The Retirement Newsletter: One year since I retired…
Issue Number: 199 (52) — that can’t be right?
Welcome
Welcome to issue number 199 (52) — one year since I retired.
I can’t believe it. It doesn’t seem possible. But there it is, in black-and-white issue number 199 (52). The 52 in the bracket is the big giveaway. This is the 52nd issue of the retirement newsletter since I retired, and as we all know, 52 weeks make one year.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the new subscribers the newsletter has picked up in the last couple of weeks — welcome — it’s the biggest increase I have seen in such a short space of time. I would also like to thank the kind person who bought me three cups of tea this week — I appreciate it; thank you. It is the first “tea” this newsletter has received.
My first year
I am writing this newsletter in a state of shock.
I cannot believe that one year ago this week, I retired. Where has the time gone?
The realisation that it is one year since I retired means that I am struggling to find things to write in this newsletter.
I had lost track of time. I knew my retirement anniversary was the end of March, but if you had asked me how long I had been retired, I would have said “a few months,” then thought about it and said, “Wow, a year.”
You know what they say?
Time flies when you are having fun. And I am certainly having fun.
I only realised it was a year when I typed in the issue number — 199 (52).
Before I retired, I was using a negative issue number system for the newsletter. I started at issue -135 (A retirement plan?) on June 23rd, 2021. It was issue -135 because, at that time, I thought I had 135 weeks to go until I retired. That is, I was aiming for February 2024 and would reduce the negative number each week and would reach zero in February 2024. However, my boss persuaded me to stay on until April/May, which nearly cost me 12% of my pension (see Have I lost 12% of my pension?). In the end, I retired at the end of March 2024 and kept the 12%.
The change in retirement date meant that I would hit zero on the newsletter too early, so I kept the negative numbers running by introducing 0.5 editions. It was weird, I know, but it kind of worked.
Once I reached the zero edition, I started counting up. But then I hit another problem: The number of newsletter issues didn’t match the number shown in each newsletter. Hence, I came up with the number and the bracketed number for the issue number.
The issue number, for example, 199 this week, is the total number of issues of the newsletter.
The number in brackets — 52 — is the number of issues (weeks) since I retired.
This is the 199th issue; it has been 52 weeks since I retired. As I said, it doesn’t seem possible that there have been 199 issues of the newsletter and that it is 52 weeks — one year — since I retired.
So, how am I going to celebrate one year?
Well, I had nothing planned, but as luck would have it, I am currently away skiing, so that is my celebration — a holiday in the snow.
But, thinking about things, one year is quite a milestone, so it is a good time to look back and reflect on how things have gone, do a reset if needed, and plan for the future. Therefore, over the coming weeks, I will do that:
Issue 200 (53) — I will revisit the goal for my first year. Back in Looking forward and staring into the void and OK — this is it, my first week of retirement, I set some goals. Did I hit them? How am I doing?
Issue 201 (54) — I will review my retirement and ask, “Is it what I expected?”
Issue 202 (55) — following on from issue 201 (54), I will look at what I would like to change about my retirement.
And in issue 203 (56) — I will set out my retirement plans for year two.
OK, that wasn’t what I planned to write about this week. I was going to write something about managing our time in retirement so we get the most out of our day. I guess that can wait until issue 204 (57).
Right, I am now off for a lie-down. I am shocked that it has been a year since I pipetted my last solution and taught my last class. And I am exhausted from skiing.
How time flies…..
Nick’s Wanderings — The Grey Wagtail
It has been some time since I published a video about my narrowboat — the Grey Wagtail — but here is the latest.
In this video, I look at the electrical system onboard the boat. It may seem like a potentially boring subject, but as a boat owner, I have to understand it. Otherwise, it could lead to damaged batteries, which would be very expensive
Useful links
UK Government Website:
Next week
Next week, in issue 200 (53), I will review my first year of retirement to determine whether I achieved my first year goals. It could be an interesting audit.
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 want to thank me for the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea?
Until next time,
Nick
PS: If you would like to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, or anything else — please get in touch.