Summary | Table of Contents

Summary

From the book's very first sentence-a question about what your life will be like in the next 20 to 40 years-to the last, Start Where You Are: Retirement Planning in a Changing World helps you to get real and get excited about retirement. Far more than a savings guide, the book helps you in managing your expectations and making balanced decisions without fear or greed. You can meet your coming money, work, health, and family needs, and Ruth Hayden will assist by asking that you:

• Imagine your life over three distinct stages so you can plan specifically for each stage.
• Practice resiliency. Life's going to throw you some curveballs, so you must adapt without abandoning your long-term plans.
• Balance money with other facets of your life so that retirement will be successful and fulfilling. After all, the money part of retirement is only 20 percent of the planning.
  

Start Where You Are is Ruth at her best. She doesn't beat around the bush as she inspires you to bring balance into your life, transform your retirement dreams into reality and take control of your finances. If you pick one book to start your retirement planning, make it Start Where You Are.

What leading financial experts say about Start Where You Are :

"Start Where You Are is a delight to read. It's like sitting down with Ruth and carrying on a warm, lively conversation about ways to transform dreams into reality, to bring balance into life, and to take control of our finances."

-Chris Farrell, Host of Public Television's Right on the Money & Public Radio's Sound Money

"Ruth Hayden has an incredible ability to ask the right questions and deal with them pragmatically and intelligently. If you are seriously interested in not just retiring, but living successfully until and in retirement, then this book should be read and often referred to."   

-Ross Levin, CFP T, founding principal of Accredited Investors, Inc. and voted one of Mutual Fund magazine's top 100 financial planners

"Ruth Hayden's book is an inspiring and highly entertaining guide to planning for the rest of your life, however long that may be. The real-life stories she relates make this a very readable book."

-Gerri Detweiler, Consumer advocate, author of The Ultimate Credit Handbook

Table of Contents

Chapter 1     It's Never Too Late!

Chapter 2     Life Is a Series of Stages

Chapter 3     Avoiding Second Arrows

Chapter 4     What If.Then What?

Chapter 5     My Life Has to Work-All of It!

Chapter 6     Creating a New Vision

Chapter 7     Who Am I?

Chapter 8     What Is Work?

Chapter 9     Will It Ever Be Enough?

Chapter 10   How Long Does "Old" Last?

Chapter 11   Just a Youngster (Your Sixties)

Chapter 12   So This is Midlife!   (Your Seventies)

Chapter 13   So, Is This Old? (Your Eighties and Older)

Chapter 14   What About Now?