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Originally Posted by retiringby50
I couldn't really find any specific threads regarding the book itself by Bob when I did a search. I'm planning to check out the book in the library but wonder if I need the workbook as well. Should I just outright buy it instead?
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Welcome to the board, RB50.
I could understand asking this question for lump-sum purchases like a Hummer or a second home. I could understand asking this question for chronic wallet leaks like a $40/week cigarette habit or a $10/day latté addiction.
But questioning a $20 book purchase related to analyzing your ER, which will undoubtedly be be a six-figure lifestyle change, may be crossing the line from frugality to deprivation. I doubt that this $20 is going to adversely affect your ER portfolio or your grocery budget, either, and it'll pay for itself when you learn how to avoid being misled or even defrauded. It's not as though Bob is selling $3000 "Secrets of the ERs" seminars with Kiyosaki & Trump.
Unless you prefer not to use a computer, you'll want the workbook for its CD of spreadsheet files (over two dozen of them) and its assessment surveys. Samples are in the book but you can edit & personalize the CD copies as many times as you wish. There are also a couple of bonus audio interviews with Bob & Dory which, I'm surprised to learn, haven't yet zoomed to the top of any podcast websites. Maybe they're saving their big push for YouTube?
Reading the book without the workbook is like carving a canoe out of a tree with a stone adze. You'll have the bare minimum required to get the job done but you'll wish you'd spent a bit more for the power tools. Anyway you can read the free library copy and then make your own decision.
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Originally Posted by retiringby50
Is this what many/most of you used to reach FIRE?
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Some of us got to ER before the book, but many of its contributions came from the members of this board.
What distinguishes this book from earlier ER guidance is the idea of semi-retirement (not cold turkey like Dominguez or the Terhorsts) with a variable spending plan (not a fixed spending plan with inflation adjustments). Very few ER calculators are built to handle changes in spending.
That's just my opinion of Bob's books, but I can't keep a copy in the house. I"ve bought over a dozen of the first edition for shipmates' retirements and another dozen for people to "borrow". I suspect the workbook is going to set the same trend...