Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0307956423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
How to Retire the Cheapskate Way
Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0307956423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0307956423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
How to Retire the Cheapskate Way
Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0307956431
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0307956431
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
How to Retire the Cheapskate Way
Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0307956423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 0307956423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Unlike most retirement planning and lifestyle books that focus on investing – or at the other end of the spectrum, on how to get the senior discount on a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – this new book from Jeff Yeager, America’s favorite cheapskate, makes the compelling case that you can have a joyous, worry-free retirement by merely spending smart and focusing on what you truly want and expect out of retirement. Combining Yeager’s loveable humor and offbeat anecdotes that have garnered him an ever-growing fan base, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way shares with readers hundreds of retirement secrets and tips, including: ·How to Simple-size Your Way to a Better Retirement ·The 20 Secret Cheapskate Principles for Retiring Comfortably on Less...Maybe Even on Social Security Alone ·How to Survive the Medical Maelstrom (without resorting to DIY surgery at home) ·Plus Dozens of Fun Ways to Both Earn a Little Extra Income During Retirement and Painlessly Cut Your Expenses Yeager, who serves as the official “Savings Expert” for AARP and its 40+ million members, weaves together both everyday practical tips and life-changing financial strategies with the real life stories of frugal retirees as well as people of all ages who are working toward a better, earlier, happier retirement The Cheapskate Way.
The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches
Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: Currency
ISBN: 0767926951
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
It used to be that “stuff” made you cool. That is so twentieth century. Jeff Yeager, the man dubbed The Ultimate Cheapskate by Matt Lauer on Today, offers a completely fresh take on personal finance, teaching us how to enjoy life more by spending less. He will show you how to buy less stuff, retire young, and live financially free, while you make a positive difference in people’s lives and save the planet along the way. The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches lays out the practices and principles that have made cheap the new cool. Live within your means at thirty and stay there. The Ultimate Cheapskate was living well on what he earned at thirty, so when he made more money, he saved every penny. Now he is “selfishly” employed, doing work he loves and helping others. Do for yourself what you could have others do for you. Cheapskates are die-hard do-it-yourselfers. It’s all about having the right tools, and The Ultimate Cheapskate will get you started. Pinch the dollars and the pennies will pinch themselves. It’s not the $3 cup of coffee; it’s the big-ticket decisions that determine whether you’ll be financially free. So buy a house, not a castle. The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches promises a quality of life you cannot buy, a sense of satisfaction you cannot fake, and an appreciation for others and for the planet that gives life value. Open your road map and prepare to discover the true joys of financial freedom.
Publisher: Currency
ISBN: 0767926951
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
It used to be that “stuff” made you cool. That is so twentieth century. Jeff Yeager, the man dubbed The Ultimate Cheapskate by Matt Lauer on Today, offers a completely fresh take on personal finance, teaching us how to enjoy life more by spending less. He will show you how to buy less stuff, retire young, and live financially free, while you make a positive difference in people’s lives and save the planet along the way. The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches lays out the practices and principles that have made cheap the new cool. Live within your means at thirty and stay there. The Ultimate Cheapskate was living well on what he earned at thirty, so when he made more money, he saved every penny. Now he is “selfishly” employed, doing work he loves and helping others. Do for yourself what you could have others do for you. Cheapskates are die-hard do-it-yourselfers. It’s all about having the right tools, and The Ultimate Cheapskate will get you started. Pinch the dollars and the pennies will pinch themselves. It’s not the $3 cup of coffee; it’s the big-ticket decisions that determine whether you’ll be financially free. So buy a house, not a castle. The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches promises a quality of life you cannot buy, a sense of satisfaction you cannot fake, and an appreciation for others and for the planet that gives life value. Open your road map and prepare to discover the true joys of financial freedom.
The Smart Woman's Guide to Planning for Retirement
Author: Mary Hunt
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 1441244956
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
What does a woman want to do when she retires? Travel? Pursue hobbies? Spend time with friends and family? We all have dreams about what those days will be like. But when it comes to turning those dreams into reality, women's retirement confidence and know-how is low. According to a 2012 survey, 92 percent of women of all ages in this country don't feel they're educated enough to reach their retirement savings goals. For the woman who doesn't know where to start or would like a knowledgeable guide who speaks her language, financial expert Mary Hunt offers a comprehensive but approachable resource for saving and planning for retirement. Whether she feels entitled to retire at age 65, hopes she'll be able to stop working someday, or is convinced she'll never be able to retire, every woman will find real help in these pages. With her signature no-nonsense, energetic style, Hunt assures women that it's only too late if they don't start now. She clearly covers every aspect of retirement planning during every season of a woman's life, giving women the confidence they need to shape their futures.
