A Letter from my 85 Year Old Self

Dear David

Congratulation on taking early retirement at age 57.

What a fantastic age to retire so you can enjoy life, and take time out to work on some of your own projects whilst you still have the energy.

How am I?  Thanks for asking…  My joints are a little bit creaky nowadays, but I still take the Omega 3 fish oil.  Thanks for getting into that stuff all those years ago.  I’m really grateful you’re still taking it at age 57.  You know… that magazine article you read in the 1990s was absolutely spot on!  So keep taking the Omega 3 David.  It’ll help you to remain mobile for a lot longer.  And it’ll keep me going too, hopefully well into my nineties!

Great that you’re still eating healthily too.  Because you made that decision, I hardly ever need to see the doctor.  Oh yes, he does his usual checkups – that’s a Government requirement nowadays (you’ll be surprised what they’ll introduce by the time you’re my age!).  Where he prods that finger… no, I won’t burden you with that thought.

You’ll be glad to know I’m eating well.  I’m really glad you kept off the processed foods and white sugar.  They’ve found even more evidence about how damaging that is to us.  How the manufacturers got away with it in your day, I’ve no idea!

Unfortunately I can’t get to the gym quite as often as you do.  But we’ve got a dog instead. Haha!  I knew that would shock you.  Listen, it gets me out of the house into the great outdoors.  Loads of exercise, loads of fresh air, meeting people.  And I still try to do a morning power walk.  Hey – make sure to keep doing them now you’ve retired.  I need to be healthy at 85, remember!

My brain’s still sharp.  I think that’s because of all the reading you do.  But listen… it’s OK to read fiction sometimes too.  Kindle is old-hat now.  We just project the words in front of us.  I’m really glad I can increase the font size though.

Now here’s a little bit of encouragement for you, young man.  Enjoy life.  At my age, I find we don’t need to spend as much money to be happy.  Yes, we still get out.  But have you seen how much they charge for travel insurance for 85 year olds?

Listen! Enjoy yourself!  Travel whilst you’re still young and active.  Believe me, it’ll work out OK.  I know what you’re like. – you like to plan ahead.  You want to make sure your pension will last.  But you’ll be fine – the money will last.  Remember what you tell everyone?  Let me remind you… Buy experiences rather than products, because experiences produce memories, and those memories will last much longer than the latest gadget.  Experiences will bring much more happiness into your life.  So, go for it David.  Treat Christine to a holiday rather than a new dress!

Oh, and you don’t need a new phone.  That one you’ve got will last a few more years.  Trust me on that.  Travel instead.  Get experiences whilst you still can.

One more thing.  Make sure you keep saving into your car savings account.  You’ll want to get the latest car Honda have just brought out, even if you can only afford a second hand one.  It flies… literally!  Unfortunately I can’t yet send you a picture – the technology isn’t yet available to send images across time.  But Apple say they’re working on it.

Best wishes

David (age 85)

P.S.

Here’s my article celebrating the decision to take early retirement at age 57…

My British 4th July.

Enjoy!