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How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor
Retirement does not have to mean the end of life--in fact it can mean a whole new beginning to the life you never had time to explore. In HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY, WILD, AND FREE, best-selling author Ernie J. Zelinksi shows that the key to enjoying an active and satisfying retirement is dependent on much more than just having adequate financial resources. It means paying attention to all aspects of life, including leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical and mental well-being, and solid social support. With its friendly format, lively cartoons, and captivating quotations, Zelinski's guide offers inspirational advice on how to follow your dreams instead of someone else's, how to put your retirement in proper perspective, and how to enjoy life after work.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
828 people are currently reading
1853 people want to read
About the author
Ernie J. Zelinski
69 books37 followersErnie Zelinski is the author of the international bestseller
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor which has sold over 95,000 copies sold and has been published in 7 foreign languages.
Ernie Zelinski is best known as the author of The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked.
Ernie Zelinski is best known as the author of The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
December 2, 2022
Terrific book with thought provoking exercises to contemplate and complete about when considering retirement. This book helped me tremendously as I thought about my next chapter in life.
A few key concepts that resonated with me include:
1. Not writing a book can be more difficult than writing one
2. To be bored is to retire from life
3. An ounce of action is worth a ton of sitting around
4. Commit to being a life-long learner and your life will never be without purpose
5. Don't leave this world with songs unsung
Highly recommend! This isn't your typical retirement book that focuses on finances. This focuses on what brings you joy and sets your soul on fire with passion.
A few key concepts that resonated with me include:
1. Not writing a book can be more difficult than writing one
2. To be bored is to retire from life
3. An ounce of action is worth a ton of sitting around
4. Commit to being a life-long learner and your life will never be without purpose
5. Don't leave this world with songs unsung
Highly recommend! This isn't your typical retirement book that focuses on finances. This focuses on what brings you joy and sets your soul on fire with passion.
September 1, 2023
I'm reading a chapter out loud to Simon each evening, as he just celebrated a milestone birthday! Maybe he will work less and play more! Well... I read the first couple of chapters out loud before I noticed the repetitiveness of the content.
I was a bit bemused by the lists regarding friends, one is titled: A True Friend Is Not, and the other is titled, A True Friend. I'd be surprised if someone got to retirement without being able to discerning a true friend from a false one.
Additionally, some of the advice seems a bit obvious such as, "If you watch TV or work on a solitary hobby all day long, you can rest assured that no new friends will come your way. Making new friends requires that you place yourself in communal and social situations where you can share yourself with others." This just seems like common sense to me.
After a few chapters of this, I grew a bit impatient and each time I put it down it took effort to pick it back up again.
I was a bit bemused by the lists regarding friends, one is titled: A True Friend Is Not, and the other is titled, A True Friend. I'd be surprised if someone got to retirement without being able to discerning a true friend from a false one.
Additionally, some of the advice seems a bit obvious such as, "If you watch TV or work on a solitary hobby all day long, you can rest assured that no new friends will come your way. Making new friends requires that you place yourself in communal and social situations where you can share yourself with others." This just seems like common sense to me.
After a few chapters of this, I grew a bit impatient and each time I put it down it took effort to pick it back up again.
July 19, 2015
It was okay, but nothing special. I'm glad I checked it out of the library and didn't waste my money on it.
The advice was pretty obvious - you'll have a better retirement if you have friends and hobbies and stay healthy. And the author's bias was clearly toward "adventure retirement" - you're supposed to bicycle through New Zealand and run 5 miles a day and so on. Also, lots of nightlife - he was quite derogatory about the "early to bed, early to rise" lifestyle - yet, at the same time, he kept preaching that you were supposed to do what you enjoy it and so on - well, how about people who LIKE to be up early in the morning? A definite bias for sunset over sunrise.
The other thing that bugged was his repeated blithe statements that it didn't matter how much money you had set aside or whether you had an adequate income to survive in retirement. He kept touting people who retired in their 30's or 40's, with no savings, plenty of debts, etc. - yet, somehow, they had the $$ to travel around the world. He also repeatedly suggested that money didn't matter, you had to be adventurous and not worry about security, etc. From his bio, he appears to be only in his early 50's - if he weren't raking it in from writing all these books with the same advice, I have to wonder if he'd feel the same way - especially when he's in his 70's.
I realize that he's trying to deal with the other aspects of retirement, but it seems a little simplistic to just advise people to stop working, do what they will, and not worry about the money.
I wouldn't bother with this book - each chapter has one simplistic theme - make friends, stay healthy, etc. - and then the chapter is padded by essentially repeating the same thing over and over and over.
