Hi Reader

This week’s Retirement Fix comes to you live from the glamorous surroundings of Dublin Airport… otherwise known as Gate 112, row of uncomfortable chairs, next to the world’s slowest coffee queue. My flight back to Stansted has been delayed (naturally), so instead of boarding, I’m people-watching, overpaying for snacks, and tapping away at this week’s edition.

It struck me that airports are a lot like retirement: you’ve got the excitement of the journey ahead, a timetable you think you’re working to, and then... bam, delays, detours, and unexpected waiting around. The trick, of course, is in how you use that waiting time. Moan and groan… or turn it into something useful, joyful, or even a little mischievous.

So while I’m stuck here, I figured I’d use the moment to send you something worth reading, because if nothing else, retirement (and airport lounges) remind us that how we spend the in-between bits really matters.

FEATURED ARTICLE

Inspired to Take Action

There’s a delicious, dangerous feeling that comes from reading about retirement. You consume a podcast, highlight three quotes, nod vigorously, and, boom, you feel like you’ve made progress. It’s the warm glow of “doing something” without the awkward bit where you actually, you know, do something.

Inspiration gets a bad rap because of this. We treat it like a substitute for movement. But inspiration is not the finish line; it’s the spark. It’s lighter fluid. It’s the “3…2…1…” before the jump. And in the second half of life, when our decisions compound into memories rather than CV lines, inspiration is the difference between a retirement you perform on paper and a life you actually live.

This is an ode to action, not the macho, grindset kind, but the quirky, meaningful sort that makes your days feel wider.

The kind that turns a “someday” into a story.

Why action is so annoyingly hard (and why we still need it)

Two villains walk us off course:

• The Inspiration Buffet. We graze from book to blog to TED Talk, mistaking taste-testing for cooking. Consumption is easier than commitment. (Ask my stack of unread books, sitting there like judgmental Jenga blocks.)
• The Perfection Siren. She sings, “Once it’s fully formed and guaranteed to work, then begin.” Translation: never start. Perfection is a witness protection program for our ideas.

Yet action is the only thing that moves the needle. A plan that lives solely in your head is a screensaver: pretty, soothing, and useless. A plan that lives in your calendar, however wobbly, creates momentum, evidence, and identity. “I am the kind of person who…” is not something you declare; it’s something you do, a tiny bit, repeatedly, even on days you feel like a damp Tuesday in February.

Inspiration that actually causes movement

Let’s talk about useful inspiration, the kind that tilts you forward. It’s usually:

• Specific. “We’ll travel more” → “I’m booking the 10:05 train next Thursday for a one-night wander in Bath, tickets purchased by 6 p.m.” is a real thing, with a heartbeat and a witness.
• Embodied. You feel it in your body, a little zing, a little flutter, a little “oh go on then.” If an idea doesn’t make your posture change, it’s probably still filing paperwork in your brain.
• Connected to meaning. Retirement isn’t a gap year; it’s the rest of your life. Inspiration sticks when it’s glued to what matters: your people, your values, your energy, your sense of usefulness.
• Small enough to survive contact with reality. Grand gestures are great for films. In real life, tiny is undefeated.

None of those are a checklist. They’re more like litmus tests. You’ll know you’ve struck useful inspiration when the world feels half a degree more tilted towards “go.”

The Day 182 wobble (and what flips it)

Somewhere in every retirement—Day 182 or Day 1,200—there’s a wobble. The calendar stretches, the novelty thins, and you catch yourself doom-scrolling bungalow kitchens at 2pm. That wobble isn’t a sign you did it wrong. It’s a sign you’re between chapters.

What flips it is not a full-life rebrand. It’s one meaningful action that lands. You teach a Tuesday morning class. You book the train to see an old friend instead of texting “we must catch up!” into the abyss. You test a three-month “mini-mission” with your partner—volunteer here, join that choir, take that ceramics course you’ve been secretly stalking online for two years.

Each micro-move says, “I’m in motion.” And motion creates more motion. Suddenly the day has edges again.

