Captain Capitalism tells it like it is

I'm sure many of my readers know the blog 'Captain Capitalism'.  It's written by Aaron Clarey, who has a somewhat cynical, iconoclastic view of life, the universe and everything.  I don't agree with everything he says, but I think his views of the present state of the economy are pretty accurate - even though I'd prefer to think the future is potentially better.

At any rate, Mr. Clarey has just released his latest book.  It's called 'Poor Richard's Retirement:  Retirement for Everyday Americans'.

The title is clearly a play on Benjamin Franklin's 'Poor Richard's Almanack', as the cover illustration makes clear.  If you're familiar with Mr. Clarey's oft-espoused views on how to live in today's economy, there won't be much new material here for you.  However, even though I know his views well, I still found it valuable to have this condensed summary of them at my fingertips.  Furthermore, although the book is written with the American economic situation in mind, many of its principles apply equally well to other countries.

The blurb reads:

Don’t have enough money saved up for retirement? No problem. Never started a 401k or IRA? Don’t worry. And are you so far behind in your personal finances you’re worried you’ll never be able to retire? It’s all good. Because whether you know it or not, the entire US retirement system is horribly flawed and was doomed to fail anyway. And that’s why every American needs to read “Poor Richard’s Retirement.”

“Poor Richard’s Retirement” is a revolutionary retirement system because, unlike today’s conventional retirement planning, it works. It puts retirement easily within the reach of your everyday man. Whether you have student loans, a mortgage, are behind in your retirement planning, or have no retirement savings at all, “Poor Richard’s Retirement” bypasses it all by showing you how little you truly need to retire. And it does so through the simple truth that happiness is not found in $400 yoga pants, luxury SUV’s, McMansions, or whatever lies they’re selling you on TV, but through love of family, friends, and your fellow man. All of which are free.

It's a very short book, but pithy.  Some may find his economic views and proposals simplistic, but I'm here to tell you, they work.  Miss D. and I have been trying to live that way since long before we learned of Mr. Clarey's existence.  It's brought us relative peace of mind, when many of our friends were struggling in a financial trap that was, all too often, self-made.

If you're worried about preparing for retirement (or even if you're already retired), and aren't sure how you're going to afford to live for the rest of your life, I highly recommend this book.  Adjusting to its recipe for success may be difficult for you, but I promise you, it's more likely to work than any other prescription from so-called financial 'experts', who (all too often) want to use your money to continue to prop up their status quo.  Even better, 'Poor Richard's Retirement' is inexpensive.  It's worth its purchase price, IMHO.

(No, I'm not getting any compensation or kickback for recommending it.  I've bought my own copy, with my own money.  I bring it to your attention because I like to share good ideas with my readers - and this book has a number of them.)

Peter