The advice was pretty obvious - you'll have a better retirement if you have friends and hobbies and stay healthy. And the author's bias was clearly toward "adventure retirement" - you're supposed to bicycle through New Zealand and run 5 miles a day and so on. Also, lots of nightlife - he was quite derogatory about the "early to bed, early to rise" lifestyle - yet, at the same time, he kept preaching that you were supposed to do what you enjoy it and so on - well, how about people who LIKE to be up early in the morning? A definite bias for sunset over sunrise.
The other thing that bugged was his repeated blithe statements that it didn't matter how much money you had set aside or whether you had an adequate income to survive in retirement. He kept touting people who retired in their 30's or 40's, with no savings, plenty of debts, etc. - yet, somehow, they had the $$ to travel around the world. He also repeatedly suggested that money didn't matter, you had to be adventurous and not worry about security, etc. From his bio, he appears to be only in his early 50's - if he weren't raking it in from writing all these books with the same advice, I have to wonder if he'd feel the same way - especially when he's in his 70's.
I realize that he's trying to deal with the other aspects of retirement, but it seems a little simplistic to just advise people to stop working, do what they will, and not worry about the money.
I wouldn't bother with this book - each chapter has one simplistic theme - make friends, stay healthy, etc. - and then the chapter is padded by essentially repeating the same thing over and over and over.
January 31, 2018
This retirement book by Ernie Zelinski is different from most others in that it does NOT focus on how to save the ungodly amount of money you will need to live a life of leisure for potentially 30+ years. Instead, it focuses on what you will do with your time for those 30+ years. And that's exactly why I bought it because there are hundreds of books that deal with the money and very few that deal with the big question that we all must one day ask and answer: What the heck am I gonna do all day when I'm no longer working?
I read this book about six weeks into my retirement, and while there are a few inspiring ideas, most of it is just a litany on the importance of finding a passion in life so you don't spend your retirement watching TV. (Duh.) And it's reiterated in umpteen different ways, making the redundancy rather boring. Zelinski cites numerous studies throughout the book to prove his various points but is extraordinarily vague on the sourcing, so one wonders about their legitimacy. A more careful, responsible and ethical author would have footnoted each of them with specific citations.
In addition, he liberally sprinkles into the text fan letters he has received from readers of previous books he has written. Sometimes it felt like I was reading an ad for his oeuvre. But I slogged through it to the end--only to be rewarded with even more fan mail.
I am being generous in giving it three stars, rather than two. There is some good advice in the book, but you have to wade through a lot of other stuff to find it. If you have no friends, interests, hobbies or activities you now do outside of work, then this book may offer some insight as to how to spend your newfound free time during retirement. But if you already have a life, so to speak, outside the office, don't waste your money on this book.
P.S. The author brags that he failed college English 101 three times and yet has still managed to write many books. I assume he passed on the fourth try, but he should have paid closer attention. There are enough blatant grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the book to make this English major wince—a lot. Where was his editor? Where was his old textbook from English 101?
I read this book about six weeks into my retirement, and while there are a few inspiring ideas, most of it is just a litany on the importance of finding a passion in life so you don't spend your retirement watching TV. (Duh.) And it's reiterated in umpteen different ways, making the redundancy rather boring. Zelinski cites numerous studies throughout the book to prove his various points but is extraordinarily vague on the sourcing, so one wonders about their legitimacy. A more careful, responsible and ethical author would have footnoted each of them with specific citations.
In addition, he liberally sprinkles into the text fan letters he has received from readers of previous books he has written. Sometimes it felt like I was reading an ad for his oeuvre. But I slogged through it to the end--only to be rewarded with even more fan mail.
I am being generous in giving it three stars, rather than two. There is some good advice in the book, but you have to wade through a lot of other stuff to find it. If you have no friends, interests, hobbies or activities you now do outside of work, then this book may offer some insight as to how to spend your newfound free time during retirement. But if you already have a life, so to speak, outside the office, don't waste your money on this book.
P.S. The author brags that he failed college English 101 three times and yet has still managed to write many books. I assume he passed on the fourth try, but he should have paid closer attention. There are enough blatant grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the book to make this English major wince—a lot. Where was his editor? Where was his old textbook from English 101?
April 14, 2019
I received this book as a gift from a friend while I was still working and that is, indeed, the best time to read this entertaining and informative guide to retirement. It’s fairly light reading, and some of it is material you probably already know intuitively, but it’s nice to have “permission”. There is a strong message that retirement is a new and exciting chapter of self discovery. If you are nearing that next step, enjoy this guide through it.
February 4, 2013
This book inspired me sign up for a 2 week perfume making class in France! To volunteer at a great art festival! To get off the couch & "Just Do It!" I love the 300 ideas too! Great book.
