According to Goodreads, I’ve read 70 books in recent years, including 18 on the topic of retirement planning.  The photo above is the shelf in my writing studio where I store my retirement book collection.  To see the books I’d recommend, check out My List of The Best Retirement Books.

I pay attention when new books are written in the retirement planning space, and write book reviews on those I believe will be helpful on your journey.  

Today, I bring you Eric Weigel’s Reimagining Retirement – 9 Keys to True Wealth. (Amazon link – I’ll get a small commission at no charge to you if you order through this link), which is featured in the photo above.  

Reimagining Retirement was published on September 19, 2022. I read the book during a three-week span ending in mid-November and found it to be worthy of a book review. 

Today, I’ll tell you why.

Today, a book review on Eric Weigel's Reimagining Retirement, 9 Keys to True Wealth. Click To Tweet

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Reimagining Retirement – A Book Review

Reimagining Retirement is Eric Weigel’s first book, but he’s far from a rookie when it comes to retirement planning.  He is the founder of Retire With Possibilities, an “advisory and retirement coaching firm dedicated to helping people consciously design their own journey in retirement.”  He is a Certified Professional Retirement Coach with an MBA from the University of Chicago, and his writing shows his knowledge of the realities of navigating the “Messy Middle” we all deal with as we transition into retirement.

Eric’s words are clear evidence that he speaks from experience.  Rather than being a theoretical essay on retirement, the stories and lessons resonated with me.  Eric has put a lot of thought into the topic, talked with many folks who have gone through it, and navigated the maze himself.  He has a lot to teach all of us, and he’s done an excellent job with this book.

Table Of Contents

1. Reinvention
2. Designing Your Future Self
3. Your NEST
4. Earning a Sustainable Living
5. Getting a Return on Your Time
6. Work
7. Emotional Energy
8. Achievements
9. Learning
10. Tribe
11. Health
12. Acting On Your Plan
13. Getting Unstuck from the Messy Middle
14. A Retirement Full of possibilities.

In short, the book focuses on two key elements which Weigel uses in his coaching methodology:

1. Designing Your Future Self, which is the planning stage for reinventing yourself in retirement. 
2. The “NET WEALTH” System, which helps you focus and structure the journey to your new future. 

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Designing Your Future Self

Anyone who has read my blog or my book knows that I’m passionate about the importance of the “soft” (non-financial) elements of retirement planning, and Weigel brings some structure to a topic that is hard to provide structure to.  The focus in my book was on things like “pursue your curiosity,” whereas Weigel adds a deeper and more structured approach.

The Future Self section comprises the first two chapters, 50 pages of the book, and provides worksheets for helping you think about your Why (Purpose & Motivation), Who (Values & Believes), and What (Dreams & Aspirations). For example, he provides worksheets that challenge you to answer questions such as “What unique skills, knowledge, and experiences do you have that would benefit others?”

Well done, Mr. Weigel.  You accomplished something I was unable to do by providing a more structured approach to seeking one’s purpose in retirement.  I’ll admit I didn’t fill out the worksheets as I read your book, but your questions were excellent and will provide help for those a bit further behind me in sorting out that “Messy Middle” (a term I found appropriate, and also new to me until I read your book).

Perhaps it was because I’ve already found my way through that “Messy Middle,” but I found the “Future Self” section didn’t resonate with me as much as the second section, which I review below.  It’s hard to build a structure around the questions of Purpose, Dreams, etc., and while Eric has done it as well as anyone I’ve read, those who are more analytical in nature will still struggle to wrap their arms around these more esoteric ideas.  

While Weigel recommends defining your “Future Self” first, then applying the NET WEALTH methodology to work toward your dream future, I found the NET WEALTH elements in the second section to be worthy of tackling regardless of how clear you are on your definition of your Future Self.  Perhaps I’m biased, given that I’ve never really defined my “Future Self.”  To me, retirement is more a state of continual renewal, experimentation, curiosity, and embracing exploration.  In fairness, Weigel does support that view by saying the definition of Future Self is something you’ll continually pursue throughout retirement.

