Just a quick update folks

This is just a quick update folks and please be assured I’m still 64 and not the handsome 84 year old in the above photo (more about that later on).  I will share about our garden, health and our latest visit to the financial advisors.

Since the last blog post, a lot seems to have happened but at the same time it’s a case of life continuing as before; a kind of business as usual in the overtaking lane.  Well, at least that’s how it feels at times.

The garden

We have spent quite a lot of time in the garden of late, here in the Quirky Museum.  I never think of our garden as being particularly big but it certainly takes a lot of time to look after it.  Aside from the usual spring tidy-up with weeding and pruning, we have been trying to make the back garden a little more secluded.  I have extended our fences upwards by a couple of feet through installing some trellis panels which will gradually have wisteria and clematis growing on it.

Although the trellis project is not finished, we have enjoyed being outside together and working on this together.  As usual I like to think I can visualise what it will look like once finished and hope Rachel will trust me as she finds the visualising less easy.  We have also been on a willow weaving course at Barnsdale Gardens, near Rutland Water and this was such good fun.  We each came away with a very unique fish and a dragonfly.

Health and Artificial Intelligence

As for the rendition of what I might look like in 20 years, we have been struck by the extent of AI in our lives already (I will touch on this in a personal finance update below).  In our conversations, we have been thinking ahead into the future and discussing everything from future electricity prices (and whether we should invest in some solar panels) to our future health and care needs. Of course we don’t really know the answer to those questions but we can research these areas using AI and make the best decisions we can.

I have found AI most illuminating to discuss my future health direction with an anonymous-but-quite-friendly computer program on the other side of the world.  Needless to say there are some caveats but nevertheless I cannot deny the logical AI thinking.  In many ways I hope the AI computer program is right as it certainly tells me what I want to hear!

Speaking of health, it is eight years since my life changed so suddenly and profoundly.  In an instant the cause of my high blood pressure, failing kidneys and tiredness were explained to me.  This morning I thought of that fateful day as I went to the same hospital to provide blood and urine samples for the latest kidney checks.  Although I have gone through this procedure umpteen times before, this is the first time they couldn’t get any blood from my arm, so the other one was used, with much difficulty.  Consequently I now have a very sore arm!  I am hoping the blood tests will reveal things continue to be stable.

I have also swapped to a new dental practice.  My old dentist told me I needed a lot of work (see previous post about this) and my new dentist told me my teeth were fine and my gum scores were all 0 or 1.  This confirmed in my mind that my old dentist was trying to drum up business and pull a fast one.

I told my new dentist I have only lost one tooth and I intend to keep all of the others – the inference is that I expect him to play his part in checking to make sure everything remains fine.

Personal finance

And so onto personal finance.  A few weeks ago we had our annual review with our advisor.  Once again we were treated to all kinds of graphs and spreadsheets on the large wall-mounted TV screen while we sippped rather nice coffee from the Denby chinaware.

It appears our funds have grown by about 23% over the last year, which is very nice to hear and it makes a change on previous years with all kinds of apologies and awkward, uncomfortable looks.  This time was good and no doubt others have found the same with rising stock markets fuelling the trend.  There was, however, a noticeable dip when Trump invaded Iran but the recovery was swift.

However, when the inevitable questions arose about sustainability and the future outlook, the conversation changed direction.  It turned towards stress testing and the reasons for the recent growth, together with a possible crash looming in a few years.

In the stress testing scenario, a possibility of a significant “re-adjustment” lies 3 or 4 years ahead it will take 4 or 5 years to recover.  So can our finances cope with this?  Do we need to de-risk now?  Well, this is something we discussed with the advisors and at home.  The answer?  We have our plan, our strategy.  It has worked and served us well over the years and we will continue to follow the advice.

In terms of what has been fuelling the buoyant growth, this was explained by AI which has benefitted just about every sector and its growth has been rapid.  The term “irrational exuberance” was used to explain the stage the markets are at, or at least when trying to draw some similarity with the Dot Com frenzy of the early 2000s.  The extent to which irrational exuberance will lead to bursting bubbles, remains to be seen.

A hopeful outlook

Notwithstanding this, I remain optimistic and hopeful for the future.  In 2020 we found we had been plonked into our village, we are accepted as friends by many and, I feel, we have a part to play in our community.  Retirement has a purpose, a new depth to living our Christian faith and one which continues open many rewarding opportunities.