March 5, 2013
This book started off well, but quickly devolved into blahblahblah. The author gets quite preachy about lifestyles for healthy living, without any medical qualifications. Much of this book you or I could have written based on health news of the last 20 years. Although there were a couple of nuggets of good in there, the book isn't worth the price of admission. It also isn't really for retirees, but more for the 30-40 age group. Sorry I spent my money on this.
May 13, 2010
He could have made his point in a short magazine article. Anyone can pick examples to support their point of view, while ignoring examples that don't. The quotations in the margins of every page were distracting and annoying.
January 22, 2015
I'm ready! Good advice and words of wisdom! Retirement her I come!
December 29, 2023
Many contributors to a great retirement are also contributors to a great life, only a few chapters are retirement-specific. Worth a read at any stage of life.
April 6, 2017
This was a really/REALLY helpful and inspiring book! All of the information was pretty common-sense, but it needs to be said and heard over/Over/OVER...especially if you are thinking of moving away from the traditional work-force. Some aspects sounded (I listened to the audiobook version!) like material was copy/paste repeated - but again - over/Over/OVER never hurts! I'd recommend this book to anyone who would like to give themselves permission to get out of the rat-race!
October 11, 2017
A bunch of this was common sense, but it’s still nice to have the reminder that retirement can begin at any age as long as you moderate your expenses. See, common sense. The author has a way of getting you motivated, but it’s clear he’s not hurting for money. Not everyone can spend all of their retirement traveling the world and biking through Europe - more’s the pity.
June 24, 2020
Extremely helpful in my decision-making and planning regarding retirement. A really good read full of practical suggestions.
November 30, 2024
Wow! 😵💫 I need to read this 3 o 4 more times to get it right 😻. So many good little nuggets of information and inspiration.
February 24, 2024
I have to say the title made me listen to this.
I didn't like the narrators voice on the version I was listening to and that interrupted my listening so maybe I didn;t get the full value out of the book.
Gonna switch to a paper version and read it in print in 2024
I didn't like the narrators voice on the version I was listening to and that interrupted my listening so maybe I didn;t get the full value out of the book.
Gonna switch to a paper version and read it in print in 2024
November 21, 2023
This book is the Glengarry Glenross steaknives speech but put into an inversion machine like in Tenet except the machine is covered in Jimmy Buffett flair and the stuff you see on the walls at a Chili's.
This book was recommended to me on behalf of a friend who changed careers on account I also am. This book is not about retirement but rather about purpose in life, and it makes shockingly deep insights when it isn't spewing the most obvious, trite shit there is. At first, i was dismayed with this book, but then I gave it a chance and after a lot of thought and observation, I was actually quite disgusted.
The book is thoroughly researched, inspiring, and even silly at times. It also could be treated as a must-read textbook for highschoolers before work, cube drones, part-timers, people looking for a new career, people on sabbatical, or those actually retired, although it would need to be heavily edited so people don't ruin their lives. More importantly, it reveals itself in it's later chapter for what it is - a critical example of thinking that belongs in the DSM-V for the mental diseases boomers suffer from.
Between the truisms and genuinely good, or even cheesy insights, Ernie here reveals exactly how fucking dumb and big of a narcissist he is. Luckily, unlike old Ern, I have critical thinking skills and am not an artifact of a generation born into $10,000 houses, so I happily separated some of his better ideas and questions from his endlessly contradictory Confirmations so that this book could serve the largest audience. "Many people retire on $20,000" [literally TWO PAGES LATER] "as the French Proverb says, there is NO such thing as too much luxury, spend it all! after all spending on others instead of yourself doesnt guarantee tears at your funeral". youre right dude, that type of attitude actually guarantees no one comes to it. Hey! remember money doesn't buy happiness [again, a couple pages later] why aren't you doing exactly what you want to do in life right now why not explore ROME. (??????!!!!!?!?!?!?!?) The end of this book ruins all of his happy-go-lucky points throughout the book. I guess I'll die young according to ernie because I have a bad attitude BUT if you had a hard day of work or school or whatever and went to the bar to blow off steam then struck up a friendly conversation with the guy next to you and you and then the guy, cheerfully grinning, handed you a business card that said "CONNOSSIEUR OF THE WORLD" you would absolutely break his jaw on sight.
Don't get me wrong I am absolutely not knocking his hustle. I don't care how people make money or achieve happiness, what I'm knocking is the message ingrained in his generation, rich or poor. For someone who doesn't care about money so much, Ernie SURE does talk about it a lot. The same way I definitely don't miss any of my ex's!! Hey man, you don't like someone? FUCK EM. Great idea Ernie!
