I came acrossåÊWilliam J. Bernstein, an investment adviser and author on financial subjects in a New York Times article a few months ago. And it occurred to me that we have a similar platform. I talk about Educated Aging, that we need to plan for our aging sooner in life – physically, financially, emotionally. In a previous post, I shared information about how Millenials are already behind the eight ball when it comes to saving.

Bernstein has authored ‰ÛÏIf You Can,‰Û a concise, no-nonsense instruction manual on saving and investing for retirement. He occasionally makes it available free as an e-book, no strings attached, on his website.

On his site, he states: “For years I’ve thought about an eleemosynaryåÊproject to help today’s young people invest for retirement because, frankly,åÊthere’s still hope for them, unlike for most ofåÊtheir Boomer parents. All they’ll have toåÊdo is toåÊput away 15% of their salaries into a low-cost target fund or a simple three-fund index allocation for 30 to 40 years. Which is pretty much the same as saying that ifåÊsomeone exercises and eats a lot less, he’ll lose 30 pounds. Simple, but not easy.

Not easy because unless the millennialsåÊlearn a small amount about finance, they’ll fall victim to theåÊFive Horsemen of Personal Finance Apocalypse: failure to save,åÊignorance of financial theory, unawareness of financialåÊhistory, dysfunctional psychology, and the rapacity of the investment industry.

Since this is a booklet, suitable for reading on a Kindle, computer monitor, oråÊmobile device, and will take onlyåÊan hour or two to read, it’s not a complete solution. It’s a roadmap,åÊa pointer in the right direction.åÊThe booklet isåÊavailableåÊfor freeåÊinåÊacrobat, mobi, and Kindle formats.åÊYou canåÊalso download itåÊfrom the AmazonåÊKindle Store. I’d like to give it away for free in that location too, but Amazon requires that I charge $0.99. If I say “Mother may I,” though, I’m allowed to make the Kindle StoreåÊdownload freeåÊforåÊ24 hoursåÊevery now and then: the nextåÊdays, tentatively,åÊwill beåÊMay 4th and 5th, 2014, and I’ll try to make additionalåÊfree days coincide with media attention.”

I would pick up a copy soon.