The Retirement Newsletter: How’s your retirement plan going?
Issue Number: -120 — Time for a quarterly review
Welcome
As I sat down to write this newsletter, I thought there was something significant about issue -120, that is, 120 weeks until I retire.
And then it struck me. It's time for a quarterly review of my progress on my retirement plan.
So, in this newsletter, I will look at how things are going.
Planning
I have covered planning in-depth:
In the issue, I looked at how I made plans to get to my desired retirement date. Issue -133 was followed with:
Where I looked at using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to plan for my retirement.
And in Issue -131:
I looked at things a little more closely.
And now it is time for a quarterly review. Where do I stand?
Quarterly review
Aș I said in Issue -131, the SWOT analysis had identified three main areas of focus:
Money
Job
Health
Plus, SWOT revealed a fourth area, the 'Life' list.
Money
The money list was long and complicated and contained three sub-lists:
Debt — credit cards, car debt, and mortgage.
Pension — what condition was it in, and what could I do to improve it?
Extra-income — could I generate extra income to help reduce my debt, improve my pension pot and also give me some little extra 'luxuries' in my retirement?
So, how is it going?
Debt: All credit card and my car debt are cleared. And I am mortgage-free. However, I can see car debt returning before I retire, and there is the possibility of a mortgage being needed at some point. I’ll look at mortgages more in a later issue.
Pension: Pension pots look OK, although recent increases in tax in the UK may have an impact, and I will be exploring that in a later newsletter.
Extra-income: This is something I have been chasing for years, and while I do make a little extra money through some side-hustles, by the time the tax man has taken his cut, there is not much left. Maybe my side-hustles need ramping up?
Out of the four lists, I am happy with how Debt and Pensions are moving, but I have some concerns over the Pension list due to some recent tax changes, and I need to do something about 'Extra-income'.
Job
The job list is done.
I started my retirement plan a few years ago, and I had two things on my job list:
Current job — pros and cons. Should I stay, or should I go? What could I do to improve my current job, improve my retirement chances and boost my pension pot?
New job — pros and cons of getting a new job.
I had done a 'pros and cons' on staying in my current job and changing. And, changing jobs was the better option, and that is what I did — I changed jobs.
So, the Job list is finished. Tick, done.
Health
OK, on the Health list, I have made some progress, but it is a short list consisting of:
General Health — drop some weight and get fit.
Health Check — any problems I should know about?
I had a health check (see Issue -122: The Retirement Newsletter: How is your health?) and things were OK. Blood pressure was a little high — but doesn't need meds. Blood work was OK — no issues. The nurse told me to drop some weight. General fitness, OK.
So, I must shed a few pounds. However, Covid hasn’t helped and weight is moving in the wrong direction.
Life
The longest list I have is the 'Life' list, which consists of:
Family — things I needed to do that were linked to my family and my retirement.
Relationships — that one surprised me! Things I needed to fix or improve in my relationships.
Stuff — these were weird things that I needed to do, everything from decluttering to house maintenance.
And this is the list on which I have made the least progress. I have made some headway with 'Family' and 'Relationships' — but it is finding the time to deal with these issues. And as for' Stuff', yes, I did some house maintenance, but I have made no progress on decluttering.
Over the next few months, I need to focus on 'Life' list more.
Summary
OK, things are on track.
One list, Job, is done. The Money list is getting there, but the tax issue (see a later newsletter) and the 'extra-income' issue (again, I will be looking at this in a later newsletter) need some work. Health is progressing but needs more improvement in the weight area! And the problem list is 'Life' — I need to tackle that list.
Right, let's see where I am at the end of my next quarter.
How are your plans going?
Money
OK, first off, I want to say that I am not a financial advisor. I am writing about what I have read over the years about money and preparing to retire. This is not financial advice.
A couple of weeks ago, the UK government announced changes to UK taxation that will impact how much money we will have when we retire.
In a later newsletter, I will look at how these tax changes could impact my pension.
Please note I am not a financial advisor. I am writing about what I have read over the years about money and preparing to retire. This is not financial advice.
Useful links
UK Government Website — How to avoid pension scams
Next week
Next week I will explain how I did the pension income maths in issue -125 — The Retirement Newsletter: How much money will I need for an Essential, Moderate (Comfortable) or Luxury retirement? — to come up with the gross income figures for retirement.
Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please don't hesitate to share it with your friends or on social media using the buttons below.
If you would like to say 'thanks for the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea?
Until next time,
Nick
PS, If you have something you would like to contribute to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.