Let's dismiss others because they make us uncomfortable. Not all of us can so easily cast aside or be so good at Othering people based on how I feel in the moment. Hell, I know a guy who made TIME's Man of The Year who did that. his name WAS HITLER. For someone who seems to be very Christian as it is mentioned often, he sure breaks the sin that the first circle of hell is reserved for. For the love of god I hope people reading this are able to sift out the good from the boomer rationalization of "fuck everyone else" which permeates the latter part of the book. It reads from someone who truly has never experienced serious medical hardship, relationship, or even financial hardship. Dude works "20 years" and retires with -$30k?
"Ernie recently donated $40,000 to sponsor the annual "The Ernie J. Zelinski $3,000 Award for Individual Creativity" at the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering and the two annual "The Ernie J. Zelinski $2,500 Awards for Individual Creativity""
Read that again. lol. this dude is a fucking genius at marketing. I'm going to give a $500 prize out with $1,000 to charity every year to whoever finds me the worlds hottest baby. then ill turn them in for being a pedophile. im a hero. what? that analogy is in bad taste? and also it doesnt translate very well? *flips through ernie's book* well you're not "good company" for criticizing me! time to go *flips to random page* take a nap by a lake!
As an aside, I once spoke with an older executive of, at the time, our city's largest Ad firm in my original field of choice that had his business taken over by a partner. When I asked him why not retire he very solemnly told me he would die without work because he loved creating jobs and values for other people; clients, co-workers, his family. I still think about this conversation to this day. I don't share his view entirely but this type of person is seen as evil in Ernie's book. A man enjoys providing and protecting? According to Ernie, they just haven't experienced a free crochet lesson at the local church or "read a book upside down" (he seriously says this) yet. What a sad life he must lead indeed. Some of us aren't all Parrotheads.
Oh did I say this book was well researched? Austin, Texas is one of the most financially stable and well scored places to retire in FYI. fucking lol
anyway id honestly recommend this book to anyone at any stage of their life if they are searching for purpose, and will be checking out Ernie's other books as I got a lot out of this. You see, unlike Ernie, I know how to sift through thoughts and ideas, and even recency bias of the last chapter to reach coherence. Imagine working 20 years as a white collar engineer and having massive debt and believing you're qualified to dispense wisdom on proper balance. ***Does this sound like a TikTok influencer to you??? WELL GUESS WHAT ERNIE WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT GENERATIONS AFTER HIS LATER IN THE BOOK!!!!!
At one point, Ernie makes a grand point about a dude who died in major debt taking out loans til the day he died like some sort of hero. He also goes on and on about a family who lives off $10k or something a year in the wilderness selling knick knacks. Wow! that sounds awesome! HOPEFULLY NONE OF THOSE KIDS GET SICK OR WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE. This is literally irresponsible to tell someone to do. Imagine taking this advice then falling on Medical Hardship, the number one (BY FAR) reason for bankruptcy in America. Now you have negative money, and have a healthcare system that will not help you as you rot with your copy of this book in the un-airconditioned darkness of some bottom tier Mexican hospital filled with Dr. Nicks. It makes sense why so little of the author's personal life is revealed in this book, because his examples are research and well-meaning intentions, and daydreams. Not reality.
I think the hardest I laughed in this book is when Ernie quotes Voltaire saying his "only joy left in life was continuin to collect annuities from [his] creditors to their bemusement" and takes it at face value rather than as an obvious joke and explains how thinking this way is a sure path to an early death. Hmmm, I WONDER HOW YOUNG VOLTAIRE DIED? LET'S SEE.... OH, EIGHTY THREE YEARS OLD WITH NO MODERN MEDICINE PEACEFULLY. The other best one is a the stern warning of for some totally unexplained reason, to not hang around people who use 'Aliases' or 'Nicknames' despite him saying just disappear into a new environment as a character early in the book. You know Voltaire had 173+ Aliases? All of my best friends literally have nicknames because people who are interesting or simply not bland are typically given them affectionately (or to bully which is in a form, affection). Not everyone is the Zodiac dude (also its ted cruz). Many of the ways of life described in this book are great if you don't care about Legacy. Dear lord is he in for trouble if he actually lives some of his recommendations and then discovers that genetic memory is proven real and he passes on generations of spiteful children for the rest of us to deal with.
Send this book to your representative as reasons why there should be a cap on age limits in politics. Maybe theyll finally retire wild and free like ern.
Oh my review was hypocritical in and of itself because I say it's terrible but it also contains genuine good insights and I also had a good time reading it? I learned this grift from Ernie. It's called Audience Capture.
