Work Less, Live More: The Way to Semi-Retirement

Ready to pursue the rest of your life? Get going with Work Less, Live More.

Finalist for The Publishers Marketing Associations Benjamin Franklin Award

Professionally, you're experiencing the success that years of hard work brings -- but the long hours are taking their toll and you're burning out fast.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to the grind: Semi-retirement. Work fewer hours, realize your goals and dreams, spend time with your loved ones-- and do it all years, even decades, before the "normal" retirement age of 65.

With Work Less, Live More and a little planning, you can do it. The book provides a rational investment system based on Nobel Prize-winning research, a safe lifelong withdrawal plan and sensible spending guidelines.

More importantly, the book provides the inspiring stories and insights of many successful early semi-retirees, walking proof that meaningful work-- rather than full-time work-- is both fulfilling and rewarding.

The 2nd edition focuses on every age group -- especially "late bloomers" who may feel way behind. It also includes more information on healthcare issues.

If you're ready to pursue the rest of your life, turn to Work Less, Live More and get going!

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Tons of good, usable financial and motivational advice, 2008-06-02
I read this book cover to cover after getting it and am now going through it more slowly, taking notes on all the useful bits of advice. To be honest, I'd never thought about "semi-retirement" until I heard of this book, and it's proved to be the one idea that excites me.

The tone is pitched just right for people who have been saving and investing for years and are informed but still need some basic guidance for this new period of life. The book gives you strong kudos for living below your means and then helps you figure out how that translates into leaving the rat race earlier than you could ever have hoped for. I especially liked the chapters "Put Your Investing on Autopilot," "Take 4% Forever," and "Do Anything You Want, But Do Something." Each of them have very specific advice, examples, and resources and appealed to me in their simplicity.

I really couldn't have found a better book as I contemplate leaving corporate America at age 48, and I plan to refer back to it many times. Now I feel more ready and excited "to pursue the rest of my life"...


3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Book is Fine for Young, Aggressive Corporate Types, 2008-03-05
This book might be recommended to young, aggressive high-earning corporate types, who perhaps are able to save extremely aggressively from about around age 25 until 45, and then suddenly retire and become hippies.

However, it's definitely not for a regular person who earns an average income throughout their working career, and who is lucky to have saved enough for retirement at age 65.



6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

The one book that answered all my questions about early retirement... and then some., 2008-02-22
This book really enlightened me on how to prepare and invest for early retirement, and what to do with my investments once I get there. Because I'm looking to retire early (in my mid-thirties), conventional advice that assumes a "standard" retirement age in the sixties or seventies doesn't really apply to my situation, for two reasons. First, I can take on more risk in my portfolio than someone who is older; because I still have my health, if my investments lose value, I can work a little bit longer, or work to supplement my early retirement. Second, I have to invest more in taxable accounts, because of IRA and 401(k) contribution limits and because those accounts can't be accessed until at least one's late 50s (with certain exceptions).

This book answers every question I had about early retirement, and then some. It offers thorough, but still easy-to-understand, advice about determining how much you can expect to spend in "semi-retirement" (including taxes and fees/expenses on your portfolio) and what proportion of your portfolio you can withdraw once you're there (the "Safe Withdrawal Rate" and "95% Rule"). From there, you can determine exactly how much you'll need to have invested before you can retire. And then, the book suggests how you can invest for moderate returns and moderate volatility, with several model portfolios ranging from an incredibly simple, single-fund option to a pretty complex portfolio.

The author also details the mechanics of how to get money out of your portfolio when in retirement. This may sound kind of silly, but until I read this book, I had no idea how one actually cashes out a portion of investments in order to spend them. Through a simple rebalancing example, the author demonstrates how to cash out, and gives advice on how frequently to do so.

The book isn't solely focused on the money side of retirement, however. There are several chapters focusing on determining why you want to retire early and what you want to do when you get there. These chapters, in particular, are loaded with examples of people who semi-retired and how they spend their time and money. It also goes into a fair amount of detail about the pros and cons of relocating, including relocating abroad, in retirement. And these sections, like the money sections, include brainstorming exercises and worksheets, but for more of this kind of thing I recommend the companion workbook.

I've read my share of personal finance books and am often disappointed by how full of fluff they are. This is not a book that you can read cover-to-cover in an evening; it is very thorough and offers a lot to think about, but it is not overly technical, either. (I confess that I skipped the charts about the 95% Rule and just took the author's word for it.) Also, the book is well-written and well-edited, which is always nice.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Great Book, 2007-10-26
I haave read this book many times. I find myself refering back to it over and over again. This is one of the best books on early retirement.


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent resource on several levels, 2007-09-20
If you have spent the last twenty years working toward the dream of Early Retirement as I have then this book will give you the tools to complete your plan. It is very well written and organized. It is an easy read yet has lots of useful detail that I found myself re-reading to not miss any information.

The book also is so detailed that once you complete the planning that it walks you through you will have the confidence to move forward with you life. It really does address the emotional side of Early Retirement also.

If you want to make a positive change in your work life and retire early then read this book!

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