Money loves a mission

Yes, this is the part where the retirement planner in me pops up wearing a sensible cardigan.

Spending is easier when it’s tethered to meaning. It’s far simpler to release £2,000 for a month of Italian in Bologna than to release £2,000 to “enjoy life more.” Money becomes fuel, not a museum piece. You stop guarding your pile like a dragon and start turning it into experiences, relationships, and memory dividends. That’s not reckless; that’s responsible. Because the only truly “wasted” money is the money that never supports the life you said you wanted.

Micro-scenes of inspired action

Picture these, not as must-do’s, but as little film clips you can try on:

• You’re sat in a café with a battered notebook. You circle three words: curious, generous, alive. You open your calendar and match each word with one tiny scene this week. A phone call. A class. A walk with a neighbour who makes you laugh-snort.
• You and your partner have a Friday “what if?” breakfast. No logistics, no budgets, just auditions. “What if we hosted a monthly Sunday lunch for strays?” “What if we learned swing dancing and wore shoes that squeak on purpose?” Keep the ones that make you grin. Then pick one and give it a date.
• You allocate a small “mischief fund.” It’s not for boilers or car tyres. It’s for experiments that might not “make sense” but might make memories. (The best returns are rarely printed on a statement.)
• You let something go, on purpose. A committee. A habit. A should. Space is not empty; it’s potential. Inspiration hates clutter.

None of those will appear on a bucket list. That’s the point. Buckets are for carrying water; you’re here to plant a garden.

But what if I’m not “feeling it”?

Totally normal. Feelings are weather. Action is a roof.

On those meh days, borrow energy from three places:

• People. Inspiration is contagious. Sit next to it. Join a room where the default setting is “have a go.” You will rise to the level of your table.
• Place. Change the backdrop. New coffee shop, different route, fresh notebook. Novelty nudges us.
• Permission. To start ugly. To be hilariously bad at something and still enjoy it. You earned this latitude. Use it.

A gentle rebellion

The culture sold us the idea that retirement is a long exhale on a sun lounger. If that’s your jam, marvellous. For the rest of us, the second half is a creative act. It’s a series of drafts. It’s a playful rebellion against inertia, cynicism, and the myth that all the good chapters end at 65.

Seek inspiration like a truffle pig. Sniff it out in books, in people, in places that make you feel wide awake. Then tip something, anything, forward. Action doesn’t need to be loud. It just needs to be real.

The nudge

Between the person you are and the life you want sits a small door labelled “try.” It sticks sometimes. It squeaks. It’s never locked.

If you want a partner in crime—to line up your money behind what matters, to design experiments that fit your energy and stage of life, to build a guardrailed plan that supports action rather than suffocating it, I’m here for that. Not with a checklist. With a compass, a calendar, and a healthy sense of humour.

Let’s make “inspired” mean something you did today, not something you felt last Sunday.

RETIREMENT RESOURCE

Preparing Emotionally for Retirement

Money gets all the attention when it comes to retirement prep—but what about your emotions? You can’t exactly pension-plan your way out of feeling lost, anxious, or secretly thrilled. This worksheet gives you space to scribble down what you’ll miss, what you definitely won’t, and what’s rattling around in your head about the big shift. Think of it as your emotional warm-up before stepping onto the retirement stage.

Go on—grab a pen, have a cuppa, and don’t leave this page blank (your future self will thank you).

​Emotional Preparation Worksheet.pdf​​​​​​​​​

PODCAST

Ep 89 - The Five Pillars of Retirement Well-Being

Most people retire with a solid income plan but no plan for a life they actually want to live. In this episode, I discuss the five human pillars that make retirement feel meaningful, not just financially viable: Purpose, Identity, Relationships, Structure, and Well-being. Expect punchy stories, research-backed insights, and practical prompts to start building a life worth funding. ​​​​

SKETCH OF THE WEEK

The Someday Curve - Waiting for perfect certainty is how you miss the best bit.

We wait for a perfect number called “Enough,” then discover “Enough” was a window, not a milestone. Delay turns into the Someday Tax, payable in missed memories, unused energy, and flat-lined joy.