If you think I'm being overly harsh on Ernie, just pick yourself up by the bootstraps! And other boomerisms like WELP it's not as mean as Pitchforks review of Jet's album "Shine On" (just a video of a monkey pissing in it's own mouth), it could be worse ya know!
PS I haven't eaten in 7 days and haven't slept more than a few hours in two weeks thanks to severe illness. I don't think this is relevant to this review but it may or may not have had an effect on it. I try to do my best to be fair to authors with the responsibility I have with my massive platform. 3 stars for good questions and quotes. :)
This book was recommended to me on behalf of a friend who changed careers on account I also am. This book is not about retirement but rather about purpose in life, and it makes shockingly deep insights when it isn't spewing the most obvious, trite shit there is. At first, i was dismayed with this book, but then I gave it a chance and after a lot of thought and observation, I was actually quite disgusted.
The book is thoroughly researched, inspiring, and even silly at times. It also could be treated as a must-read textbook for highschoolers before work, cube drones, part-timers, people looking for a new career, people on sabbatical, or those actually retired, although it would need to be heavily edited so people don't ruin their lives. More importantly, it reveals itself in it's later chapter for what it is - a critical example of thinking that belongs in the DSM-V for the mental diseases boomers suffer from.
Between the truisms and genuinely good, or even cheesy insights, Ernie here reveals exactly how fucking dumb and big of a narcissist he is. Luckily, unlike old Ern, I have critical thinking skills and am not an artifact of a generation born into $10,000 houses, so I happily separated some of his better ideas and questions from his endlessly contradictory Confirmations so that this book could serve the largest audience. "Many people retire on $20,000" [literally TWO PAGES LATER] "as the French Proverb says, there is NO such thing as too much luxury, spend it all! after all spending on others instead of yourself doesnt guarantee tears at your funeral". youre right dude, that type of attitude actually guarantees no one comes to it. Hey! remember money doesn't buy happiness [again, a couple pages later] why aren't you doing exactly what you want to do in life right now why not explore ROME. (??????!!!!!?!?!?!?!?) The end of this book ruins all of his happy-go-lucky points throughout the book. I guess I'll die young according to ernie because I have a bad attitude BUT if you had a hard day of work or school or whatever and went to the bar to blow off steam then struck up a friendly conversation with the guy next to you and you and then the guy, cheerfully grinning, handed you a business card that said "CONNOSSIEUR OF THE WORLD" you would absolutely break his jaw on sight.
Don't get me wrong I am absolutely not knocking his hustle. I don't care how people make money or achieve happiness, what I'm knocking is the message ingrained in his generation, rich or poor. For someone who doesn't care about money so much, Ernie SURE does talk about it a lot. The same way I definitely don't miss any of my ex's!! Hey man, you don't like someone? FUCK EM. Great idea Ernie!
Let's dismiss others because they make us uncomfortable. Not all of us can so easily cast aside or be so good at Othering people based on how I feel in the moment. Hell, I know a guy who made TIME's Man of The Year who did that. his name WAS HITLER. For someone who seems to be very Christian as it is mentioned often, he sure breaks the sin that the first circle of hell is reserved for. For the love of god I hope people reading this are able to sift out the good from the boomer rationalization of "fuck everyone else" which permeates the latter part of the book. It reads from someone who truly has never experienced serious medical hardship, relationship, or even financial hardship. Dude works "20 years" and retires with -$30k?
"Ernie recently donated $40,000 to sponsor the annual "The Ernie J. Zelinski $3,000 Award for Individual Creativity" at the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering and the two annual "The Ernie J. Zelinski $2,500 Awards for Individual Creativity""
Read that again. lol. this dude is a fucking genius at marketing. I'm going to give a $500 prize out with $1,000 to charity every year to whoever finds me the worlds hottest baby. then ill turn them in for being a pedophile. im a hero. what? that analogy is in bad taste? and also it doesnt translate very well? *flips through ernie's book* well you're not "good company" for criticizing me! time to go *flips to random page* take a nap by a lake!
As an aside, I once spoke with an older executive of, at the time, our city's largest Ad firm in my original field of choice that had his business taken over by a partner. When I asked him why not retire he very solemnly told me he would die without work because he loved creating jobs and values for other people; clients, co-workers, his family. I still think about this conversation to this day. I don't share his view entirely but this type of person is seen as evil in Ernie's book. A man enjoys providing and protecting? According to Ernie, they just haven't experienced a free crochet lesson at the local church or "read a book upside down" (he seriously says this) yet. What a sad life he must lead indeed. Some of us aren't all Parrotheads.
