Book Title: Getting Started In A Financially Secure Retirement
Author: Henry Hebeler
Readability: Relatively easy to read, but jumps around a bit.
Technicality: Technical in some parts, conceptual in others.
Provides Practical, How To Knowledge On: Thinking through all the aspects of retirement planning; things that even experienced financial advisors can overlook.
Summary: Getting Started In A Financially Secure Retirement is the book I wish I’d had when I started my career as a financial advisor.It should be required reading for anyone who gives financial advice in regards to retirement planning.
This book discusses all of the variables that need to be considered when planning, and cautions you against using projections that are too optimistic. Anyone who is serious about their retirement planning should read this book.
Henry Hebeler does an incredibly thorough job of covering everything you need to think about in regards to your retirement planning. He talks about all of the following:
- when to take social security (for most people, later is better)
- how to develop reasonable assumptions for growth rates on investments
- the impact of inflation and taxes
- how most financial advisors don’t do a very thorough retirement plan analysis (I whole heartedly agree with this)
- what types of investments make sense
- which investments to stay away from
- how to factor in replacement costs for major items that you will need after you are retired
- much, much more
At the end of the book, Henry provides detailed worksheets you can use to do your own retirement planning calculations. He has also created a set of free excel spreadsheets and/or software which you can download from his website, Analyze Now.
Downside: Henry Hebeler was an engineer for Boeing for many years. His analytical skills are outstanding, but when he says that “I believe the average person who takes the time to try and understand the material in this book will need little professional help in the planning and financial aspects,” I must disagree a bit. I think the average person will have trouble grasping the worksheets, or using Henry’s spreadsheets, as most of the average people I have met have difficulty with mathematical concepts. The average person who has some basic analytical skills will love Henry’s material. All people can benefit from his suggestions. The truly average person, however, may find it difficult to do the planning he suggests without assistance.
