Review of Reconfigurement

[jf47]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Reconfigurement" by E. Alan Fleischauer.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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In Reconfigurement, author E. Alan Fleischauer aimed to make a new type of retirement and financial planning book. In my opinion, he succeeded very well. Drawing on decades of personal and professional experience, and with lots of attempted humor, he wrote an easy-reading yet informative book that is well worth your time. Be warned, however, that a strong tolerance for puns and “dad jokes” will be helpful.

As the author explains, the title encapsulates what is different about his approach. Rather than just focusing on working until one retires, and then presumably enjoying free time, he is encouraging self-examination. What do you enjoy in life and work? Based on your self-examination, you should reconfigure your life and plan ahead for a better quality of life financially and overall. Mr. Fleischauer argues that too many financial books focus too much on the math, i.e., “what’s your number” (amount of savings to retire), or on anecdotes of successful people overcoming obstacles to get to where they want (an emotional appeal). The overall goal in this work is to draw on the best of both styles of retirement books.

In the spirit of self-examination, I really liked how the author devoted a whole chapter to various personality and job-suitability surveys. Both out of necessity and preference, most of us will work a part-time job after official retirement. Also, many of us are in jobs that we don’t really enjoy. Therefore, as part of reconfiguring, one should understand one’s own strengths, weaknesses, and try to seek out jobs that are enjoyable and good fits. The author describes in detail many of the major personality tests available online, free and for a fee, and provides links, encouraging the reader to try them out as they read the book. Examples include the Career Aptitude Assessment, the PARIN personal assessment, Career Planner, and the ever-present Myers-Briggs assessment. I think the author did a great job of explaining the strengths and limitations of these tests. As he described for his own results, I found a lot to agree with, some personal insight, and some disagreement with the results as I tried a few of them.

On the financial side, the author had a big challenge. Addressing U.S. Social Security details, wills, budgeting, various retirement account options, and other investments, in addition to self-reflection topics, in less than two hundred pages is a lot to take on. I found the book a nice survey of the options, and it gave me a lot to think about. However, as with many other financial books I found myself having to look up many terms. As someone who doesn’t like to think about finances or investments more than I have to, terms like “calling a bond” can be confusing. I would have preferred if the book had assumed more ignorance on the part of its readers.

This book is probably most suitable for someone who has been working for a few years. The author seems to be aiming at people in their forties and fifties who may be unhappy with their job and haven’t necessarily planned well for the future. However, I think someone coming out of their first job would definitely benefit from the advice here, and have more time to invest wisely. The book was a pleasure to read overall. Mr. Fleischauer mentions that he has written several books already, and it shows in the easy flow of the text and the extremely good editing. I am very pleased to rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Reconfigurement
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

Reconfigurement is a book for people who want to be stress-free in their retirement years. It offers a lot of knowledge about insurance that would benefit you in your post-work years.