Comments on: Review: Work Less, Live More – The Way to Semi-Retirement

By: Sherry

Sherry — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:07:33 +0000

This looks like a very interesting book and I will definitely buy it.
Even though I am currently semi-retired, I yearn for the days when I can be truly retired, to fill my days in ways I want to fill them. My delimma is paying the outrageous monthly amount of $564 for my health insurance. I’m 61, so I would have these ever-increasing insurance premiums until I’m 65, and then no telling how much my supplemental insurance will be. And it’s actually not about having the money to pay the premiums; it’s justifying paying that large sum when I would love to have the freedom of retirement, versus working three days and having the benefits through work.
How do others deal with this situation? Some feedback would be greatly appreciated.

By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:48:29 +0000

Another great book is “How to survive without a salary” by Charles Long, which advocates working in short bursts to fund longer periods of leisure time. I also recommend Living Cheaply With Style by Ernest Callenbach or the original, Living Poor With Style, which is not toned down for the 21st century.

By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:05:51 +0000

@Nancy (#11) – You don’t need to make close to 6 figures to make it into early retirement. Especially not early semi-retirement. I think it speaks more to the fact that semi-retiring or early-retiring people are driven and know what they want in life. This is correlated with making large sums of money or being successful on other levels, but the money is not the main cause.

Also, if I may make a plug for my site for anyone who is not interested in spending many years working for their freedom. Early retirement for the most part simply requires people to drop some key assumptions about their life. Investment planning, etc. is very similar to work-all-your-life planning. Only the ratios change. This is why early retirement books tend to be so heavy on the psychological stuff. There are simply a great many barriers to be overcome. The idea of having to work for a living probably being the greatest one. Most consumers can not imagine not having to do so.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:41:36 +0000

I checked this book out at the library and was disappointed. It seemed to give examples of people retiring early who were making close to 6 figure salaries, or folks who have a pension (neither of which pertain to me), and I have to admit thinking, “If I made a six-figure salary or had a pension, I wouldn’t need a book to tell me how to retire early.”

By: tinybit

tinybit — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:10:27 +0000

I’ve read both WLLM and Your Money or Your Life. I think they are great companions and cover different areas of the time/money balance. I highly recommend both books to friends. Most of us will continue to do some work after we ‘retire’ just to stay active. Sitting in my kitchen all day like my parents do would drive me insane in under 2 years. I plan to do some work, even if it’s volunteering, after I retire.

By: Over the Cubicle Wall

Over the Cubicle Wall — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:42:25 +0000

I’ll be reading this one. Thanks for the review.

By: CPA Kevin

CPA Kevin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:37:16 +0000

I’ve been meaning to read this book ever since seeing it on Early Retirement Extreme. Now that two other respected PF bloggers have chimed in on how good it is, I’ll push it to the top of my to-read list.

By: Neal Frankle

Neal Frankle — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:50:18 +0000

I agree that American’s will redefine retirement to include some work.

I am a big fan of not waiting too long to enjoy life. The way I figure it, when my kids are gone, I’ll have more time to make money. Right now, I want to enjoy them as much as possible.

By: MeekWoman

MeekWoman — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:00:45 +0000

Based on the book review, it sounds like the author is stressing that saving for retirement is more of a means to an end. I think this is an important point to make because many people view retirement as an the end-all to life, and they will find themselves disappointed, bored, and unfulfilled.

By: Joey

Joey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:09:42 +0000

I’ve come to the conclusion that, up to a certain point, time >> money. I try to remember this whenever I’m tempted to look for another part-time job.

By: Curt

Curt — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:34:55 +0000

Interesting book. I think most Americans will never be able to completely retire, because we will not be able to afford too.

The new goal will be to reach semi-retirement and this book is a step in that direction.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:02:15 +0000

Work Less, Live More is one of my favorite personal finance books. It's like the bible of early retirement. To me, it ranks right up there with Your Money or Your Life and The Millionaire Next Door as one of the essential books about money. I've read WLLM several times over the past year, and am in the middle of it again. (I intend to review it at GRS soon.) Just want to add a strong "buy" from my corner of the web. (I usually recommend that people borrow books from the library. Not this one. This one is worth owning.)

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:27:27 +0000

Wow, sounds exactly like the kind of book I need. I too have already realised that retirement or semi-retirement is as much about life and living as it is about finances. It’s about getting what you want out of life.

By: TightFistedMiser

TightFistedMiser — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:53:18 +0000

Retiring early is one of my main financial goals but I don’t think I’ll have a traditional retirement. The semi-retirement concept sounds interesting. The mini-retirements concept from “The 4-Hour Work Week” is more likely what I will do.