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Books & Magazines
Traditionally, books are excellent for detailed study on a topic, whereas magazines are best for current information on a topic. In the case of books on topics related to retirement there has been a huge number of releases within the last 2-3 years and though magazines are still the source of current events you will find these books to be very adequate for getting up-to-speed on all of the aspects of retirement planning.

Books Magazines & Newspapers

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Retirement Books

It's a great idea to read books about retirement but don't feel like you've got to rush out and buy the Top 100 books on the topic. You already know the basics of successful retirement finances - start saving early and diversify your investments. There are a ton of books on the market which will expand on those two basic themes. Once you've read a few books that cover the basics, you won't gain much more by reading another dozen books. However, there are also a number of books on the market which cover specific aspects of retirement which may find it worth

Basic Retirement Planning
These are the books with basic information for just about everyone. If you don't get this part right, then a well-financed retirement will forever elude you.

Live on Less
Ok, you've reached retirement and good or bad, you have a certain amount of net worth. How do you adjust your lifestyle to match?

Managing Your Money in Retirement
Now that you've retired how do you manage your money so that you can stay retired?

Enjoy Retirement
Sitting on the porch gets pretty boring after the first few days. So what do you do to stay busy - and happy?

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Magazines & Newspapers

While it never hurts to read current literature on a daily basis, it's not really necessary as part of your long-term retirement planning. If you've read the books and understand the basic principles and consult with your professional retirement planner regularly (yearly or twice-yearly) then you won't be making too many sudden moves which need the daily influx of information from newspapers and magazines.

There are two exceptions to this generalization.

First, some folks choose to be much more active in their investments - making purchases or sales on a regular basis. They either simply enjoy the activity or believe they can improve their returns by making more frequent transactions - not exactly day traders but definitely more aggressive than the more traditional, conservative investors.

Second, for the less active investors, getting current on industry trends leading up to making a large transaction (sale/purchase) is advisable. Investors about to make a fundamental change in their investment portfolios should read available literature for a few months prior to their pending transaction to see if there is any information which supports (or precludes) the pending transaction.

You don't have to read 25 different magazines to stay current. The competition between titles is strong and each of the magazines will generally cover all of the important topics eventually. The following four magazines are adequate to keep you current on all of the key issues of the day.

	Wall Street Journal Not just for retirement, this is the world leader in business and investment information. Generally conservative in its presentation.
	Money Magazine Populist treatment of financial matters, with a good reputation for covering the latest ideas
	Kiplinger's Personal Finance Strong reputation backed by a long history of providing coverage of investment and retirement issues
	Business Week Weekly dose of current information, been around a long time, not focussed on retirement information