Retire Before Mom and Dad: The Simple Numbers Behind A Lifetime of Financial Freedom

This is a pretty good book for basic understanding of personal finance, retirement, retirement accounts, investing basics, etc. It does have some cool math at the beginning chapters but I don't know how helpful it really is because I forgot the math by the time I finished the book (took me 2-3 weeks reading on and off). I love the chapter ono investment terminology towards the end of the book. You can find all those meanings online but rarely in one place. It was rather helpful to have it together and explained well.

I have enjoyed watching Rob Berger videos on youtube, and have been eager to read his book. I really liked this book, it was even better than I expected. The book develops an excellent well thought out plan for financial freedom, something virtually everyone is looking for in life. It was well balanced between the big picture and diving into specific topics. And I liked the dry humor added throughout the book. I've read many books in this category and found this to be one of my favorites. I feel like Rob in general tracks along with Dave Ramsey, maybe a few minor differences but pretty similar. During the "accumulation phase" I feel like they are on par, but Rob shines when you get to the "retirement phase". His view seems more anchored in the statistics, based upon thorough modeling of different portfolio choices. And this was the area that I was looking to grow my understanding, which is part of why this was such a great read. I could have used more on annuities and the actual mechanics of how to take money from the accounts in retirement and rebalance them. Would have also been great if he had included some info on portfolio visualizer and other great tools that he demonstrates in the youtube videos. Perhaps he needs to write another book just focused on the retirement phase, that would be awesome!

A good quick read with the basic lessons many of us have heard before but explained backed up with examples. There's nodding your head and hearing the lessons in one ear and out the other, and then there's reading painstakingly detailed paragraphs about the basic lessons for financial freedom and letting it soak into your brain.

I heard an interview with the author that motivated me to buy this book with the intent of gifting it to my young adult children with the intent of motivating their retirement savings. I found it to be PERFECT for this. I read and enjoyed this book thoroughly and never felt bogged-down in the minutiae despite my years of geeking out on this subject. Well written and entertaining. When I finished, I gifted this to my oldest child. She read it and was very excited and further motivated to save for her, and her husband's, future. We have had many fruitful conversations about this book and its subjects, which was the point. Now I'm off to buy more copies for my other children and God children.

There are so many personal finance books, and an emerging swell of F.I.R.E. books specifically, that I am starting to get a little bit leery when I pick up another one. Sometimes they are quite redundant, or written by authors who don't have great flow. These things are not true at all with Rob Berger's book! His passion for teaching others and writing shines through. The chapters are short and thoughtful, with key information presented clearly. The book includes URLs for further learning, tools, and videos. In addition to strong writing, the book thoughtfully presents "the numbers" side of things in helpful, digestible snippets that anyone can understand and use to think contextually about their own finances. If you are looking for a book to help you really get your financial house in order for the long run, I highly recommend this title. It is also a great choice for those who perhaps have worked through the steps of getting a budget and getting debt in check, but now are wondering what comes next. Following even some of the steps and actions presented will bring you to a place of financial strength and serenity, no matter if you hope to retire early, retire on time, or pursue all the many paths a life can take.

While primarily focused at US readers (because of references to savings and investment options enabled by US tax laws), this is by far the best book I’ve read on on personal financial well-being or retirement planning. I appreciate that much of the advice is given via “rules of thumb” and “guidelines” (backed by clearly explained numerical examples) which emphasize understanding one’s own circumstances rather than slavishly (or blindly or ignorantly) following a set of inflexible “expert rules”. The book is targeted at those who don’t have a background in finance, and it doesn’t talk down (on the contrary, it exposes financial industry jargon for what it is: jargon that’s easier to decipher than most people might think). While I have a degree in finance, I read this book to see if it was a worthy gift for my college-age children, none of whom took a single finance, accounting, or economics course. Let me put it this way: I will gift this book to each of my children and relentlessly insist they read it. An excellent book to read at any age (but the younger, the better).

Mr. Berger brings a different approach to this dialogue by focusing on the economics of personal investing in a way that those new to personal investing can easily understand and more importantly put into action. And he does it in a fun and sometimes whimsical tone that will capture the reader’s attention while explaining important investment concepts in appropriate detail.A must read for folks new to investing, Mr. Berger helps everyone understand that financial freedom is our responsibility, and more importantly that with making investing a habit, we can all achieve it! A strong recommend. Well done sir, well done indeed.

I'm in my early 50's, I've bought RSP's throughout my adult life with the hopes of one day being able to retire comfortable. I never had expectations of being rich in retirement, comfortable was the best that I hoped for. It's only now at this point in my life that my eye's are opening up to the investment world. The author does an amazing job using analogies to get his points across and help the reader open their minds to a world they can be apart of regardless of your income or age.I've read a few personal finance and investing books now. My goal was to find a book that I could give to my sons to really open their minds to what can be achieved especially in their young adult lives. I finished this book this afternoon and immediately ordered print copies for my 2 sons. This book was inspiring and exactly what I was looking for. If they are even half as excited about investing long term for there retirement as I am it will be a huge win.I actually found the author on YouTube before even knowing that he had written a book. He seems to be very knowledgeable and a likeable person. He's definitely worth checking out.

I'm in my mid-30s and I found the information in the book still very helpful. Plus it's a fast easy read and the author keeps you entertained yet gives you sound advice. I've read many popular F.I.R.E. books and this is a great addition.