The Retirement Newsletter: Why did I start the Retirement Newsletter?
Issue Number: -40 — I often wonder why…
Welcome
Welcome to issue -40 — why did I start a newsletter? That is a good question.
Why did I start a newsletter?
Well, it wasn’t for fame and fortune — more on that below.
This is the 96th issue of the newsletter. At the top of this issue, it says issue -40, but that number, -40, is the number of weeks until my planned retirement date.
And, if you are keeping score, in the 96 issues, I have written 62,413 words, which equates to roughly 4 hours and 20 minutes of reading time.
So, why did I start the newsletter?
When I started, it was 23 June 2021; we were in the early days of COVID-19. I was looking for a new project; I had recently started journaling, which I was doing daily and enjoying (and still am). And the arrival of COVID-19 had stopped one of my other writing hobbies (more on that below), so I needed a replacement. Plus, I was making plans for my retirement. So, I thought I would share my experiences.
COVID-19 and retirement
Back in 2016, I decided to aim for a 2024 retirement date.
An opportunity for a new job came along in 2018, which I took, and I decided to push my retirement date back five years to 2029. Then COVID-19 arrived.
COVID-19 made me, like many people, reevaluate things. And COVID-19 changed many things.
It sounds odd to say this, but COVID-19 broke my work routine, which was one of the deciding factors for returning to my 2024 retirement plan.
For 30+ years, every Monday to Friday morning, I would get up and head to work — unless it was a public holiday or I was on annual leave.
Then with COVID-19, the routine was broken. Yes, I still worked. I had a job. I worked even harder and realised how much I hated the commute. All that wasted time and energy each day, plus it was doing bad things to the planet and my bank balance.
And it made me realise that work was almost a habit. Yes, I enjoyed doing my job, but it was a habit.
COVID-19 also made me think about what I wanted to do. Did I want to continue in the same line of work until I retired, or did I want to spend time exploring something new?
I decided I wanted to try something new and reverted to my 2024 retirement plan.
Plus, COVID-19 made me re-evaluate other aspects of my life. I wasn’t getting any younger, I was beginning to pick up a few health issues, and I felt there was more to life than work. I had things I wanted to do.
COVID-19 and those long lockdown evenings gave me time to reflect and plan for retirement. And time to develop a new habit — writing a weekly newsletter.
Planning for my retirement
I have been planning for my retirement since my first day at work.
My first university job came with a pension built in. I was in my early 20s and found the large chunk of change that vanished from my pay packet each month depressing. I was earning very little and could have done with the money.
At the time, my father gave me financial advice — “Pay the pension, you won’t regret it” — and I followed his advice, and he was right. OK, the pension I will get is not as good as the one promised, but it is much better than most pensions.
Over the years, I didn’t think much more about pension payments. I did worry that I couldn’t contribute during my PhD and when working abroad, so I took out an additional pension when I started paying back into my main pension.
I had a fixed retirement date — 2024; I had a plan, then I changed jobs, so I adapted my plan (2029), but COVID-19 changed it back to 2024.
But what will the future hold?
The Future — what am I going to do?
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you will have noticed that I have frequent wobbles about my retirement. These wobbles are typically about whether I will have enough money in retirement.
Is this newsletter an advantage or disadvantage during my wobbles?
The newsletter is advantageous during a wobble, as the 96 issues provide a reference point. I have had some wobbles about aspects of retirement, and I look back at old editions and see I have either discussed the wobble previously or there is a solution. The newsletter gives me a perspective that I would not otherwise have.
The newsletter has also meant I have kept on top of things — I have not let things drift. That is, writing the letter means I spend some time each week thinking about my retirement plans. The newsletter is a shared journaling experience.
So, overall, I think having the newsletter is a help — well, it is for me.
Why did I start a newsletter?
Well, I wanted to share my journey. I thought other people might find reading about my experiences helpful. Plus, during the lockdowns, I wanted something to do.
I have always written for the web.
Over the years, I have run numerous blogs, and I am currently re-writing and posting stories from my old travel blog on Medium — Nick’s Wanderings — (see below).
COVID-19 brought this newsletter into existence but killed off my travel blog as I could no longer travel. Swings and roundabouts.
Did I expect the newsletter to be still going after 96 issues? No.
Was there an ulterior motive in setting up the newsletter?
Well, apart from helping me keep on top of my plans and helping me think about my future, there has been no harm in building up an email list and a network, as they may be useful when I retire.
Starting this newsletter certainly won’t lead to fame and fortune, as I have a small reader base. I’m not even in the triple digits. I was briefly, but after a recent cull of the list to remove people not opening the emails, I’m now below three digits.
Will this newsletter lead to “fortune”? It would be nice if the newsletter did make some money; as regular readers know, I’m constantly worrying about my pension income.
Summary
Overall, I have enjoyed writing these newsletters as they helped me think about my retirement plans and future. And I will continue to write these letters until the enjoyment goes, and it becomes a chore.
As always, thanks for reading, and if you would like to say thanks for the 96 editions and the 62,413 words, you could always buy me a cup of tea.
Travel
A new section to the newsletter — Travel.
I am slowly moving some old travel blog posts from a WordPress site to Medium, and I thought some of the posts might be of interest to readers of the newsletter.
This week I posted about:
Skiing — St Anton, Austria — Should I fly from Malaysia to Austria to go skiing? — sometimes, you have to do it.
Skiing — St Anton, Austria — Singapore to Zurich — Is this my craziest ski trip ever? — how to get from Malaysia to Austria
Skiing — St Anton, Austria — Five days of skiing St Anton, Austria — a summary of my time skiing at St Anton.
Skiing — St Anton, Austria — An afternoon in Zurich — The return trip from Austria to Malaysia — and an interesting afternoon in Zurich — getting back to Malaysia from Austria, and a slightly crazy afternoon in Zurich — what were those people doing?
Next week
Next week, in issue -39, I will be looking at trying to turn my interest in photography into a side-hustle.