Rating: 
Summary: This book is a must read and a real eye opener.
Review: I've read many personal finance books and none of them was perfect. Every person's situation is different and what works for one person may not work for another. However, out of all of the books that I've read in this genre, this was one of the better ones. The book is intended for someone that is in the later stages of their working life who expects to retire in the not too distant future. Although the title of the book implies that it was written for someone in their 50s, the book is really intended for anyone that is in the latter half of their working career. I am in my forties and felt that this book had a lot to offer. Schwab offers advice on how to invest in preparation for your retirement, and what to do with your investments after you retire. Although the book does not assume that everyone has built up a nice nest egg by the time that they're fifty, it acknowledges that those that haven't are going to have a some of catching-up to do. Schwab does have an aggressive bias when it comes to investing. He recommends a portfolio that is heavily weighted in stocks even after you retire. This is contrary to the traditional weighting recommended by most other sources. His rationale for this approach is that retirement is much longer now than in the past. People are living longer. The returns that you get with a traditional conservative portfolio may not last your lifetime. He also feels that the income that you'll need after you retire is often understated by many financial planners. Although we live longer, the older we get the more unexpected expenses we may incur (medical, long-term care, etc). Although he acknowledges the risks with this approach, he points out that there are risks with the conservative approach also - that your savings will run out when you need it most. In addition to investing, Schwab covers other topics such as types of insurance that will make your retirement years less risky for you and your family (life, health, disability, long-term care, etc). Schwab includes a chapter on charitable giving and stresses how important it is for all of us to give back to their community. Like other texts, he summarizes some of the tax advantages of giving, but he truly seems to believe that those fortunate enough to have accumulated some wealth need to consider returning some of it to a cause that they believe in. I thought that this chapter was nice touch and a departure from the "show me the money" attitude that is the cornerstone of most personal finance books. This book is not perfect and may not be for everyone, but if you are in the latter half of your working career, I think that you will enjoy and benefit from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: What if we could invest our Social Security taxes in an IRA?
Review: It's good to see a book like this focused on the issues confronting retirees, and those approaching retirement. The book provides a very broad and general overview of the issues involved. I applaud the author's advice to consider a 4% annual withdrawal rate from investments. In my experience, many financial advisors, influenced by the prolonged bull market, have suggested higher rates. I caution against following every opinion in this book, however. Three broad suggestions by the author stood out as troublesome, in my view: First, that "you're better off including individual stocks and stock utual funds in your retirement account (where taxes are deferred) and bonds in your regular account (which is currently taxable." (Page 184.) Adopting a contrary strategy, and minimizing taxes on the equity portion of your portfolio (held in a regular account), can in my view yield far superior results, from both a financial planning and estate planning perspective. Second, the statement "If you have a Roth IRA, I sugest you withdraw from it first [to generate retirement income] since your withdrawals are not taxed." This statement completely ignores the tremendous long-term benefit of tax-free growth, and I completely disagree. Third, the suggested asset allocation models are too simplistic -each individual's own asset allocation should be affected by many factors, only some of which are discussed in the book. While a brief discussion is made of Modern Portfolio Theory and probability analysis (Monte Carlo), more insight into these areas could have been provided, given their utility. The foregoing comments illustrate the limitations of any book seeking to address the very complicated tax, actuarial, financial planning, asset protection planning, and estate planning issues confronting the retiree today. Despite this, I recommend the book (with reservations) to both retirees, and those approaching retirement, who need to increase their knowledge of basic planning concepts. There is tremendous value in each person educating themselves on financial planning concepts. Just don't take this (or any) one book as gospel.
Rating: 
Summary: Good overview of planning issues - with limitations
Review: It's good to see a book like this focused on the issues confronting retirees, and those approaching retirement. The book provides a very broad and general overview of the issues involved. I applaud the author's advice to consider a 4% annual withdrawal rate from investments. In my experience, many financial advisors, influenced by the prolonged bull market, have suggested higher rates. I caution against following every opinion in this book, however. Three broad suggestions by the author stood out as troublesome, in my view: First, that "you're better off including individual stocks and stock utual funds in your retirement account (where taxes are deferred) and bonds in your regular account (which is currently taxable." (Page 184.) Adopting a contrary strategy, and minimizing taxes on the equity portion of your portfolio (held in a regular account), can in my view yield far superior results, from both a financial planning and estate planning perspective. Second, the statement "If you have a Roth IRA, I sugest you withdraw from it first [to generate retirement income] since your withdrawals are not taxed." This statement completely ignores the tremendous long-term benefit of tax-free growth, and I completely disagree. Third, the suggested asset allocation models are too simplistic -each individual's own asset allocation should be affected by many factors, only some of which are discussed in the book. While a brief discussion is made of Modern Portfolio Theory and probability analysis (Monte Carlo), more insight into these areas could have been provided, given their utility. The foregoing comments illustrate the limitations of any book seeking to address the very complicated tax, actuarial, financial planning, asset protection planning, and estate planning issues confronting the retiree today. Despite this, I recommend the book (with reservations) to both retirees, and those approaching retirement, who need to increase their knowledge of basic planning concepts. There is tremendous value in each person educating themselves on financial planning concepts. Just don't take this (or any) one book as gospel.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Resource!
