Never Retire - February Update

Just a quick note to say I will be on vacation with my girlfriend in Italy for the next two weeks. Our COVID tests came back negative, so we’re good to go.

With that in mind, here’s the plan and an update for February.

I have articles scheduled to publish on Medium during the trip, but do not plan on working while away.

However, when I return, to make up for the absence, I will send out one newsletter post per day (a mix of free and paid installments) between my return in mid-February and the end of the month. This will include reviews of academic research on retirement, specifically working in retirement, as well as what we normally cover in relation to our guiding Never Retire theme.

As I write this, we have 300 newsletter subscribers. I’m aiming for 1,000 by the end of 2022.

Feel free to share the newsletter with people you think might be interested.

If you’d like to further support my work as a freelance writer, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription, which gives you access to all newsletter content.

One thing I plan on doing when we return is chronicling the travel, with a focus on how much everything cost and how my girlfriend and I budgeted for it here and on Medium.

From both travel and money perspectives, I intend to get deep in the weeds in those stories. There’s lots of travel content out there, so I want to get as specific as possible on money/budget management and travel, as to differentiate.

Ahead of the trip, here’s some data.

Via Scott’s Cheap Flights, we booked two round trip tickets to Rome, via Madrid for $684.10 ($342.05 each).

I have yet to find a better cheap flights source than Scott’s. Here’s my referral link in case you want to sign up.

We’re using Airbnb for all of our accommodations. Here’s the price breakdown for each:

7 nights in Rome: $459.12 ($65.59 per night)
2 nights in Malta: $104.47 ($52.24 per night)
3 nights in Florence: $309.10 ($103.03 per night)

For a total of $872.69.

We have yet to book our final night in Rome.

Flight and accommodations total: $1556.79

That’s not bad. The places we’re staying at all come highly rated and in prime neighborhoods in each location, such as Trastevere in Rome.

Feel free to email me restaurant and other recommendations!

Anyhow, when we get back I will detail all aspects of the trip, focusing on what every aspect of the trip cost and we budgeted for it all.

Thank you for helping make the newsletter an early success. I look forward to returning and sending out an installment each day during the second half of February.

Rocco