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 1441244956
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
What does a woman want to do when she retires? Travel? Pursue hobbies? Spend time with friends and family? We all have dreams about what those days will be like. But when it comes to turning those dreams into reality, women's retirement confidence and know-how is low. According to a 2012 survey, 92 percent of women of all ages in this country don't feel they're educated enough to reach their retirement savings goals. For the woman who doesn't know where to start or would like a knowledgeable guide who speaks her language, financial expert Mary Hunt offers a comprehensive but approachable resource for saving and planning for retirement. Whether she feels entitled to retire at age 65, hopes she'll be able to stop working someday, or is convinced she'll never be able to retire, every woman will find real help in these pages. With her signature no-nonsense, energetic style, Hunt assures women that it's only too late if they don't start now. She clearly covers every aspect of retirement planning during every season of a woman's life, giving women the confidence they need to shape their futures.
The Cheapskate Next Door
Author: Jeff Yeager
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767931327
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
America’s Ultimate Cheapskate is back with all new secrets for how to live happily below your means, á la cheapskate. For The Cheapskate Next Door, Jeff Yeager tapped his bargain-basement-brain-trust, hitting the road to interview and survey hundreds of his fellow cheapskates to divulge their secrets for living the good life on less. Jeff reveals the 16 key attitudes about money – and life – that allow the cheapskates next door to live happy, comfortable, debt-free lives while spending only a fraction of what most Americans spend. Their strategies will change your way of thinking about money and debunk some of life’s biggest money myths. For example, you’ll learn: how to cut your food bill in half and eat healthier as a result; how your kids can get a college education without ever borrowing a dime; how to let the other guy pay for deprecation by learning the secrets of buying used, not abused; how you can save serious money by negotiating and bartering; and how – if you know where to look – there’s free stuff and free fun all around you. The Cheapskate Next Door also features dozens of original “Cheap Shots” – quick, money saving tips that could save you more than $25,000 in a single year! Cheap Shots give you the inside scoop on: -- How to save hundreds on kids’ toys; -- What inexpensive old-fashioned kitchen appliance can save you more than $200 a year; -- How you can travel the world without ever having to pay for lodging; -- What single driving tip can save you $30,000 during your lifetime; -- Even how to save up to 40% on fine wines (and we’re not talking about the kind that comes in a box). From simple money saving tips to truly life changing financial strategies, the cheapskates next door know that the key to financial freedom and enjoying life more is not how much you earn, but how much you spend.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767931327
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
America’s Ultimate Cheapskate is back with all new secrets for how to live happily below your means, á la cheapskate. For The Cheapskate Next Door, Jeff Yeager tapped his bargain-basement-brain-trust, hitting the road to interview and survey hundreds of his fellow cheapskates to divulge their secrets for living the good life on less. Jeff reveals the 16 key attitudes about money – and life – that allow the cheapskates next door to live happy, comfortable, debt-free lives while spending only a fraction of what most Americans spend. Their strategies will change your way of thinking about money and debunk some of life’s biggest money myths. For example, you’ll learn: how to cut your food bill in half and eat healthier as a result; how your kids can get a college education without ever borrowing a dime; how to let the other guy pay for deprecation by learning the secrets of buying used, not abused; how you can save serious money by negotiating and bartering; and how – if you know where to look – there’s free stuff and free fun all around you. The Cheapskate Next Door also features dozens of original “Cheap Shots” – quick, money saving tips that could save you more than $25,000 in a single year! Cheap Shots give you the inside scoop on: -- How to save hundreds on kids’ toys; -- What inexpensive old-fashioned kitchen appliance can save you more than $200 a year; -- How you can travel the world without ever having to pay for lodging; -- What single driving tip can save you $30,000 during your lifetime; -- Even how to save up to 40% on fine wines (and we’re not talking about the kind that comes in a box). From simple money saving tips to truly life changing financial strategies, the cheapskates next door know that the key to financial freedom and enjoying life more is not how much you earn, but how much you spend.
