protecting Retirement Assets
The Safe Withdrawal Approach
What Are Your Investment Choices?
Cash: Lowest Risk, Low Returns
Bonds: Low to Moderate Risk, Low to Moderate Returns
Individual Stocks: High Risk, Varying Returns
Mutual Funds: Varying Risks, Varying Returns
Making Choices, and Sticking by (Some of) Them
Investing in and Profiting From Real Estate
Getting Help: Financial Planners, Advisers, and Brokers
10. Working After Retirement
Start Planning Now
Whether to Work and Collect Social Security
Legal Rules Protecting Older Workers
Index
Reviews
Jenny McKinney,retirement planning guide for About.com...
"This is a straight-forward guide that explains the essentials that need to be addressed to ensure a terrific retirement."
Bob Clyatt, author of the bestselling book, Work Less, Live More...
"Covers all the bases -- health, finances, relationships and how to create a life worth sticking around for."
About the Author
Stim specializes in small business, copyright, patents, and trademark issues at Nolo. He practices law in San Francisco and has represented photographers, software developers, crafts people, publishers, musicians, and toy designers. He is the author of many books, including Whoops I'm in Business, Music Law, and Profit From Your Idea. Stim also produces audiobooks, and performs and records with two bands, MX-80 and angel corpus christi.
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