The book's preface gets things off to a good start, as there is hardly a mention of how to accumulate or magnify one's nest egg and all that financial stuff that can be found in so many other "retirement" books. Here we get goodies like, "There is clearly another path that is more satisfying than the one we know," and "...for most of us, it's hard to break the chains that make us wage slaves." This is promising stuff.
But after a first chapter, which is also promising, the good stuff ends abruptly.
Unfortunately, the bulk of "Retire Early" is a compilation of all the financial basics you can get from a million other sources. And like so many of the "new" retirement books emerging, covering all the bases of financial advice seems to be the name of the game. Thus, we get advice on determining your nondiscretionary expenses, buying a car, using only one credit card, paying cash for meals, and on and on. And how about this for great advice: "For most people, real wealth is accumulated only if they spend a lot less than what they make." Now, there's something you can take to the bank with you on your next trip.
This stuff goes on for about 150 pages: All kinds of financial dribble that, like many other books of this nature, surely includes something to offer to most. But the point here is that I was told this was a really good book on retirement. When do I get to that? Surely there is more to retirement than all this financial stuff!
Bingo: Like an entirely different book, that last 30 pages are a hodgepodge of advice and information from nearly every conceivable angle other than financial. The problem is that it is too little too late, and much of it seems more appropriate to a "drop out" persona than a retiree. Some of it borders on just plain weird, like the author's suggestion to write down a list of one's failures in life. With this he says, "throw it in a drawer or file and review it later." Boy, that would be a valuable way to start your retirement plans. And how about his comparison of his "New Prosperity" with "Traditional Retirement?" Two of the entries here are "Chance to pursue passions" vs. "Chance to play golf all the time," and "Part of a global community" vs. "Member of gated community." Where are we going with this? Are we about to define "alternative retirement?"
Then, to end the rambling, non-financial stuff, there's a chapter on happiness, where we find quotes from 14 books in just five pages, as if the author did a quick skim from books off his favorite bookshelf.
I'm sorry, folks, I think the book is a mess, and I hope that this onslaught of retirement primers that start off with financial basics and all their inconsistencies, then end with rambling advice on how to be happy and fulfilled, soon will run their course.
I'll stick with my two old favorites: "The Joy of Not Working," by Zelinski, and "breaking the watch," by Savishinsky. While there will probably never be the perfect "retirement" book, I think those two are at least valuable contributions to the quest. I don't think this Wasik book holds a candle to either.