Regardless, I found the most value in the second section of the book, which I summarize below.

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My favorite section in Reimagining Retirement was Chapter 7, “Emotional Energy,” a chapter I found myself discussing with my wife on a recent car ride.  It’s unusual that we’d discuss something like this from a book I read, but we had a great discussion on the topic and the things I learned as I read Weigel’s words.  In short, as our physical energy diminishes with age, it’s critical that we embrace the “Emotional Energy” we can receive through a positive mindset.  Great chapter, and possibly worth the price of the book alone.

Emotional Energy is only 1 letter in the acronym “NET WEALTH”, a framework developed by Weigel to help you focus on each element of your journey that requires development and focus.  The acronym is summarized below:

The Net Wealth Methodology  

• N: Nest – where and how to live.
• E:  Earnings – how to fund your retirement.
• T:  Time – how to focus your time on the things that matter.
• W:  Work – how to continue to contribute to society.
• E:   Emotional Energy –  how to emphasize emotions that create energy.
• A:  Achievements – designing meaningful goals to improve your life.
• L:  Learning – how to stay mentally challenged. 
• T:  Tribe – investing in the quality and breadth of your social network
• H:  Health – how to fine-tune the body, brain and mind to live longer and better.

I was unfamiliar with the “Net Wealth” framework prior to reading this book, but I found myself agreeing with almost everything Weigel wrote about it, and I love the handy Mnemonic he’s designed to help remember these key non-financial elements of retirement planning.

Weigel dedicates 150 pages to work through each of the elements in the NET WEALTH framework, and I found this section to be some of the best work I’ve seen on outlining how to think about the various non-financial elements we should all consider.  For each element, he presents a worksheet to help you prioritize your focus.  Under the “Nest” (housing) element, for example, he lists the following criteria:

• Cost of Housing
• Non-Housing Living Costs
• Life Stage Fit
• Climate/Weather
• Social Network (including family)
• Cost & Quality of Health Care
• Outdoor Activities
• Work Opportunities
• Quality of infrastructure

For each item on the list, he encourages to rate your current status, your target, and the highest immediate priorities.  He then provides a column to list your 90-day goals for each item, as applicable.  I found it to be a great way to structure your thinking and provide a quantitative methodology for prioritizing your focus.

While the book does focus on the non-financial elements of retirement, Weigel does a good job of covering retirement finances under the “E” (earnings) element, with 31 pages dedicated to outlining his “PROACTIVE” System, which will help you “identify a sustainable spending rate, develop a suitable investment plan, and create a comprehensive outlook for thriving financially in retirement.”  Weigel includes his version of The Bucket Strategy in this section, with Bucket 1 being “Income Portfolio” covering 1-3 years of spending, Bucket 2 the “Value Add Portfolio” and Bucket 3 the “Growth Portfolio.”  It’s well-aligned with the bucket strategy I’ve been using successfully through 4 years of retirement, and he does a nice job outlining the concept.

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Acting On Your Plan

Weigel concludes the book by providing a roadmap for consolidating all of the information from the Future Self and Net Wealth sections into a clean and easy recommendation for developing your plan, using SMART goals to prioritize your focus. It’s a tidy way to wrap up the book, and provides a nice launching point for implementing the many lessons you’ll learn throughout the book.

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Conclusion

If you’re 2 years away from retirement and haven’t spent much time focused on the non-financial aspects of retirement, I strongly recommend reading Reimagining Retirement – 9 Keys to True Wealth.  Studies have shown that there’s a direct correlation between the amount of time you spend planning for retirement and the ultimate ease of your transition.

Don’t just focus on the money.

If you’re recently retired and finding yourself stuck in The Messy Middle, wondering why retirement isn’t working out as well as you had expected, this book will help you find your path.  The principles are clear, valid, and presented in an easy-to-understand format.  If you’re trying to find a way to structure your approach to tackling the non-financial issues we all face in retirement, I offer a solid 5-star recommendation for Eric Weigel’s Reimagining Retirement – 9 Keys to True Wealth. (Amazon link).