Last day of February is upon us and with it another third of one percent of my likely lifespan. Now I’m retired I’m using each month-end to assess how I’m doing on my journey towards the perfect retirement life!
Looking back it feels like it’s been a good month and I’ve made a lot of progress with some of my initial retirement goals. At long last I’ve sorted out my pensions. Despite the obstructive efforts of the pension providers, my various small pension pots are now all in one place.
I’ve also been doing a great job of decluttering my life having successfully sold a few surplus work-related items of technology on eBay and dumping some other stuff I didn’t need. These have been jobs on my to-do list for over a year and it’s great to have them nearly complete. I’ve also sorted out, for at the least time being, some long-running issues here in Morocco with the agent and bank.
On a personal level I’m generally feeling more sociable which feels good, got my sixtieth birthday invites out and as part of that have reconnected with a few old friends I’ve not seen in a while.
I also feel like I am making progress on my retirement transitioning journey and decided to vary my routine by taking the occasional daytrip or going to the cinema. Had a perfect-ish day, as a result, where I felt particularly pleased with how my retirement life was shaping up.
Was making good progress on the garden until the last few weeks of appalling weather hit us, even managed to buy, assemble and use my new lawnmower! Also got elected to the role of vice-chairman of a local branch committee, something I’m looking forward to getting stuck into. It was great to help my youngest daughter and her boyfriend choose their first home, that was a real highlight.
Coronavirus
Work has been good with all my clients seeming happy with the service though there is the odd cloud on the horizon which I’m going to have to deal with in March.
My finances seemed reasonably stable until the little portfolio of shares I dabble with took quite a hammering thanks to the coronavirus-related slump, thankfully my eBay sales have somewhat offset the loss. I’ll just sit tight with the shares until they recover.
Talking of health I’ve felt generally well apart from rather too many aches and pains to do with my running but I guess that’s just my age. With me being away I’ve not got access to my trusty Fitbit scales but I expect my weight to be back on track soon after I return from this break in Morocco.
I’m well on target with my running goal of 1,000kms in a year but could really do with playing more tennis – which has been repeatedly postponed because of the weather – and need to do more non-cardio gym work.
Most important of all, though, is the relationship with Mrs Jones. Being away in close proximity 24/7 has, I’m afraid, sparked more than the occasional cross word between us. A lot of it is the usual relationship Venus and Mars stuff plus transitioning to holiday mode. All seems better now but I’m left feeling the biggest thing I need to work on in March is being a better husband.