Oh did I say this book was well researched? Austin, Texas is one of the most financially stable and well scored places to retire in FYI. fucking lol
anyway id honestly recommend this book to anyone at any stage of their life if they are searching for purpose, and will be checking out Ernie's other books as I got a lot out of this. You see, unlike Ernie, I know how to sift through thoughts and ideas, and even recency bias of the last chapter to reach coherence. Imagine working 20 years as a white collar engineer and having massive debt and believing you're qualified to dispense wisdom on proper balance. ***Does this sound like a TikTok influencer to you??? WELL GUESS WHAT ERNIE WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT GENERATIONS AFTER HIS LATER IN THE BOOK!!!!!
At one point, Ernie makes a grand point about a dude who died in major debt taking out loans til the day he died like some sort of hero. He also goes on and on about a family who lives off $10k or something a year in the wilderness selling knick knacks. Wow! that sounds awesome! HOPEFULLY NONE OF THOSE KIDS GET SICK OR WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE. This is literally irresponsible to tell someone to do. Imagine taking this advice then falling on Medical Hardship, the number one (BY FAR) reason for bankruptcy in America. Now you have negative money, and have a healthcare system that will not help you as you rot with your copy of this book in the un-airconditioned darkness of some bottom tier Mexican hospital filled with Dr. Nicks. It makes sense why so little of the author's personal life is revealed in this book, because his examples are research and well-meaning intentions, and daydreams. Not reality.
I think the hardest I laughed in this book is when Ernie quotes Voltaire saying his "only joy left in life was continuin to collect annuities from [his] creditors to their bemusement" and takes it at face value rather than as an obvious joke and explains how thinking this way is a sure path to an early death. Hmmm, I WONDER HOW YOUNG VOLTAIRE DIED? LET'S SEE.... OH, EIGHTY THREE YEARS OLD WITH NO MODERN MEDICINE PEACEFULLY. The other best one is a the stern warning of for some totally unexplained reason, to not hang around people who use 'Aliases' or 'Nicknames' despite him saying just disappear into a new environment as a character early in the book. You know Voltaire had 173+ Aliases? All of my best friends literally have nicknames because people who are interesting or simply not bland are typically given them affectionately (or to bully which is in a form, affection). Not everyone is the Zodiac dude (also its ted cruz). Many of the ways of life described in this book are great if you don't care about Legacy. Dear lord is he in for trouble if he actually lives some of his recommendations and then discovers that genetic memory is proven real and he passes on generations of spiteful children for the rest of us to deal with.
Send this book to your representative as reasons why there should be a cap on age limits in politics. Maybe theyll finally retire wild and free like ern.
Oh my review was hypocritical in and of itself because I say it's terrible but it also contains genuine good insights and I also had a good time reading it? I learned this grift from Ernie. It's called Audience Capture.
If you think I'm being overly harsh on Ernie, just pick yourself up by the bootstraps! And other boomerisms like WELP it's not as mean as Pitchforks review of Jet's album "Shine On" (just a video of a monkey pissing in it's own mouth), it could be worse ya know!
PS I haven't eaten in 7 days and haven't slept more than a few hours in two weeks thanks to severe illness. I don't think this is relevant to this review but it may or may not have had an effect on it. I try to do my best to be fair to authors with the responsibility I have with my massive platform. 3 stars for good questions and quotes. :)
October 14, 2009
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(ISBN-10: 096941949X, ISBN-13: 978-0969419495) by publisher
VIP BOOKS
and author
Ernie Zelinski
is truly, as the subtitle states,
"retirement wisdom that you won't get from your financial advisor."
Retirement does not have to mean the end of life — in fact retirement can mean a whole new beginning to the life you never had time to explore.
Author Ernie Zelinski shows that the key to enjoying an active and satisfying retirement is dependent on much more than just having adequate financial resources. It means paying attention to all aspects of life, including leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical and mental well-being, and solid social support. With its friendly format, lively cartoons, and captivating quotations, Zelinski’s guide offers inspirational advice on how to follow your dreams instead of someone else’s, how to put your retirement in proper perspective, and how to enjoy life after work .
I am a retirement planning coach who gives advice to the newly retired, I recommend “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” to my clients as the best non-financial retirement book. If I was a corporate human resource manager, I would be purchasing this book in quantity to give to all of my company's retiring employees.
In short, “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” is the best book I have read on the personal aspects of retirement. The chapters are devoted to the consideration of activities that enhance body, mind, and spirit. Zelinski quotes from many sources, but his attitude is reflected in this excerpt from his own writing:
“You will have attained true freedom in this world when you can get up in the morning when you want to get up; go to sleep when you want to go to sleep; and in the interval, work and play at the things you want to work and play at — all at your own pace. The great news is that retirement allows you the opportunity to attain this freedom.”
