56: crafting a life I love
Aug/Sept 2024 update to retirement journey
Previous Retirement Journey Updates
A few changes you’ll see in these updates going forward.
First, I’ll send them out as part of my regular Sunday schedule. I’m putting this in the regular rotation because I have time on the weekends to write, but not during the week.
AND, and this is the main reason, crafting your next season is a topic I ADORE. I love lifestyle design and actually making the transformation. I love helping people with it, particularly when it breaks from what’s expected.
I’ve helped over 111 people create a life they love since 2013. And I’m ready to get at it again!
Second, I’m nixing Diary of a Fledgling Options Trader (again because I have space to write on the weekends, not during the week).
Fear not! I’m moving that content to the financial update section.
I’ll go into, not just the numbers, but details of my trading strategy and money mindset. This section of the post will be for paid subscribers only.
As always, THANK YOU for investing your presence, time and energy (114 of you now) in reading, liking, commenting, and sharing Letters from Nneka. I know how precious your presence is and I TRULY appreciate you.
Without further ado…
Retirement Goal
I deeply desire to be a woman of pleasure by October 2, 2030. A woman of pleasure is a woman who has financial peace of mind and time freedom whose primary purpose is pleasure.
I want to retire well. Meaning, I want to be healthy - physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, AND financially.
Now, let’s check out my progress…
Physical Health
2024 Goal: Run a 5K straight
My commitment: Move my body for at least 25 minutes a day (or 5000 steps), 20 days a month
Update
My movement is not trending in the desired direction and October is not looking better. It was a very rough start.
I’m not running a 5K this year. It feels like an empty goal now. I no longer want to. Not even because of the movement trend. It just doesn’t feel like it’s getting to the heart of what I REALLY want.
I want to BE healthy.
To me that means I feel energized. That I’m flexible. That I can walk hills without huffing and puffing and I can take long (3+ mile), meandering walks pleasurably.
It also means that my A1C is under 7 because that number now REALLY matters. I want to be off medication and never have to go on insulin.
In the past, moving my body was the arrow head to my physical health. Meaning, if I moved, I drank more water and ate better naturally. Everything else fell into alignment. That’s why I have the movement goal.
Ok, so, what does all this mean?
I recommit.
I can get 9 more movement days in October. I’ll make it 7 to be achievable.
I commit to 20 movement days in November. I may check in weekly on this one since it seems to be evading me.
Social Health
2024 Goal: Establish my brunch circle - my group of 5-7 local casual friends.
My commitment: Attend one new meetup a month
Update
I finally got a face to face brunch in with a local friend in August!!! YAY me!
She’s someone I knew from my IBM days. We both lived many lives between then and now. It was fun to catch up. She actually plans group events so now I’m on her roster. I’m meeting with her and some friends for her birthday.
In August I also reconnected with alumni from the first coaching program I was in. We reconnected virtually. It was LOVELY to catch up and see all the familiar faces. May of the alum are in NC though they weren’t present. It feels good to be plugged into that space and maybe has something to do with my kindling desire to “coach” again.
In September, we had a cousins reunion. That was also lovely. Great to catch up from all the years in between. Just plain fun, family times.
I plugged into another virtual community of like-minded folks that has local meetups. I’m looking forward to meeting them in person. Unfortunately, I’ll miss their next get together on Saturday because it’s my niece’s birthday party. But, I’m optimistic that I’ll connect with them soon.
All in all, good progress in the social arena. Funny, I thought this would be the hard part.
Financial Independence
2024 Goal: Eliminate credit card debt so that I can invest that money.
My commitment: Contribute to 401K up to the match so that I automatically double my contribution.
Update
What’s in the update?
New income goal
Options account September massacre
New option trading rules
Read on for more…
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