You Can Do It!: The Boomer's Guide to a Great Retirement

I ran into Jonathan Pond on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston, and Jonathan lent me copy of his new book, You Can Do It!, to pass the time on the long flight. Jonathan had been in Los Angeles to speak about financial and retirement planning to a crowd of almost 20,000 people on the previous day, and I was curious to find out if Jonathan is as fun and interesting in print as he is in person. The answer is: He is! I am a tax attorney and I help people with estate planning, wealth transfer, and retirement planning as part of my job. That said, I was surprised and impressed at how much interesting and useful information I learned from You Can Do It! This is a remarkably readable book that also manages to "talk up" rather than "talk down" to the audience. Whatever your level of expertise, this book contains information that you will find invaluable in planning for your retirement (and Beyond). Joseph B. Darby III, Esq.

This is a good rendition on the mechanics of funding for the later years. The author recommends to eliminate debt, invest in an IRA, keep up with health issues and join an investment club . It may pay to retire early to invest in a second career and attend to health concerns early. The volume recommends a portfolio diversification of approximately 30% higher risk stocks, 25% medium risk and 20% low risk. There are many retirement considerations. i.e. - stay in the same general area because you come to know the details of the neighborhood services - weather may be a consideration for health reasons - local taxes are always a factor. - health care availability and cost is critical as you get older - part or full time employment is another consideration Overall, the book is a good investment on how to retire rationally with a minimum of drama as you get older.

A lot of people are concerned about the huge number of boomers ineluctably heading into retirement. There are probably several shelves of books at your local bookstore offering a wide range of advice to them. Many of the books take a scolding tone while others ring the bell of doom. Retirement is upon you! You haven't done anything right, you dummy! You need $5 million tomorrow! Some people need to be motivated with dynamite, I guess. Jonathan Pond, PBS viewers will know him and the financial advice he provides, is much different in approach. He likes reality and knows that most people are reasonable. In fact, he points out that a real analysis of most Boomer finances will show them to be no worse off than their parents. Now, that may not be great nor provide you with the yacht in Bermuda you had always fantasized of, but can you retire and enjoy and active lifestyle? Pond says, "Yes, You Can Do It!' His tone is always supportive, friendly, and helpful. I think it is easier to hear the advice given by someone who comes across as supportive rather than from someone telling me what a fool I am and will likely always be. You, too? So, what kind of advice does he give in this book? Well, first I think it would be better to view this more as a handbook / toolkit than a book that you simply read left to right and front to back. You can read it that way, and it is always interesting. However, you can also dip into the chapters that most interest you. And Pond has provided many useful "Decision Makers" that follow helpful discussions of most topics. These are simple checklists that will take you through a few relevant steps and help you instantly see where you actually are in relation to the choices available for that topic. Pond also provides worksheets that help you get to the real numbers you are facing. Fortunately, it will likely be better news than you think. The advice he offers is solid: Get out of debt as quickly as you can, but not at the expense of not putting money into your retirement accounts. Live below your means and put more into your retirement savings than is comfortable. Better you should cut back on the new cars than on living well late in life. And he is insistent (appropriately so) that you should pay off your mortgage. He also thinks you should be well insured, but not over insured and he gives good guidance on what to avoid (such as Credit Life). He helps you think through the things you can do to get yourself ready for retirement and to create a plan to get there when you want with the resources to live in a realistic way. Since the calendar is going to flip its pages whether you or not you are ready, you might as well get this helpful book and read what this knowledgeable and friendly man has to say. I am sure you will pick up some insights that are worth much more than the price of the book.

I have read many of the main retirement books on the market. (See my reviews), and in my opinion "You can do it!" is by far the best. Mr. Pond has a delightful writing style that makes reading about retirement enjoyable.(Which is not an easy task).I also enjoyed the jokes sprinkled through out the book. What will you learn? 1. The importance of living beneath your means. (Stay away from car payments, and let the Jones spur on the economy through consumer spending, you must focus on investing). 2. Invest your savings wisely.(Do not be afraid of the stock market, you can earn an easy 9% a year. Fear 3.5% annual inflation eating the value of your retirement money). 3. Eliminate debt. (A paid off mortgage at retirement will make your cash flow need much less.Consider selling your big house in the city for a small cozy paid for one in a place you will enjoy living). 4. Prevent financial disruptions. (Maintaining a healthy marriage is an excellent financial decision, a divorce could devastate you financially. Thriving in your career will be your best investment. Always maintain the correct amount of insurance in all areas, health,life and auto). 5.Maintain your health.( I like that the book also expanded into the area of ensuring you will be healthy enough to enjoy your retirement and make you write down what you will do to fill your time in retirement). You also have 3 great appendixes that will show you how to budget and invest. All three are excellent, Appendix 2 is investing 101 and does a great job explaining bonds, stocks, CD's and mutual funds in a few pages. If you are looking for a book on retirement look no further, save your time searching and purchase this one. Everthing you need to know is here. YOU CAN DO IT! Let Mr. Pond show you how.

Jonathan D. Pond proves that he can extract himself from the chats on PBS and translate his wise, witty, supportive and helpful advice in book form in this excellent book YOU CAN DO IT! This is one of the most readable, reassuring books on planning for the future for the Baby Boomer Generation that is available. For starters, Pond dismisses the fallacy that the Boomers are in deep trouble because of their lifestyles and lack of planning for the future (read, too much emphasis on living for the present and not putting away an adequate nest egg). This is how he grabs our attention, by demonstrating in data and facts that Boomers are not ill-prepared but instead have the ability to plan wisely at this time to reassure a life of relaxed leisure at the time of retirement - whenever that may occur. To quote from his words regarding the keys to achieving a Great Retirement he lists: 1. Living beneath your means 2. Investing your savings wisely 3. Eliminating debt 4. Preventing financial disruptions 5. Staying active and maintaining your health From this point on Pond outlines with practical check lists the means for achieving these goals. His advice on what to do about the mortgage, how to plan for financial security within the realm of everyone's particular station, how to pay attention to health, estate planning, how to make decisions about scaling down the living space to free up monies for living, etc is so supportive that he manages to reassure Boomers of every age range instead of the usual fright tactics. This is an upbeat, humorous, warm conversation with enough information to cope with the prejudged beast of Retirement. For those who remember how secure and cozy Louis Ruykeyser used to make us feel on his television show, reading this book is like having Pond and Ruykeyser to tea. This book instantly becomes an invaluable tome for every person facing thoughts of retirement. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 06