The Retirement Newsletter: Happy Third Anniversary
Issue Number: 164 (17) — How many?
Welcome
Welcome to issue number 164 (17) of the Retirement Newsletter.
This week, I was going to discuss decluttering, a chore that many newly retired people undertake. I planned to discuss how I have been battling decluttering (and cleaning) for over three months, during which time I have learned much and read a lot about the subject. However, when decluttering my hard drive last week, I realised I had missed The Retirement Newsletter’s third birthday. How could I have missed such a thing?
The answer to how I missed the third birthday was pretty simple: it was down to my crazy issue numbering system.
Time to change the numbers?
If you have read any of my earlier newsletters, you will know that when I started, I used a slightly crazy issue number system — the issues had negative numbers.
The negative numbers were a countdown in weeks to my planned retirement — I started at issue -135. Yes, minus one hundred and thirty-five. I was 135 weeks away from retiring.
This all worked well, and I happily counted down the weeks until I got to issue -10 (ten weeks to go). Ten weeks from my planned retirement date, I had to switch to a ‘0.5’ numbering scheme, as I had agreed to stay at work for a few extra weeks. The only way I could hit issue 1 in my first week of retirement was to have negative 0.5 issues (see Issue -9.5: Into single digits — more advice on my pension and a change of plans — note the -9.5).
While this plan worked to get me to issue 1 at the correct time, it did mean that I missed the third birthday of this newsletter, as I lost count of the issue numbers. I needed a better way to keep track.
The new issue numbers
So, why is this issue 164 (17)?
Well, 164 represents the number of issues of this newsletter, and the number in brackets 17 is the number of weeks since I retired.
Both numbers are important to me. The 164 represents the journey I have been on with this newsletter to reach this point in my life and retirement. The 17 is the number of weeks I have been retired, and it helps me keep track of my retirement journey. These numbers may not mean much or be significant to you, but they are key markers for me.
And I can’t believe it is 164 issues. I have written and posted 164 newsletters in three years. It doesn’t seem possible. I also can’t believe it is 17 weeks since I retired. The time has flown by.
The Future — what's next for the newsletter?
When I started this newsletter, I must admit that I wasn’t planning for it to last this long. I gave it six months, a year, at most.
This rather gloomy outlook was because I thought I would get bored and run out of things to say. However, it turns out I haven’t. I managed to fill all the issues. You may think some issues didn’t need filling with what I wrote about, but I wrote it anyway.
In fact, when I look back at the subjects I have covered in the past three years, they are a rather odd mix. I have covered finance (pensions), tax, health, hobbies, money, side hustles, mental health, and more. However, all these topics have one thing in common: retirement. They are all connected to planning your retirement and being retired.
This makes the newsletter rather challenging to categorise on Substack because there is no retirement category (or lifestyle) at the time of writing.
But what about the future?
When I retired, I wondered if I might run out of things to write (waffle on) about. But I recently sat down for one of my newsletter ‘brainstorming’ sessions and was shocked to find that I had managed to fill out newsletter ideas up to issue 187 (41). That takes me to January 2025. You may view this as good or bad news!
In the upcoming issues, I will be covering:
decluttering
the importance of keeping life simple in retirement
mental health
the changing seasons
the challenges of being retired
changes in finance
plus many other subjects
Other changes?
Well, at present, nothing is planned. I am not considering making this a paid publication, and I have no plans to introduce any more regular sections. I will keep the links sections in the newsletters that need them, and until I finish going through my travel stories, the ‘Travel — Nostalgia Corner’ section will remain.
I will continue to post information on what I cover in the Retirement Side Hustle newsletter.
Thanks
Finally, thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter and any of the previous newsletters I have published,
I don’t have a large subscription base (128 subscribers), and I only get some 400 views per month. So, please don't hesitate to share this newsletter with your friends or on social media.
If you want to say 'thanks' to the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea?
This week in the Retirement Hustle
This week, The Retirement Side Hustle Newsletter, is a slightly late (I was on holiday) post on how much money I made in the first three months of my side hustles — A Three-Month Update — how much did I make?
In the video, I give a breakdown of how much I have made and what I have been doing on my:
Science Blog — a blog running Adsense
Medium Retirement Blog — a reposting of this newsletter
Nick’s Wanderings (Ghost Blog) — I am moving my Medium Travel Blog to a Ghost Blog and running Adsense
AdSense and Buy Me a Coffee
eBooks
The video also covers expenditures and plans for the future.
If you haven’t done so already, visit The Retirement Side Hustle Newsletter, subscribe for free and get a free copy of the newsletter.
Travel — Nostalgia Corner
This week, I wrap up my time in Vietnam with some more stories from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and a summary of my time in Vietnam.
Vietnam — Ashoka, Le Thanh Ton, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam — Going for an Indian curry in Vietnam may seem odd, but I fancied one.
Vietnam — The Riverside, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam— Exploring the riverside.
Vietnam — CafVy, 277A LThánh Tôn, District 1 (LAnh Xuân), Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam — Another confused coffee stop.
Vietnam — Leaving Vietnam — A summary of my time in Vietnam.
Vietnam — Notes and photos from around Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam — Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) — A fun place to explore. I did enjoy my time in Vietnam.
Next week, I start a series of stories from my time in Cambodia.
Next week
Next week, in issue 165 (18), I will discuss decluttering, a chore for many newly retired people.
Until next time,
Nick
PS: If you want to contribute something to the newsletter—a story, advice, or anything else—please get in touch.