Never Retire - Who Reads This Newsletter?

Results from our recent subscriber survey

A few days ago, I sent a survey to all subscribers with a few questions.

In this installment, I relay the results along with thoughts about what they might mean.

In a few days we continue our series on working in retirement. You can access the first two parts of the four-part discussion here and here. (Note: These are paid subscriber only posts).

In any event, the results of the survey, to this point, reaffirm something I have thought ever since I started constructing the narrative around the idea of Never Retire.

Personal finance is personal. The things we talk about mean different things to different people. We can apply them in myriad ways, on the basis of these differences between us.

Even if you’re in traditional retirement (or some other situation), you can adapt much of what we talk about to organize your personal finance. The money strategies we discuss—in my experience and estimation—are simply tailored to the intentions and challenges associated with working into relative old age. Ultimately, most of what we discuss falls under a broad money management umbrella, with a sharp focus on Never Retiring.

I believe this even more than I did prior to the survey because of the responses to the question—Do you intend to Never Retire?

• 52.9 percent answered YES, they intend to Never Retire. While expected, given this newsletter’s content, the remaining 47.1 percent answered with a NO or MAYBE, split evenly at 23.5 percent. So a good chunk of our subscribers are, presumably already retired or currently contemplating their options.

I have been reading articles about money for roughly twenty years. I have been writing them from about thirteen.

The thing that has always bugged me is the lack of nuance, particularly around retirement. It’s almost always here’s how much you need to save and if you’re not on track, here’s what you need to do to get back on track. Not very helpful, especially when the traditional path to retirement feels and might actually be unrealistic, if not impossible for many of us.

I aim for broad appeal with a focus on traditional retirement alternatives.

In terms of where people live, 64.7 percent report residing in suburban environments. This tells me I ought to tone down my pro-city and admittedly anti-suburbia bias. Just a little. I’m not a fan of suburbia, simply because it’s not for me. However I can see why people—even most people—consider the suburbs right for them.

We have subscribers all over the world, from Melbourne to Edmonton and all across the United States in places such as New York, Phoenix, and Cookeville, Tennessee.

Just a quick take on who’s subscribing and reading. Feel free to fill out the survey if you haven’t already.

I am currently working on part three of the working in retirement series, which will summarize some of the academic research on the connection between physical and mental health and retirement or working into retirement.

As always, thank you for supporting my work as a freelance writer. I appreciate it.

Rocco