Weekend reading: A little book on retiring, and a short video on a lot of money

My weekly ramble, followed by some great links.

First up, the peerless Mike Piper of Oblivious Investor has a new book out! In Can I Retire?, Mike attempts to answer one of the big questions in one of the smallest books you can buy.

Actually, he breaks it down into two smaller questions:

1. How much money will you need to retire?
2. How should you manage your retirement portfolio to minimize the risk of outliving your money?

And in his usual inimitable style, Mike candidly pitches:

How does this book hope to be better than, for example, The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning or Jim Otar’s Unveiling the Retirement Myth?

It doesn’t. It’s not better. It’s shorter.

Can I Retire? is written for the person who might not be able to find the time to read Otar’s entire 525-page book or the 370-page Bogleheads’ Guide.

If you’re one of my U.S. readers, you’ll be thrilled to hear that buying the book will cost you a mere $5!

Actually, it’ll only cost you $5 if you’re a UK reader, too, but the sections on Roth accounts and minimizing taxes won’t be much use when it comes to planning geriatric bliss on the Costa Blanca.

Not for the first time I’m wondering whether I should work with Mike to adapt the US-centric sections of his book for the UK, which is starved of easy-to-read money guides.

Now for something completely different

I suspect you’re one of the two million who’ve already seen this (and I don’t at all agree with our furry friend’s assessment) but this QE2 video is funny:

Quantitative easing has seldom been such a hoot (unless perhaps you’re the chap getting to spend the printed money…)

Try this interactive explanation of QE from the FT, if you want to know more.

The pick of the week’s blogs

• The secret to investing success – Musings on markets
• Twits, butter, and the Super Bowl effect – The Psy-Fi blog
• The cyclical seasons of growth and value – Investing Caffeine
• How senior is senior? – Bond Vigilantes
• Index funds are mediocre – Oblivious Investor
• Cineworld shares and negative equity – Sunny Day Investor
• A bearish view of gold – Frankly Speaking
• Fat tax? Fat chance – A Grain of Salt

Special on ‘Lord Young Gaffe-gate’:

• The ‘so-called recession’ [he nails it] – Stumbling and Mumbling
• You’ve never had it so good – Simple in Suffolk
• Try telling a saver – FT
• Lord Young was correct, says the IEA – Telegraph
• Was Lord Young right? Only if you’re rich – The Guardian
• Tebbit: An offence to hard-working folk – The Telegraph
• Heartless old Tory absolutely spot on [Funny] – Daily Mash

Other money posts from the big sites

• Royal wedding souvenirs are a mug’s game – The Guardian
• Market timing errors cost you money – FT
• A VCT state-of-the-market review – FT
• Bolton commits to third-year with China fund – FT
• Dylan Grice sees a China credit bubble – FT Alphaville
• Saving in a low rate environment – Telegraph
• Taxman targets buy-to-let – Telegraph
• Firms paid to shut down wind farms when windy – Telegraph
• Fisher bullish on global gridlock – Motley Fool
• Economic indicators from the Web – The Economist
• What Mervyn didn’t write [on inflation] – Investors Chronicle

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