Review: Schwab's book provides solid and practical information for those of us who no longer can be called young no matter what the definition is. Unfortunately, helpful financial books that target Baby Boomers and older folks are in shamefully short supply! For readers who want another indepth look at the financial issues that face older investors, I'd suggest another excellent book-the Retirement Bible. Like Schwab's book, the Retirement Bible provides advise on recommended portfolio withdrawal levels and devotes an entire chapter to discussing in what order money should be withdrawn during retirement. Unlike Schwab, Lynn O'Shaughnessy, the author of the Retirement Bible, suggests that Roth IRA money should ideally be touched last. I definitely agree with her opinion and many financial experts do too. What I also like about the book is that she demystifies a lot of estate planning issues, which books written by attorneys hopelessly fail at. You can't go wrong getting either of these books.
Rating: 
Summary: uninformative
Review: This book is uninformative and in this book Charles pretends to have opened his brokerage firm for retail investors but it isn't because the CHARLES SCHWAB BROKERAGE IS TOO EXPENSIVE IT REQUIRES $10,000 TO OPEN a Brokerage ACCOUNT for an indiviual investor[also called retail investor]Harrisdirect,Firstade,and Optionsxpress don't require anything to open a brokerage account for individual investor.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT FOR EVERYONE!
Review: This book makes financial planning over fifty sound so wonderfully simple and straight forward. However, as a counsellor both in business and life skills, I can assure you that many clients who sit across from my desk have no disposable income to plan or invest for their future. By the time they are fifty, many are no further ahead than they were twenty years ago and a good number are further behind. If you have been a single mother for the best part of your life, struggling just to pay the rent and put food on the table, "the working poor" with little or no child support, there IS nothing to "plan for your future." Your future consists of trying to survive day to day without any extras....period. The book may be of value to those privileged individuals who have been fortunate to have had a lucrative career or a savings account at the local bank, but the book is certainly not written for everyone. As one woman said to me, "financial advisors, insurance, estate planning...the only thing I can plan is my grocery list - which brand of mararoni and cheese is going to be on sale next week." In this case the book serves only as a constant reminder of what the individual does not, and may never have. While the book does have merit, it is not one I could recommend to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: NOT FOR EVERYONE!
Review: This book makes financial planning over fifty sound so wonderfully simple and straight forward. However, as a counsellor both in business and life skills, I can assure you that many clients who sit across from my desk have no disposable income to plan or invest for their future. By the time they are fifty, many are no further ahead than they were twenty years ago and a good number are further behind. If you have been a single mother for the best part of your life, struggling just to pay the rent and put food on the table, "the working poor" with little or no child support, there IS nothing to "plan for your future." Your future consists of trying to survive day to day without any extras....period. The book may be of value to those privileged individuals who have been fortunate to have had a lucrative career or a savings account at the local bank, but the book is certainly not written for everyone. As one woman said to me, "financial advisors, insurance, estate planning...the only thing I can plan is my grocery list - which brand of mararoni and cheese is going to be on sale next week." In this case the book serves only as a constant reminder of what the individual does not, and may never have. While the book does have merit, it is not one I could recommend to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Simplistic but Good
Review: This book might be too simplistic for savvy and experienced investors, but for those with less knowledge, it could be very helpful. Basic rules and guidelines are well explained and good, commonsense advice given.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Resource!
Review: This is a book that everyone should have in their personal development library. Is it a great read or does it have cutting-edge insights? Probably, no. But wisdom is wisdom and doing what's right with your money is more a matter of principle than fancy strategy. If your strategy is too far removed from this book, then you're probably taking on far more risk than you should. I think that a lot more should have been written about wills and trusts for estate planning. That's an area that would have only taken another 10 pages, but would have completed the works and is something that everyone over 50 with bucks needs to know well.
Rating:
Summary: For Baby Boomers: Should be titled You're 60, Now What?
Review: This is a book that everyone should have in their personal development library. Is it a great read or does it have cutting-edge insights? Probably, no. But wisdom is wisdom and doing what's right with your money is more a matter of principle than fancy strategy. If your strategy is too far removed from this book, then you're probably taking on far more risk than you should. I think that a lot more should have been written about wills and trusts for estate planning. That's an area that would have only taken another 10 pages, but would have completed the works and is something that everyone over 50 with bucks needs to know well.
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