NOTE: Check out this great review of this great retirement book: How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free Reviewed by Nancy Miller on Quintessential Careers .
Retirement does not have to mean the end of life — in fact retirement can mean a whole new beginning to the life you never had time to explore.
Author Ernie Zelinski shows that the key to enjoying an active and satisfying retirement is dependent on much more than just having adequate financial resources. It means paying attention to all aspects of life, including leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical and mental well-being, and solid social support. With its friendly format, lively cartoons, and captivating quotations, Zelinski’s guide offers inspirational advice on how to follow your dreams instead of someone else’s, how to put your retirement in proper perspective, and how to enjoy life after work .
I am a retirement planning coach who gives advice to the newly retired, I recommend “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” to my clients as the best non-financial retirement book. If I was a corporate human resource manager, I would be purchasing this book in quantity to give to all of my company's retiring employees.
In short, “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” is the best book I have read on the personal aspects of retirement. The chapters are devoted to the consideration of activities that enhance body, mind, and spirit. Zelinski quotes from many sources, but his attitude is reflected in this excerpt from his own writing:
“You will have attained true freedom in this world when you can get up in the morning when you want to get up; go to sleep when you want to go to sleep; and in the interval, work and play at the things you want to work and play at — all at your own pace. The great news is that retirement allows you the opportunity to attain this freedom.”
NOTE: Check out this great review of this great retirement book: How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free Reviewed by Nancy Miller on Quintessential Careers .
September 15, 2015
I’ve closely followed early retirement blogs and writings over the years, and had seen Zelinski’s books mentioned quite often. I finally got down to reading one. I was expecting something transcendent, having built up my expectations for a few years. What I got was a mixed bag. “How to Retire” was an excellent rah rah early retirement is good for you book. Zelinski lays out a lot of reasons for early retirement, focused almost entirely on how to spend your time. I most appreciated his list of events to build up your own “bucket list” of things you want to accomplish. The pages of examples provided were great to get me thinking about what I wanted to accomplish beyond some of the items on that list. I found his subsequent chapters on health, friends, etc. to be OK but nothing new, and repetitive to boot. The final chapter provides Zelinski’s best arguments for early retirement. Nothing new, he just points out things like limitations on time and health. But this was the best written chapter of the author’s writing, which he admits needs work. This is truly a motivational book, not a how-to guide. There were few negatives discussed. Zelinski is Canadian and doesn’t appear to have a family. These two things taint his message. He doesn’t talk much about finances beyond a Nike “Just Do It” attitude on retiring no matter what you have. This strikes me as quite dangerous without managing your risks. I’m thinking of things like long-term care and unanticipated legal problems as possible future sinks of capital that need to be thought through. I think Americans think a little differently than Canadians on things as well. Canadians and Americans have different insurance programs to handle personal risks like health and life and long-term care. Americans also have a unique stereotypical go-it-alone attitude that implies that we like to plan for problems so others don’t have to bail us out (although we seem to be losing this aspect of our national personality as time goes on). I would suspect Americans have more to worry about here, and are prone to plan more. Perhaps I am wrong.
Overall, as a one-sided motivational book this is good. As a real world guide to early retirement, look elsewhere.
Overall, as a one-sided motivational book this is good. As a real world guide to early retirement, look elsewhere.
February 4, 2016
This book does not focus on the money aspect of retirement. It focuses on providing inspiration & motivation to dream about doing something significant for yourself and others when you actually become your own boss and march to your own drummer. I really appreciated that aspect of the book and could recommend it because of that alone. Chapter 9 was my favorite chapter, in fact I liked it so much I highlighted the pertinent points to go back and review over and over so I could remind myself that I have one shot at this life and if my health holds out I will do my best not to waste it. I also appreciated author's “bucket list” items - 6 pages worth. I had thought of quite a few of them, but he definitely highlighted others that I want to consider and try to accomplish. Even if you don't expect to retire in the near future, but you do have the time to actually live outside the boundaries of a full time job and raising a family, then read this book to provide inspiration on leading a more fulfilling life. I will be keeping this one permanently as a reference.
March 10, 2020
Although dated, it was worth reading this book for me to confirm that an early retirement is the right choice for me.
Filled with cliches and quotes, it focuses on the pursuit of happiness and not on the collection of wealth.
Based on information in the book, I’m likely to succeed in retirement for a number of reasons. I have hobbies that bring me joy and blend nature, exercise, and pets into my every day. I have a healthy relationship with money and don’t envy what others have.
