The Retirement Newsletter: What will 2024 bring
Issue Number: -6 — Ten resolutions for 2024— will I keep them?
Welcome
Welcome to issue -6 (12 weeks to go), and happy new year!
I can’t believe it is 2024. It sounds like it is far off in the future and not now. I still feel like I have been robbed. Where are the flying cars and moon bases promised to us as kids? What did we get? A pandemic and global warming. Great.
This week, here are my predictions for 2024 and my New Year resolutions.
Plus, this is the year of significant changes for me — I am retiring in 2024.
New Year resolutions and predictions for 2024
OK, so where do I see things going in 2024?
The Good Predictions for 2024
A pan-specific COVID-19 jab — I still hope this will come true, as we need something. A surprising number of friends and colleagues were ill with COVID-19 over the Christmas break. COVID-19 is still out there, it still has the potential to do harm and kill, and we are only a few mutations away from COVID-19 becoming a serious problem again.
AI will make our lives easier.
The Bad Predictions for 2024
A new ’super-variant’ COVID-19 will emerge. This was on the list last year and is again this year.
I have a horrible feeling that we will get what the financial people call “a correction” — that is, stock prices will fall, hitting my pension.
There will be a recession.
The war in Ukraine will continue.
The war between Israel and Gaza will spread.
AI will have an unexpected harmful impact.
This all appears to be a bit gloomy, with only two good and six bad.
AI in 2024
The interesting one in the above mix is AI, or genAI.
AI has already been disruptive in education, and educators tend to fall into two camps on AI — it is not a problem (head in the sand), or this is a serious problem, but there is great potential.
I am in the “a serious issue, but there is great potential” camp.
During the Christmas break of 2022, I played with chatGTP, and I found what it could do astonishing. Hence, when I returned to work in January 2023, I started warning and talking about AI in education. The impact of AI on assessments was alarming. It was clear that the AI could write and answer traditional university essays and multiple choice papers taken under non-exam conditions. It was worrying. Moreover, there was the question of integrating AI into the course and training the students to use it to help their studies.
Have I seen issues? The simple answer is yes. Reassessments we ran in the summer of 2023, which we had designed pre-AI, were answered using AI. I have seen work from students that AI has generated.
On the plus side, I used AI to write my resignation letter, and I have used it to write and edit work.
So, in 2024, I hope we start to see some real benefits from using AI in the workplace and education (the good). But I am worried that someone will do something somewhere with an AI that is bad news (the bad).
Let’s see.
Resolutions for 2024
The first four have been standards for the last 30 years:
Lose some weight — This might happen, as I will have time to work on things once I am retired. Plus, if I can get off the current drug I am on, it should cut down on my snacking. (I currently snack to settle the upset stomach the drug gives me.)
Get fitter — Once retired, less time at the desk and more time walking. I might even start cycling again. This will also help me drop a few pounds.
Work fewer hours — This will happen — a retirement benefit.
Declutter the house — Another benefit of retirement is that I will have the time.
Keep working on my pension plan — this is still on the list, as there are things to do. It’s not done yet.
Keep The Retirement Newsletter running.
Launch a paid version of The Retirement Newsletter — I am still working on this idea. Watch this space.
Sort out my subscriptions — I did this last year, but it needs to be done again.
Get my YouTube channel sorted out and reach over 1,000 subscribers.
Start bringing in some money from side-hustles — my pension puts me at the lower end of ‘moderate’ of pension comfort (see Issue Number: -24 — Another pension and retirement wobble for information on the different levels of ‘pension comfort’ — Essential, Moderate, and Luxury — and how much money you need for each category.). But, I would like to be at the top end of ‘moderate’ as that gives me some wiggle room. Hence, I need a financial boost from some side-hustles to help get there.
So, how will they go? Will my predictions be correct? Will I stick to my resolutions?
I’ll let you know in the summer.
Travel — Nostalgia Corner
This week, here are more stories from my time in Malaysia — Kuching in East Malaysia and Johor Bahru on the peninsula:
Malaysia — Kuching — Hong San Si Chinese Temple, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — 广泽尊王神庙@风山寺 — a stunning temple. I like a good temple, and the quality and detail of the carvings always amaze me.
Malaysia — Exploring Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — out and about in Kuching. This time, coffee and another temple.
Malaysia — Kuching — India Street and surrounding area, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — Exploring India Street and the surrounding area. This time, there are some incredible sights and smells as I explore the shapes of Little India in Kuching.
Malaysia — Kuching — Colonial Buildings of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — More exploration of Kuching. This time, it is colonial buildings.
Malaysia — Johor Bahru — Johor-Singapore Causeway — Getting from Johor to Singapore. Me having a moan about crossing the causeway from Malaysia to Singapore.
Malaysia — Johor Bahru — Durian — The King of Fruits — I finally tried a Durian — what did I think of the world’s smelliest fruit? You might be surprised.
Next week, I will start wrapping up my time in Malaysia. Where next on my travels?
Next week
Next week, in issue -5.5, it is time for one of my quarterly reviews of my retirement plans — the last one?
Thanks
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Until next time,
Nick
PS, If you want to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.