The Retirement Newsletter: The bucket list in the post-pandemic era
Issue Number: -112 — Redefining your bucket list
Welcome
Welcome to issue number -112.
This week, I will look at how recent events have made me revise my bucket list.
The Future — what are you going to do?
It is good to plan.
It is good to plan how you will reach your retirement date, but you also need to plan what you will do once you are retired.
As I said in issue -113, I started putting things on my bucket list about 5 or 6 years ago. And so far, I have 300+ items on the list. So, what is on my list?
What should be on your bucket list?
Your bucket list should contain fun items or experiences. The list should be about adventure, trying new things, going to new places.
My bucket list is full of trips and adventures to experience new things and visit new places. I have many long-distance train journeys on my list and exotic places I want to see.
It is a big list full of worldwide travel and adventure.
What should not be on your bucket list?
Your bucket list should not contain things that are 'chores'. For example, you should not have things like decluttering your house, cleaning out the gutters or painting and decorating on your list. It should be fun stuff. Not everyday jobs and tasks.
What is on my list?
As I said above, I have a long list of 300+ items, mainly worldwide trips involving travelling to new places. As I like trains, I have many train journeys on my list.
My list is big. Too big. It needs a prune.
Pruning my bucket list
As it turns out, recent worldwide events have pruned my bucket list. My list has become self-pruning.
The two events that have caused the pruning are:
COVID-19
and, Brexit
COVID-19
Please note I am not a medical doctor. I hold a PhD in Biochemistry. During my 30+ year career as a biochemist, I have taught undergraduates about proteins and cells. I have supervised PhD students. I have run undergraduate labs, done research, and published scientific papers. So, I know a bit about science and research. The following is an opinion piece and not a scholarly article — there are no citations, and it's not written in 'science style'.
COVID-19 is a difficult one, and it has had an impact on my bucket list. There are places where I currently feel it is no longer safe to travel.
At the moment, we don't know which way COVID-19 is going to go. It looks like it's going to become endemic and part of our everyday lives.
What worries me is that we still don't know a lot about the virus. For me, it is the long-term complications associated with the virus that are of concern— so-called long COVID.
The symptoms of long COVID seem to be hard to pin down, and there are reports of:
a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
chest pain or tightness
depression and anxiety
difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
dizziness
extreme tiredness (fatigue)
feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
heart palpitations
joint pain
pins and needles
problems with memory and concentration ("brain fog")
rashes
shortness of breath
tinnitus, earaches
(The above list is from the NHS website — Long-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID).)
And that is not a nice list and contains several things that could impact a fun retirement.
Even if fully vaccinated against COVID-19, evidence suggests that if you get a break-through infection, you can still get long COVID (Do vaccines protect against long COVID? What the data say — Nature).
And then, of course, new variants emerge — see Heavily mutated coronavirus variant puts scientists on alert in Nature. Imagine being out on your bucket list in Southern Africa right now?
All of this means that I am considering removing a lot of my planned ski trips, road trips, and rail journeys around the world from my bucket list.
Thanks, COVID-19!
Brexit
If you are not familiar with the term Brexit, then you are lucky.
Brexit was the result of a referendum in the UK to determine whether the UK should stay in the European Union (EU) or not. The UK voted to leave the EU. So, how does that affect my bucket list?
Well, pre-Brexit, as a UK citizen, I had freedom of movement across the EU. I could go anywhere in the EU and stay as long as I wished. No visas. No problems. I could get a job in any EU country.
While the UK was in the EU, there were no roaming charges for making mobile phone calls or using phone data. There was also the EHIC — the European Health Insurance Card — so you had some medical cover. Taking your car or camper van to the EU was easy.
Now the UK is out of the EU, we have lost all that. Travelling to and around Europe has become much more expensive and complicated.
All this means that I am considering removing a lot of my planned ski trips, road trips and rail journeys in Europe from my bucket list.
Thanks, Brexit!
Health
Please see previous (above) health advice disclaimer.
Well, I have had my COVID-19 booster and as I said last week, I would let you know how it went.
My first two COVID-19 jabs were the Oxford vaccine. But the booster was the Pfizer mRNA jab.
Being a biochemist, I was excited to get the mRNA jab. Stunning technology.
Side effects?
My left arm and shoulder felt very hot for about 8 hours after the jab, and I had a slight metallic taste in my mouth. The following day I felt OK, tired with a slight headache, but OK.
Three days after the jab, apart from some pain at the injection site when I touched it, I wouldn't know I had had the lab done.
Get your booster!
Money
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. I am not giving financial advice.
Did you see the impact of the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant in Southern Africa on the stock market? It looks like COVID-19 is also bad for the health of our pension pots!
Useful links
UK Government Website:
Next week
Next week, ten reasons to retire next year. What will be my ten reasons to retire?
Thanks
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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.