How to Retire with Enough Money
Author: Teresa Ghilarducci
Publisher: Workman Publishing
ISBN: 0761186131
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
Here is a single-sit read than can change the course of your retirement. Written by Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor, a retirement and savings specialist, and a trustee to two retiree health-care trusts worth over $54 billion, How to Retire with Enough Money cuts through the confusion, misinformation, and bad policy-making that keeps us spending or saving poorly. It begins with acknowledging what a person or household actually needs to have saved—the rule of thumb is eight to ten times your annual salary before retirement—and how much to expect from Social Security. And then it delivers the basic principles that will make the money grow, including a dozen good ideas to get current expenses under control. Why to “get rid of your guy”—those for-fee (or hidden-fee) financial planners that suck up valuable assets. Why it’s always better to pay off a loan or a mortgage. There are no gimmicks, no magical thinking—just an easy-to-follow program that works.
Publisher: Workman Publishing
ISBN: 0761186131
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
Here is a single-sit read than can change the course of your retirement. Written by Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor, a retirement and savings specialist, and a trustee to two retiree health-care trusts worth over $54 billion, How to Retire with Enough Money cuts through the confusion, misinformation, and bad policy-making that keeps us spending or saving poorly. It begins with acknowledging what a person or household actually needs to have saved—the rule of thumb is eight to ten times your annual salary before retirement—and how much to expect from Social Security. And then it delivers the basic principles that will make the money grow, including a dozen good ideas to get current expenses under control. Why to “get rid of your guy”—those for-fee (or hidden-fee) financial planners that suck up valuable assets. Why it’s always better to pay off a loan or a mortgage. There are no gimmicks, no magical thinking—just an easy-to-follow program that works.
Be Thrifty
Author: Pia Catton
Publisher: Workman Publishing
ISBN: 0761156097
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
Encourages thrift behaviors including planting a garden, cooking at home, cutting one's own hair, exercising with a gym membership, and avoiding or repaying credit card debt.
Publisher: Workman Publishing
ISBN: 0761156097
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
Encourages thrift behaviors including planting a garden, cooking at home, cutting one's own hair, exercising with a gym membership, and avoiding or repaying credit card debt.
Transforming from Consumer to Producer in 90 Days
Author: Darryl L. Wortham
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1449045251
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 428
Book Description
FOREWORD The core concept is not just saving money, but saving time and energy as well. These savings are multiplied together, giving you more money to invest. To summarize, I created the equation: $ET = M2 to INVEST, in which saving Money, Energy, and Time ($ET) are multiplied to generate (=) More Money (M2) to INVEST. This equation is fundamental to your success! You must be prepared to take action to start having enough money to accomplish your goals, to stop living paycheck to paycheck, and to retire early. If you are on course to make the same income as last year or, worse, facing declining take-home pay because of ever-increasing taxes, medical costs and declining economy, dont give up! Saving money, energy, and time will generate more money to investcreating real income and wealth. Transforming you from consumer to producer! You must expand yourself personally as well as enhance your inner and micro economics. Rather than growing a mega-companys revenue or the financial fortitude of millionaires pockets, you are going to grow your own individual savings account, retirement plan, and childrens college funds. This book is a guide to help you create a path and roadmap to a life of saving money, reducing debt, living efficiently, and creating wealth by investing within a reasonable timeframe. Together we will examine four major building blocks that inspire and accelerate behavioral changes: 1.Why and how to change your behavior and lifestyle. 2.How to save money, energy, and time. 3.How to invest your money, energy, and time savings to improve your present situation and build for the future. 4.How to create and implement a transformation plan. Progressive ideas and hilarious cheap strategies are also detailed. These are necessary to exceed your personal and financial goals. I want you to be thrilled about life, saving money for a brighter future, and early retirement, while having fun at the same time.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1449045251
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 428
Book Description
FOREWORD The core concept is not just saving money, but saving time and energy as well. These savings are multiplied together, giving you more money to invest. To summarize, I created the equation: $ET = M2 to INVEST, in which saving Money, Energy, and Time ($ET) are multiplied to generate (=) More Money (M2) to INVEST. This equation is fundamental to your success! You must be prepared to take action to start having enough money to accomplish your goals, to stop living paycheck to paycheck, and to retire early. If you are on course to make the same income as last year or, worse, facing declining take-home pay because of ever-increasing taxes, medical costs and declining economy, dont give up! Saving money, energy, and time will generate more money to investcreating real income and wealth. Transforming you from consumer to producer! You must expand yourself personally as well as enhance your inner and micro economics. Rather than growing a mega-companys revenue or the financial fortitude of millionaires pockets, you are going to grow your own individual savings account, retirement plan, and childrens college funds. This book is a guide to help you create a path and roadmap to a life of saving money, reducing debt, living efficiently, and creating wealth by investing within a reasonable timeframe. Together we will examine four major building blocks that inspire and accelerate behavioral changes: 1.Why and how to change your behavior and lifestyle. 2.How to save money, energy, and time. 3.How to invest your money, energy, and time savings to improve your present situation and build for the future. 4.How to create and implement a transformation plan. Progressive ideas and hilarious cheap strategies are also detailed. These are necessary to exceed your personal and financial goals. I want you to be thrilled about life, saving money for a brighter future, and early retirement, while having fun at the same time.
