# Writing a retirement blog



## rporter610 (Jan 7, 2015)

I've been writing a retirement blog for the last six months.  There are quite a few of these online.  Several of the ones I enjoy are:  satisfyingretirement.blogspot.com, kathysretirementblog.com, and frugaltexasgal.com.

The writers talk about their thoughts on current issues, retirement situations, suggestions for enjoying retirement more, and so on.

Are any of you writing retirement-oriented blogs?  I'd love to hear from you.


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## Falcon (Jan 7, 2015)

I never needed a blog to retire. I was SO relieved to get out of that stinkin' job I could hardly wait.
 Now, I can sleep in, do whatever I want, Whenever I want, WEAR whatever I want etc. 
I waited long enough to get the full benefits and on that day I sang all the way home.


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## ronaldj (Jan 7, 2015)

I read a couple and thought about writing one but never did...I did guest post on blue collar workman six or eight times.....I just went and found yours I think you might have a new reader.....oh and welcome from the thumb of Michigan


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## Son_of_Perdition (Jan 7, 2015)

Our faith's youth group were encouraged to keep a diary of sorts.  They called them journals and we were encouraged to jot down events, thoughts, goals and anything that you personaly decided to keep track of.  My sisters and mother each started one, I never really got into it until after I retired.  My blogging is an offshoot of what I faced when financial difficulties loomed and I was forced into personal budgeting, an ongoing thing spanning 4 years now.  

Mine is mostly about what I encountered when I was approaching retirement and recognizing my lack of planning.  I decided to journal it to see if I could improve my situation and remind myself what problems and challenges I had not anticipated.  Health, financial, leisure time and family relationships.  I was always a fly by the seat of my pants type individual.  Things changed when I was faced with no longer working, realizing and planning what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life and how am I adapting.  

My blog is a private matter and I've put things down I probably wouldn't want others to know so I cut the comments and kept it as generic as possible, no names, places or things that could identify me.  Like the game of solitaire if I lied or was less than honest I was only cheating myself.  The other reason I use a blogging site is it looks better and is less trouble to update or correct my spelling or sentence structure.  I created web pages as a hobby but it's very labor intensive so I let the site create the structure.  If left to my own devices I get rambling and disorganized in my thoughts.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 7, 2015)

I've got 10 blogs but, amazingly enough, none of them are about retirement. 

... perhaps because, being self-employed, I don't consider that I'll ever be able to retire.


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## Ameriscot (Jan 7, 2015)

I've got two blogs and aren't specifically about retirement.


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks, ronaldj!  It's fun to write when I know that other people are actually reading what I publish!  Thanks for looking up my blog.  Is it as cold in Michigan as it's been in MInnesota?  4 above zero this morning.


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

I would like to read your blog,  if you will permit it.  It sounds to me like you have developed a lot of wisdom through your experiences.  I encourage you to keep writing!


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

Wow!  10 blogs!  I admire your energy and resourcefulness.  You mentioned being self-employed.  Are some or all of your blogs related to your chosen fields?


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## Lon (Jan 8, 2015)

I started this Blog when I retired and it goes back to 1991. 

----- http://www.thoughtsandtravels.blogspot.com/


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

Lon said:


> I started this Blog when I retired and it goes back to 1991.
> 
> ----- http://www.thoughtsandtravels.blogspot.com/



Thanks for sharing this.  I enjoyed reading about your travels.  Do you have plans to travel this year?


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## Josiah (Jan 8, 2015)

I find Senior Forums a reasonable venu for self expression. I confess that if I went the route of a stand alone blog I'd feel a failure if I didn't acquire a following. My self esteem isn't on that solid a footing right now so I'm not looking to take on any ambitious challenges. I applaud you for getting out there and putting your words on the line. I'll definitely take a look at your blog.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

Josiah09 said:


> I find Senior Forums a reasonable venu for self expression. I confess that if I went the route of a stand alone blog I'd feel a failure if I didn't acquire a following. My self esteem isn't on that solid a footing right now so I'm not looking to take on any ambitious challenges. I applaud you for getting out there and putting your words on the line. I'll definitely take a look at your blog.
> 
> Oh, and welcome to the forum.



Josiah, thank you for the welcome and the applause.  It does take some ambition to write a weekly blog post.  Usually it takes me 3 to 4 hours to draft one, and then I wait one or two days before looking at it again before I publish it.  But it is fun, too.  It's kind of a way to review my experiences, principles, and goals in written form.  Then when I look at the post a few weeks later, I'm often surprised at things that I said - they actually make sense!  That is a good feeling.

Self-esteem is a tough thing.  Mine goes up and down pretty regularly.  I find that when I accomplish a task, even something as simple as making the bed and doing the dishes, I feel proud of myself for straightening up the house.  I wish you well and hope you will write again.


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## rporter610 (Jan 8, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> I've got two blogs and aren't specifically about retirement.



Hi Ameriscot.  What subjects do you write on in your blogs?


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## Josiah (Jan 8, 2015)

Lon said:


> I started this Blog when I retired and it goes back to 1991.
> 
> ----- http://www.thoughtsandtravels.blogspot.com/


Wonderful blog Lon, you've certainly had a most adventuresome retirement without many dull moments.


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## AZ Jim (Jan 8, 2015)

Lon said:


> I started this Blog when I retired and it goes back to 1991.
> 
> ----- http://www.thoughtsandtravels.blogspot.com/



I also retired in 1991..  Feels good, huh?


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## Josiah (Jan 8, 2015)

Rin, I missed seeing the link to your blog.


