The Retirement Newsletter: What am I going to do once I retire?

Issue Number: -121 — planning for the future

Nick

Sep 26, 2021

Photo by Simon Godfrey on Unsplash

Welcome

Welcome to issue -121.

This week — what am I going to do once I retire?

The Future — what are you going to do?

In the last year or so, three friends have retired. All three have retired early, and none of them had firm plans about what to do once they were retired. I find that odd.

So far, I have talked about planning to get to a retirement date, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what we will do once we have retired.

In a way, I guess I am lucky. I have worked in a job that I have enjoyed, and during my career, I have kept my interests and hobbies alive — although some of them are on life support!

I can see how, if you have had an all-consuming job and have been busy raising a family, you could retire and suddenly have an 8-hour void, five days a week, in your life.

So, planning for the future is important, and recently I have been thinking about what I will do with my time once I have retired.

In my retirement, I had always planned to return to the small town in which I grew up. But retire and do what? I always had a few plans and dreams; but, nothing was 'set in stone'.

Below are some of the plans and dreams I have had over the years about retirement. No doubt, I will be returning to some of these in later newsletters.

What are your plans and dreams?

The ski plan

One of my earliest plans/dreams for my retirement was to travel around Europe during the winter skiing. Was this ever achievable? Well, my knees are getting creaky, and my pension pot won't support the plan. My pot will support at least one ski holiday per year, but not a whole ski season.

To resolve the cost issue, I developed the 'ski host' plan where I went to work for a ski resort as a volunteer mountain host as you get free ski passes. However, I think I would get bored being 'nice' to skiers all day long and skiing the same area all winter.

Another problem, particularly in Europe, is that thanks to Brexit I no longer have 'freedom of movement'. Hence, it will not be easy to spend extended periods in a ski area.

The travel plan

The travel plan came up pre-Covid when I quite fancied being a digital nomad and wandering the planet exploring.

I still like this plan, but Covid has put me off. Guess I may have to stick to the UK?

The Europe plan

Now, the Europe plan was long-held, and it linked in with both the ski and travel plans.

The idea behind the Europe plan was to wander around the European Union in a camper van exploring Europe and taking in some skiing. I liked this plan, but then Brexit and Covid happened and that kind of killed the idea. We may eventually recover from Covid, but I can't see Brexit being 'cured' and freedom of movement returning.

The UK camper van plan

The UK camper van plan was my response to dropping the Europe plan. Instead of exploring Europe by camper van, explore the UK.

I still like this plan, but I have a new plan…

The narrowboat plan

The narrowboat plan is my current favourite. It is the camper van plan on water.

I like rivers, lakes and streams, and as a kid, I fished (see below for more on fishing) and was always mucking about in boats on the river. For several summers, I worked for a company that hired out rowboats on the local river. So, exploring the waterways of the UK appeals.

How did this plan come about — well, it was all due to a chance encounter with a YouTube channel called 'Foxes afloat'. And, no doubt, I will say more about all this in a later newsletter.

The common theme

No matter which dream or plan…. There is always a common theme - side-hustles to help finance my plans. And I will be saying more about side-hustles in later newsletters.

Health

Last week I did a big bit on health and getting a health check (see The Retirement Newsletter: How is your health?) and while there is nothing on health this week, you might want to look at Nostalgia corner (below) where I write about a very interesting TV programme that sneakily covers men’s health — Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

Nostalgia corner

Well, this is not really nostalgia, but in a way, it is… But, it is about health.

When I was a kid, I used to do a lot of fishing in the local river. I loved it. I liked the time spent on the bank, seeing what I could (or more usually, couldn't) catch. I had some reasonable success. I caught a very large pike and some decent size chub and perch. I haven't fished in decades but, I still watch and enjoy TV programmes on fishing, and I recently came across a great show - Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. And the fourth series started on the BBC a few weeks ago.

Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing

Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer are two well-known comedians/comic actors in the UK. They have appeared in a lot of TV programmes and some films. They are household names.

The idea behind Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is that Paul Whitehouse, who is a keen angler, is teaching Bob Mortimer how to fish. But there is a lot more to it than that.

The programme is about two men in their early 60s who have both had significant heart-related health issues. The programme is about their health conditions, health in general, and friendship, with a bit of fishing and comedy (larking about) thrown in.

The programme has broken ground in the UK in that it is talking about men's health issues. Something that doesn't tend to get discussed on TV in the UK.

As a bonus, the programme has fishing and cooking tips, along with health advice. And, they get to visit some stunning rivers and countryside in the UK.

So, Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is part fishing programme, part cooking, part travel, with a good serving of men's health and some comedy. And, it is beautifully shot.

Even if you are not into fishing, it is a programme you should check out as it is 30 minutes of stress-free telly. It is very relaxing, and you might learn something about cooking and fishing, and what to do in your retirement.

Useful links

UK Government Website - How to avoid pension scams

Next week

Next week will be issue -120, and it is the end of the quarter. What do you think I might be thinking about and reviewing?

Thanks

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Until next time,