I’m a passionate learner and read extensively. I share my happiness and experiences with others. I have variety in my life and enjoy meeting and learning from others. I choose to be where I’m at and have a positive attitude. I believe small pleasures are the greatest of all joys.
The world is wide open and I have the freedom to explore and grow. I plan to live life to the fullest.
Life lived today is heaven.
Filled with cliches and quotes, it focuses on the pursuit of happiness and not on the collection of wealth.
Based on information in the book, I’m likely to succeed in retirement for a number of reasons. I have hobbies that bring me joy and blend nature, exercise, and pets into my every day. I have a healthy relationship with money and don’t envy what others have.
I’m a passionate learner and read extensively. I share my happiness and experiences with others. I have variety in my life and enjoy meeting and learning from others. I choose to be where I’m at and have a positive attitude. I believe small pleasures are the greatest of all joys.
The world is wide open and I have the freedom to explore and grow. I plan to live life to the fullest.
Life lived today is heaven.
October 31, 2014
I feel like Ernie Zelinski wrote this book just for me! Of course he did write it for people just like me. We’ve been carefully saving money and planning the financial part of our retirement for over 20 years but have given almost no thought to the question “what am I going to do with this all this money and all this free time once I do retire?” In recent years, not being able to answer this question well has been my main reason for staying in the workforce. There are countless financial planners out there but very few life planners. That’s where this book comes in. Now I can answer that once terrifying question with much more confidence. I want to retire tomorrow! I would share my list of the 50+ things that I want to pursue in retirement thanks to the thought provoking exercises in this book, but I haven’t finished it yet…
June 30, 2016
Ok you are going to retire sometime. We can assume you have some finances already set up. But what are you going to do with your time then? This book attempts to answer that question. He does a very complete job of showing how others have filled their time. And he has a very unique and funny view.
To quote his closing chapter: The rest of your life begins now. It can be more than it has ever been. Your goal should be to enjoy everything in life that you can. It is a mistake not to. Let it be a wondrous life. Life is all around you. Live it to the fullest, with all your senses. Listen to it. Look at it. Taste it. Smell it. Feel it.
That's excellent advice no matter where you are on your lifeline.
To quote his closing chapter: The rest of your life begins now. It can be more than it has ever been. Your goal should be to enjoy everything in life that you can. It is a mistake not to. Let it be a wondrous life. Life is all around you. Live it to the fullest, with all your senses. Listen to it. Look at it. Taste it. Smell it. Feel it.
That's excellent advice no matter where you are on your lifeline.
February 6, 2013
This book offers great advice on how to ensure that your retirement years are happy and productive. It provides great advice on how to enjoy life doing what really matters to you, and encompasses all the things that make life worth living (interesting and creative pursuits, physical well-being, mental well-being, and the importance of having a network of people in your life. This book is worthwhile reading for anyone who is contemplating retirement.
January 26, 2014
This book would have been pretty good. He has some good quotes, humorous cartoons, as well as good advice. There are good lists of questions. The problem is that the book could have said the same thing if it had been about a third of the length. Consequently, you feel like you are having to wade through the book, rather than taking away nuggets.
For more on this book, see my blog.
For more on this book, see my blog.
October 28, 2023
In truth, I didn't read every word but did skim through every chapter and enjoyed the many "quotes" he included. I found it somewhat repetitive and many things too obvious. You're not going to enjoy retirement if you don't make a plan. Of course; you can't enjoy a job, a vacation, a new home, etc. etc. without at least a desire to enjoy them either. Put away some money, remain healthy, and have a desire for life. Retirement will work itself out.
November 18, 2023
Interesting book about retirement which is not about saving or finances. It is about attitude. Some of it does need to be taken as not relevant to most readers, who probably won't retire at 35 and bike ride across New Zealand and or sing songs on the subway. But you can learn from those people in doing what makes you happy. The book gives you tools to figure out what you want, and teaches you to not worry about what other people think your retirement should look like.
August 8, 2019
I think this book had some good ideas, but it's really hard to tell due to the lack of organization and general need for editing.
Edit: I picked this up on a free shelf. Not a great sign if I completely forgot having read it before. I must say I'm kind of afraid for the world if people really need to be told to have friends and activities and to do things to stay healthy...
Edit: I picked this up on a free shelf. Not a great sign if I completely forgot having read it before. I must say I'm kind of afraid for the world if people really need to be told to have friends and activities and to do things to stay healthy...
August 29, 2009
Great non-financial retirement book. Definately a good read if your thinking about retirement.
August 23, 2013
Might as well admit it, I'm not going to finish this book. "Happy, wild, and free" is not really me anyway, so why would I become it in retirement?
November 4, 2018
Way too American-based. I hope there is more to happiness in retirement than your finances.
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