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## Lon (Jan 8, 2015)

rporter610 said:


> Thanks for sharing this.  I enjoyed reading about your travels.  Do you have plans to travel this year?



I have done some interesting cruises and am very fond of Windstar. I am single now and no longer scuba dive but may book a cruise with Windstar this year. I am also thinking about the Rhine River and Mississippi River cruises.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 8, 2015)

rporter610 said:


> Wow!  10 blogs!  I admire your energy and resourcefulness.  You mentioned being self-employed.  Are some or all of your blogs related to your chosen fields?



I suppose you could say that - I'm a writer. 

My main blog (which is in my signature here) is at this point really just a stream-of-consciousness affair. I have a martial arts blog which reflects my 35+ years as a martial arts instructor, four of them have to do with "cryptocurrency" (such as Bitcoin) since I'm involved in trading and investing with them, one is a place where I can write my hard-boiled detective stories (a hobby site, I guess you could say), two are about medical marijuana and legalization, and one is my writer's portfolio site. 

I don't update most of them with anywhere near the frequency that conventional wisdom dictates, but I try to post once every ten years whether I want to or not. layful:


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## rporter610 (Jan 14, 2015)

Lon said:


> I have done some interesting cruises and am very fond of Windstar. I am single now and no longer scuba dive but may book a cruise with Windstar this year. I am also thinking about the Rhine River and Mississippi River cruises.



I have never taken the Mississippi River cruise.  I bet it would be really interesting, especially if the tour leader knew a lot about the history of the river.  I took a Rhine River cruise in 1963 when I was an exchange student in West Germany.  What sticks in  my mind were the castles and fortifications that can be viewed from the river, and the Cologne Cathedral.  
My favorite cruise was on the Danube a few years ago, all the way to the Black Sea.  Day after day of beautiful scenery, with many stops in different countries along the river.


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## Son_of_Perdition (Jan 14, 2015)

rporter610 said:


> I took a Rhine River cruise in 1963 when I was an exchange student in West Germany.  What sticks in  my mind were the castles and fortifications that can be viewed from the river, and the Cologne Cathedral.


I was in Germany in '65-67' when I was in the AF.  Several of us took the Rhine tour but can't remember much past the stop over in Rudesheim, they were having the 'Wine Festival' at the time.


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## drifter (Jan 14, 2015)

After I retired I read a ladies blog for three years until she died. She blogged about her emphysema. In 2007 I started blogging about my own emphysema. Unlike the lady, I soon ran out of steam. I started blogging about current events and fell in with a five or six people. One evening during a mild onset of depression I deleted my blog and my google email account. A couple of months later I started another bloodspot blog, occasionally writing about my disease and giving an occasional update but mostly my blogging was about current events with an occasional political comment. I still write the blog but not as often as I did. I was blogging three or four times a week. I considered quitting blogging but found I like to write and consider it a good mental activity. Now I blog when the spirit moves me. One problem about my blogging too often is having nothing to and still trying to blog. So far as I know I have three people reading my blog. It is nice to know somebody does on occasion read it.


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## rporter610 (Jan 15, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> One is no longer updated but still gets a lot of traffic. It was from 2007-09 while we lived in Uganda and husband had volunteered with an NGO to train teachers.
> http://volunteersabroad.blogspot.com
> 
> The other was started earlier and has various topics - being an expat in Scotland, photography, lots of travelogues.
> ...



Thanks Ameriscot for sharing your blog addresses.  I'm looking forward  to reading them!  It's strange how blog traffic comes and goes. Mine has slowed down this month.


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## rporter610 (Jan 15, 2015)

SifuPhil said:


> I suppose you could say that - I'm a writer.
> 
> My main blog (which is in my signature here) is at this point really just a stream-of-consciousness affair. I have a martial arts blog which reflects my 35+ years as a martial arts instructor, four of them have to do with "cryptocurrency" (such as Bitcoin) since I'm involved in trading and investing with them, one is a place where I can write my hard-boiled detective stories (a hobby site, I guess you could say), two are about medical marijuana and legalization, and one is my writer's portfolio site.
> 
> I don't update most of them with anywhere near the frequency that conventional wisdom dictates, but I try to post once every ten years whether I want to or not. layful:



You have a wide range of interests!  I am glad that you have kept writing.


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## rporter610 (Jan 15, 2015)

Son_of_Perdition said:


> I was in Germany in '65-67' when I was in the AF.  Several of us took the Rhine tour but can't remember much past the stop over in Rudesheim, they were having the 'Wine Festival' at the time.



Those were some tough years to be in the service.  I hope your experience was positive.


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## rporter610 (Jan 15, 2015)

drifter said:


> After I retired I read a ladies blog for three years until she died. She blogged about her emphysema. In 2007 I started blogging about my own emphysema. Unlike the lady, I soon ran out of steam. I started blogging about current events and fell in with a five or six people. One evening during a mild onset of depression I deleted my blog and my google email account. A couple of months later I started another bloodspot blog, occasionally writing about my disease and giving an occasional update but mostly my blogging was about current events with an occasional political comment. I still write the blog but not as often as I did. I was blogging three or four times a week. I considered quitting blogging but found I like to write and consider it a good mental activity. Now I blog when the spirit moves me. One problem about my blogging too often is having nothing to and still trying to blog. So far as I know I have three people reading my blog. It is nice to know somebody does on occasion read it.



You're right - the motivation to write kind of comes and goes.  I started my blog mainly because I have been writing for 30 years, and when I was laid off from my main writing job in June 2014, I felt completely at a loss for what to do with my time.  My blog has kept me busy, even though my readership is small.  It is a good feeling to know that a few people are reading what I write, as you say!


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