I remember when I tried to find everything that Jeff Yeager wrote. This book was seriously outdated and simplistic to me. I know how to live very frugally. I wish I had read more practical and innovative solutions for retirement. ( )

A person would not expect a nonfiction book about retirement to be a real page-turner, but the author's writing style in this one keeps you engaged chapter after chapter. A good example is a direct quote from A Word From the Author: "The following book is what I call "colorized nonfiction". That means it's basically true, with the exception of any character, passages, people, places, events dialogue, and other stuff that I made up or embellished for the sole purpose of trying to keep you, the reader, from lapsing into the coma-like state commonly induced by reading books about personal finance. No cheapskates were killed or harmed in the writing of this book, but a few spendthrifts were accidentally waterboarded."

The loss of $2 trillion in retirement savings of Americans since the great recession of 2008 should be a wake-up call for all of us. A Gallup poll showed that 75% of Americans feel the average worker in the current economy can't save enough to guarantee a secure retirement. So what do we do? Jeff Yeager suggests a new approach which focusses on how we spend our income rather that how we try to save or invest it. His approach has enabled his own retirement at the age of 47 and it may enable other readers to follow suit.

Karen J. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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I am a frugal person and have read a lot of books like this one. This is definitely one of the best. Yeager doesn't waste a lot of time on pep talks, and provides a lot of very specific advice (much of which we have already been doing, which was reassuring). The chapters explaining Medicare and Social Security are particularly helpful. He also provides inspiring stories about a wide range of people, and has a humorous (but still serious enough) writing style. The Tightwad Gazette would make a good complement to this one, as that book goes much more into the details of daily life and cultivating a frugal mindset. Jeff Yeager's book looks at the bigger financial picture. I borrowed it from the library to read on my Kindle, but this might be a book worth buying to have handy for reference and inspiration. ( )

Borrowed from the public library, this cheapskate learned much from Yeager for preparation toward retirement. Much of the book is typical cheapskate advice, but framed within retirement preparation and retirement life. Unfortunately (one of the concessions of being a cheapskate) the book was requested by another, and I wasn't able to finish it. So, I requested it again! ( )

A good book on retirement with a different take on how to prepare for retirement. I just wish I had read this book years ago. I have never considered myself to be a cheapskate, but my wife have followed a number of the principles in the book over the years. ( )