When Every Day Is Saturday: The Retirement Guide for Boomers »

Professor, engineer, consultant, mentor, author of many educational and research publications, Richard E. Grace, Ph.D., is a retired vice president of Purdue University. Dr. Grace is a Fellow of three national societies and has received numerous awards.

When Every Day Is Saturday is a how-to book to plan for a happy, meaningful retirement. The Grace Retirement Inventory sets a fast opening pace and prompts thoughtful, focused questions about retirement. Some retirees seem to have failed badly while many others appear to be happy and successful. What was their guide to success? Dr. Grace's research with seven hundred retirees differentiates this book from all others. Six central themes are developed: 1) freedom and leisure, 2) financial independence, 3) separation from work, 4) family and friends, 5) health, and 6) helping others. Readers evaluate their attitude toward each of these themes and this simple measure predicts their happiness in retirement. The writing is concise, interspersed with comments and stories from the lives of current retirees. Inclusion of these vignettes adds hope, inspiration, and a dash of realism to what lies ahead for every working adult.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Crystal Ball 1

Chapter 2 Your Attitude, Your Future 3

Chapter 3 Freedom-You've Earned It! 11

Chapter 4 Plan, Plan, Plan 21

Chapter 5 Early, Now, or Never 43

Chapter 6 Ties That Bind 55

Chapter 7 To Your Health! 65

Chapter 8 Love Thy Neighbor 87

Chapter 9 Secrets 95

Chapter 10 What Really Matters? 109

Chapter 11 Six Important Questions 125

Appendix A Retirement: A Work in Progress 127

Appendix B A Brief Discussion 129

Appendix C Reliability and Validity 139