Social Insecurity
Author: James W. Russell
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807012564
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
How 401(k)s have gutted retirement security, from charging exorbitant hidden fees to failing to replace the income of traditional pensions Named one of PW's Top 10 for Business & Economics A retirement crisis is looming. In 2008, as the 401(k) fallout rippled across the country, horrified holders watched 25 percent of their funds evaporate overnight. Average 401(k) balances for those approaching retirement are too small to generate more than $4,000 in annual retirement income, and experts predict that nearly half of middle-class workers will be poor or near poor in retirement. But long before the recession, signs were mounting that few people would ever be able to accumulate enough wealth on their own to ensure financial security later in life. This hasn’t always been the case. Each generation of workers since the nineteenth century has had more retirement security than the previous generation. That is, until 1981, when shaky 401(k) plans began replacing traditional pensions. For the last thirty years, we’ve been advised that the best way to build one’s nest egg is to heavily invest in 401(k)-type programs, even though such plans were originally designed to be a supplement to rather than the basis for retirement. This financial experiment, promoted by neoliberals and aggressively peddled by Wall Street, has now come full circle, with tens of millions of Americans discovering that they would have been better off under traditional pension plans long since replaced. As James W. Russell explains, this do-it-yourself retirement system—in which individuals with modest incomes are expected to invest large sums of capital in order to reap the same rewards as high-end money managers—isn’t working. Social Insecurity tells the story of a massive and international retirement robbery—a substantial transfer of wealth from everyday workers to Wall Street financiers via tremendously costly hidden fees. Russell traces what amounts to a perfect swindle, from its ideological origins at Milton Friedman’s infamous Chicago School to its implementation in Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship and its adoption in America through Reaganomics. Enraging yet hopeful, Russell offers concrete ideas on how individuals and society can arrest this downward spiral.
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807012564
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
How 401(k)s have gutted retirement security, from charging exorbitant hidden fees to failing to replace the income of traditional pensions Named one of PW's Top 10 for Business & Economics A retirement crisis is looming. In 2008, as the 401(k) fallout rippled across the country, horrified holders watched 25 percent of their funds evaporate overnight. Average 401(k) balances for those approaching retirement are too small to generate more than $4,000 in annual retirement income, and experts predict that nearly half of middle-class workers will be poor or near poor in retirement. But long before the recession, signs were mounting that few people would ever be able to accumulate enough wealth on their own to ensure financial security later in life. This hasn’t always been the case. Each generation of workers since the nineteenth century has had more retirement security than the previous generation. That is, until 1981, when shaky 401(k) plans began replacing traditional pensions. For the last thirty years, we’ve been advised that the best way to build one’s nest egg is to heavily invest in 401(k)-type programs, even though such plans were originally designed to be a supplement to rather than the basis for retirement. This financial experiment, promoted by neoliberals and aggressively peddled by Wall Street, has now come full circle, with tens of millions of Americans discovering that they would have been better off under traditional pension plans long since replaced. As James W. Russell explains, this do-it-yourself retirement system—in which individuals with modest incomes are expected to invest large sums of capital in order to reap the same rewards as high-end money managers—isn’t working. Social Insecurity tells the story of a massive and international retirement robbery—a substantial transfer of wealth from everyday workers to Wall Street financiers via tremendously costly hidden fees. Russell traces what amounts to a perfect swindle, from its ideological origins at Milton Friedman’s infamous Chicago School to its implementation in Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship and its adoption in America through Reaganomics. Enraging yet hopeful, Russell offers concrete ideas on how individuals and society can arrest this downward spiral.