Rating: 
Summary: A Retirement Book that Rocks!
Review: As a veteran reader of frugal, tightwad and financial books, I was more than impressed by this book. It is not only a great book on the subject but very well written and easy to understand. The chapters on investing are especially good and Mr. Ferstenou's take on the Social Security system confirmed my personal views as well. The book also provides a wealth of resources and a good bibliography as well!
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Summary: 10 years and counting down.
Review: I am re-reading Larry's book, this time with a highlighter in hand. This book is for those of you love work (or hate it) but love free time and what you do with it much, much more. I had the opportunity to take 6 months off in 2004 and to quote one of my favorite movies for my generation "Office Space": 'I did nothing today and it was everything I thought it could be'.
Don't get me wrong I am working like a dog right now and investing aggressively in stocks, IRA's, 401K, real estate (land and rentals) all with the goal of being done at 45. Now I migght still work, but think of the freedom to not have to, or to work at Home Depot if it floats your boat. If you are reading other books on getting rich... read this one and redefine "rich"
Rating: 
Summary: Part -time work? Are you really Retired?
Review: I was impressed that the two of them were getting by on such a relatively small amount of capital so it was a bit of a disappointment to learn far into the book that both of them WORK part-time. Maybe the title really should have been: "How to live well without a full time job". That aside it is a well researched comprehensive book about retirement.
As far as investments go, he like so many others states that the stock market is the best place to invest and nobody can prove that when you take into consideration real estate investments.
Larry Ferstenou invested in a condominium but gave it up because he found he was not meant to be a landlord. If he had thought to hire a professional property manager and stuck with condos, he maybe could have really retired (that means no WORK) at all. I did that with my five condos (at age 51)
Rating:
Summary: Full of great information and very motivating!
Review: I've read numerous books on investing, living simply and living below your means. This is probably one of the best because the author shares his real life experience of how he and his wife were able to retire young - without a ton of money. He also does a very good job explaining the importance of financial self discipline, saving early and hard and gives solid advice and direction for how to invest your hard earned money. I found the book extremely motivating and was happy to get reassurance that I was on the right track.
Rating:
Summary: A book that will pay dividends for a lifetime. . .
Review: In his book "You Can Retire Early", Larry Ferstenou tells about his dream for he and his wife to retire while still in their forties. While this dream is shared by many, only a few can bring it to fruition. Like most ordinary working people, they worked long, hard hours with only one goal in mind, early retirement. He tells how he was able to achieve this dream and why so many people fail. Disciplined saving, smart investing, and living below one's means are among the topics discussed. Also, his chapter on the Social Security myth is really something to ponder for anyone who thinks they can retire at any age without having a financial plan of their own. And finally, he shares his experience in investing for retirement. This was a real eye opener for me and prompted me to make a detailed review of my own retirement portfolio. What I discovered was that I was being hammered by mutual funds with front-end loads, excessive management fees, and 12b-1(marketing) fees. These fees were eating away at my retirement savings like a cancer. I'm now in the process of overhauling my entire retirement portfolio by switching to funds that contain much lower management fees, no front-end loads, and no 12b-1 fees. I'm not mentioning these funds by name since, in fairness to the author, I strongly recommend that you purchase and read his book like my wife and I did. The younger a person heeds his advice, the better. This book was written by someone with firsthand experience, not by some financial wizard who can talk the talk, but never walked the walk. Before you invest for your future, invest in this book. You won't be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: A book that will pay dividends for a lifetime. . .
Review: In his book "You Can Retire Early", Larry Ferstenou tells about his dream for he and his wife to retire while still in their forties. While this dream is shared by many, only a few can bring it to fruition. Like most ordinary working people, they worked long, hard hours with only one goal in mind, early retirement. He tells how he was able to achieve this dream and why so many people fail. Disciplined saving, smart investing, and living below one's means are among the topics discussed. Also, his chapter on the Social Security myth is really something to ponder for anyone who thinks they can retire at any age without having a financial plan of their own. And finally, he shares his experience in investing for retirement. This was a real eye opener for me and prompted me to make a detailed review of my own retirement portfolio. What I discovered was that I was being hammered by mutual funds with front-end loads, excessive management fees, and 12b-1(marketing) fees. These fees were eating away at my retirement savings like a cancer. I'm now in the process of overhauling my entire retirement portfolio by switching to funds that contain much lower management fees, no front-end loads, and no 12b-1 fees. I'm not mentioning these funds by name since, in fairness to the author, I strongly recommend that you purchase and read his book like my wife and I did. The younger a person heeds his advice, the better. This book was written by someone with firsthand experience, not by some financial wizard who can talk the talk, but never walked the walk. Before you invest for your future, invest in this book. You won't be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: THE ROAD LESS TRODDEN
Review: Larry does a nice job instilling hope and vision for those who are interested in retiring early. Thanks Larry,for direction in travelling the "path less trodden"...
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Summary: Read this Book when You're Only 21!
Review: Larry F. has written an easy-to-read book that answers any questions you have (and some you didn't know you had) about how to retire when you're still young enough to enjoy it. Each chapter has many ideas on how to achieve your goal of enjoying your life for many years after you retire young. The book helps plan out a workable income for retirement years, and is so easy to do! The plan does require some diligence and curtailment of impulsivity, but the end result is well worth it. Because of Larry's book, I think I really will be able to retire in 6 years, instead of the 12 years I thought would be remaining in my work life. Thanks again for an interesting, well-thought out book.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Do It!
Review: Larry Ferstenou got my attention right away by mentioning two books that everyone who wants to retire early should read: Paul Terhorst's Cashing in on the American Dream and Joe Dominguez's Your Money or Your Life. He also talks about a few dozen other books that can help in your goal of early retirement, but those two are must-reads.Ferstenou has written a good how-to book on retiring early, but if you are the sort of person who has figured out that you want to quit the rat race and live life at your own speed, you probably don't need a book. You have probably already crunched the numbers and figured out what you have to do. What this kind of book does is let you know that there are others out there who have done it already. It's kind of a pep talk to let you know that it's possible and that there are several ways to get there. And you probably don't need as much money as you think. As a pep talk, You Can Retire Young! is excellent. Ferstenou has included plenty of nuts and bolts advice to reassure you that you are on the right path and also has an upbeat attitude that makes it easy reading. He gives resources, such as books and web sites, and cites examples from his own experience. By the time you are finished, you feel confident that you can do it, too. In my opinion, you can get all the information you need to retire early from the Terhorst and Dominguez books, along with Elaine St. James's Simple Living and Amy Daczyczn's Tightwad Gazette. But you may need an extra dose of motivation now and then along the way, and You Can Retire Early! is one of the better books on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: A Doable Retirement
Review: Larry Festenou has written a solid book on retiring early. It has a lot of excellent advice and common sense approaches for those willing to answer yes to the question "Are you disciplined enough to save a large portion of your income, control your spending, invest in a diversified manner and not freak out when the stock market goes on the fritz?" This is not a novel concept and yet Ferstenou has written an amazingly accessible book mainly because he lived it (mostly) before he wrote it. He focuses not on investing tactics but on having the resolve to stick with your plan. The chapters on Social Security are very good (and will get your blood boiling further at the government.) He addresses one issue later in the book that I felt should be up front and that is dealing with the psychological barrier of living off of your investments when your mindset has been accumulating savings to get there. The answer for most of us (and for Larry's wife) is part time work prior to full retirement. An excellent book to motivate those who want more out of life than work and a wake-up call to those who aren't preparing enough for retirement.
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