Review: Never Too Late by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Never Too Late by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Release Date: December 13, 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 336

Overall:
Source: ARC from Publisher

Author Website: Gail Vaz-Oxlade
Interest: Personal Finance
Challenge: 111 Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon | Browse Inside Now @ Harper Collins

We all know we should save for retirement, right? But we don't. We're just not sure where to start . . . or when. Experts conjure magic numbers and use complicated terminology. Do we really need a million dollars? And if we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of saving that much, should we even bother?

Gail's answers are no and yes -- there is no magic number that fits everyone, and yes, you must bother! The hardest part of retirement planning is getting started, so Gail walks you through the steps to put momentum on your side -- even if it's with as little as a dollar a day. She'll help you figure out where you are now, where you want to be and how to get there.

No expert, Gail included, should offer a one-size-fits-all solution, which is why Never Too Late has concrete steps for developing a plan that is right for YOU. Never Too Late is about cutting through the crap, taking charge, and taking action to create the future you want.

Yet again Gail makes learning and understanding personal finance something fun and easy to understand. She doesn't bog you down with lingo that you won't understand - she writes in simple terms with a great sense of humour. 

The main goal of this book is to teach you that saving for retirment is important. The earlier you start saving the more you will have at retirement! She teaches us about compounding the interest to earn more for every dollar you save. Gail explains the different type of savings out there from TFSAs , RRSPs and work pension plans - with the different risk levels that you can go with (which correspond with your risk tolerance). 

And the other main goal of the book is BALANCE! You need balance in your life, including with money. If you spend all your time saving, saving, saving, you won't have any fun. But if you spend all your time having fun and spending money, you won't have anything left for retirement. So it's plain to see that she teaches about how to balance your immediate needs/wants vs. your future needs. "Don't pull all your eggs in one basket."

Gail takes the time to explain things to each age group that you could possibly be in from 20s and 30s to retirment age. So she actually breaks down the difference between starting to save early in your 20s and what it's like if you start in your 40s and 50s. It really is a dramatic difference if you wait until later in life to start saving for retirement.

With all said and done... I've implemented a savings plan myself and I think it's completely easy to follow once you know how. 

As always - it was a pleasure reading Gail's book. She always makes me laugh with the way she writes - it's very much like watching her on her TV series' 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess. Visit Gail's website (the link is up at the top), she has a lot of great articles and great budgeting tools.

Thank you to HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and reivew this book. It was a wonderful read. 


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