cover image We're Not in Kansas Anymore: Strategies for Retiring Rich in a Totally Changed World

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: Strategies for Retiring Rich in a Totally Changed World

Walter Updegrave. Crown Business, $24 (304pp) ISBN 978-1-4000-4789-5

Likening the befuddlement that most investors feel in the post-stock-bubble era to the confusion that Dorothy experienced when she fell into the unfamiliar Land of Oz, Updegrave leads readers away from retirement planning myths and straight down a realistic path to financial security. A senior editor at Money magazine and a columnist for AOL Personal and CNNMoney.com, Updegrave manages to enlighten readers without pandering to their fears or overstating the complexity of accumulating wealth. And he shares the most important revelation at the start: it's not how skillfully you invest, but how much and how routinely you save that ultimately matters. While this book is of obvious value to younger readers, the under-saved and over-50 receive substantial attention in sections that provide detailed strategies for catching up on savings. Throughout the book, Updegrave highlights the pitfalls and the self-delusions that undermine so many retirement plans, such as the fact that""40 percent of Americans are counting on the lottery, sweepstakes, getting married or an inheritance to fund their retirement."" Social Security, the tax code and insurance coverage are demystified without ever evoking nightmares of the Wicked Witch. And though the Oz imagery might make some readers wary, the references fade as the book progresses, so they never get too tiresome or cutesy. Updegrave's explanations and frequent referrals to useful online tools will help readers figure out exactly how to begin and exactly how to get to where they want to go, with far less difficulty than Dorothy herself experienced.