Ready...Set...Retire!: Financial Strategies for the Rest of Your Life »

Raymond J. Lucia, Sr., Certified Financial Planner®, is a nationally recognized expert in financial and business management. He’s president and founder of the Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc., which oversees more than $1 billion in invested assets. Host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Ray Lucia Show, and author of the acclaimed book Buckets of Money: How to Retire in Comfort and Safety®, he’s been called a “rising star in talk radio.” Out of more than 250,000 registered representatives, he was named “One of the Ten Best Brokers in America in 2004" by Registered Rep. magazine.Ray appears frequently on shows such as Your World with Neil Cavuto, Forbes on Fox, Cashin’ In, Cavuto On Business and The Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo. He is currently presenting retirement seminars nationwide.Dale Fetherling has written or co-authored more than a dozen nonfiction books and taught writing and editing at five colleges and universities.

Most investors spend too much time trying to outguess the market and not enough time thinking about their long-term financial futures. That’s why today’s retirees (and soon-to-be retirees) need strategies, not stock tips. Nationally recognized Certified Financial Planner®, radio talk-show personality, and author Raymond J. Lucia shows you little-known concepts that can fatten your savings and boost your standard of living in retirement.In an easy-to-understand and often humorous style, Lucia details how ideas such as nontraded real estate investment trusts, 72(t) elections, and equity-indexed annuities can give you, the investor, a leg up on the path to retiring in comfort and safety. Lucia brings his 30 years of experience to bear in revealing how and when to tap your retirement plans, ways to use your home as a source of retirement dollars, and how to lower taxes on appreciated company stock. He’ll also explain how investing in low-income housing tax credits can help you tax-wise even as you assist others.Filled with hands-on, in-depth insights and practical advice, this book will give you all the tools you need to win at the retirement game.

Foreword   Ben Stein     ix
Introduction     xi
Ready!
Why You Need Strategies, Not Stock Tips     3
The Six Keys to a Comfortable Retirement     15
A Self-Interview about Your Future     29
Set!
Facing Up to a Typical Couple's Challenges     51
Designing a Stream of Current Income     61
Deciphering Annuities     73
Exploring the Ins and Outs of REITs     101
Straddling the Divide: Passive vs. Active Stock Investing     123
Sampling Other Strategies for Making Your Money Last     137
Retire!
Getting Your Ducks in a Row     177
Assembling a Team     209
Epilogue: Don't Forget to Enjoy Life     230
Glossary     235
About the Authors     251