Retirement Communities

What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement, Second Edition: Planning a Prosperous, Healthy, and Happy Future

Description

Plan Now for the Life You Want

Today’s economic realities have reset our expectations of what retirement is, yet there’s still the promise for what it can be: a life stage filled with more freedom and potential than ever before. Given the new normal, how do you plan for a future filled with prosperity, health, and happiness? As a companion to What Color Is Your Parachute?, the world’s best-selling career book, What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement offers both a holistic, big-picture look at these years as well as practical tools and exercises to help you build a life full of security, vitality, and community.

This second edition contains updates throughout, including a section on Social Security, an in-depth exercise on values and how they inform your retirement map, and the one-of-a-kind resource for organizing the sea of information on finances and mental and physical health: the Retirement Well-Being Profile. More than a guide on where to live, how to stay active, or which investments to choose, What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement helps you develop a detailed picture of your ideal retirement, so that—whether you’re planning retirement or are there already—you can take a comprehensive approach to make the most of these vital years.

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-20
Summary: "Extremely Valuable Reference"

I hesitated buying this book based on a couple of the negative reviews but am very glad that I decided to go ahead with it. I have read many retirement books but this one is different - it contains little of the common investment, insurance, etc. advice and focuses primarily on the pyschological adjustments and finding happiness and fulfillment. The exercises help to assess areas of interst and strengths and are probably similar to what you would get during a university-based retirement seminar. I highly recommend this book - especially for those like me that are approaching retirement.

---

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-08
Summary: "Very thorough"

Okay, so granted I am not all that close to retirement, although somedays I wish I were :) however, since I spent alot of my younger days NOT thinking enough about retirement and especially about preparing myself for it, I have alot of "time" to catch up on.

This book is, without a doubt, a very thorough look at all things retirement - some obvious things and some very less! Of course, being Canadian, some of the items don't really apply to me - however, I found that overall, this book was loaded with important information that will, no doubt, come in very handy.

I always feel inspired when I read these types of books - as though all things are possible and thankfully, as is the case with this series, there is a wealth of information that will go a long way in ensuring that i know what the heck I am doing now and when the time for retirement draws closer.

Very clearly written - for a layperson as well as those who are more knowledgeable. The information is ooncise without being complicated or impossible to follow. No boring graphs or technical jargon that mean absolutely nothing.

---

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-20
Summary: "More than a book - it's a retirement planning tool"

I liked the first book, but I really liked this one. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. Whether you read one or twenty books on retirement, this one should be at the top of your list!

Just like the first edition, this book is going to generate new thoughts and actions about retirement planning and how to prepare for this phase of life. Whether already in retirement, not there yet, or just starting a first job, I'm betting you will find this book well worth the read. It makes you aware that retirement is an entirely separate life stage that requires some careful thought and planning.

I found the new information and worksheets included in this second edition to be even more helpful for planning for my retirement future than those in the first book. They clearly identified the steps that I need to take to be happy, healthy and financially prepared.

I've worked in the retirement field for over 20 years and this is a message that both young and old need to hear and by taking the approach suggested in the book, it can be a great help in deciding how much someone should be setting aside for their future. How can you establish a saving and investment plan if you don't have a clue about what you want your retirement lifestyle to be like?

I'm one of those people who are "kind of" retired, but still working and I'm not alone. Studies show that between 60% and 80% of retirees and pre-retirees (and often even more) plan to continue some type of "work" - whether for pay or volunteering - well into their retirement years.

The reasons for continuing to work are generally because the retiree is bored, needs a social network and/or wants to add some purpose to their life. Unfortunately, most people don't have a clue about how to actually plan for what their retirement lifetime will be like or even think about what their "dream retirement" is.

This book provides a wealth of information to help you become more aware of all the variables that go into planning for a successful retirement. It makes you think differently about today and tomorrow and the steps that you should be taking to plan for your future.

This book is an easy read and very comprehensive. The additional exercises and worksheets were extremely useful. You can tell that a great deal of research has gone into this material. I really believe anyone who reads this book will have greater insight into what you want your retirement lifetime to be like and how to make it happen.

If you haven't given any, or much, thought about planning for a retirement lifestyle - not just saving and investing money - or you are just leaving your retirement happiness to chance, this is definitely a book you should read.

But as noted in the forward from the author, don't just read the book, experience it! Fill out the worksheets and really spend time on the exercises to explore what retirement really means to you. Even a seasoned retirement expert, like me, learned a great deal from this process.

---

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-18
Summary: "Parachute Plus"

What Dick Bolles did for job hunting, Parachute for Retirement does for those of us over 50 seeking a healthy path to finding our next chapter. New insights help cast light on how good things can be when you plan accordingly.
Rich Feller, Colorado State University

---

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-17
Summary: "Such great information!"

This book has such great information that is practical for real life. The market crash of 2008 has really changed the way we-me and my husband-look at our lives and plans that we'd made for retirement. This book gives much needed help in where to go next!