Retirement Ain't Easy

Health Goal – Lose 35 lbs

Another repeat goal.  *sigh*. A never ending story.  One of these days I’ll get back into the groove where I lost 80 lbs and got down to my high school weight.  Is 2026 the year for this to happen?  We’ll see.

Health Goal – Walk 300 Miles

Going hand in hand with the weight loss goal, I’m going to strive to walk everyday regardless of weather.  I have a treadmill for those bad weather days.  I should be able to walk 300 miles in 2026.  There I said it, 300 miles.  Possible if I do one mile per day.

Creative Goal – Write, record and distribute 6 songs

A repeat goal.  I plan to continue to release songs from myself @chucksturgeonmusic and also my country band @sturgeoncountry.  So I feel pretty confidant about this goal and I enjoy making music.

Creative Goal – Play at least one acoustic show live in public

So, I’ve been practicing an acoustic set or two with the intention of playing live… in front of people. Something I haven’t done in 8 or 9 years. On top of that, I’ve never been on a stage by myself where the focus is completely on me. Scary, but I’m determined to at least play out once, preferably starting with an assisted living place. So fingers crossed I get this going. I’ve bought all the equipment I need to do this and I have been practicing. Just got to get motivated.

Creative Goal – 2 blog postings per month

I’ve eliminated the YouTube videos goal.  I’m just not feeling the whole YouTube thing anymore.  I’ll still work on music videos to release from my Music Channels but not going to stress over creating videos for the Retirement Ain’t Easy channel.  But I do intend to continue blogging and work to get back into blogging regularly with discussions about retirement, politics and whatever else I feel like.  It’s my blog.

Creative Goal – Build 3 scale models or LEGO models

In 2025 I built 3 models and no LEGO.  I plan to do better in 2026. I have a stack of models to build and at least one LEGO build waiting to happen.  So I’m thinking I can complete this goal.

Retirement Goal – Downsize by selling toys, comic books and music equipment

Repeat goal and a must to-do.  I really have way too many toys that will never get a display case.  I am even considering selling off a bunch of my KISS collectibles.  Since my health insurance costs have tripled for 2026, I need more money.  Comic books is another area where I have way too many.  If I could find someone to give me a decent price for the whole collection, I’d sell.  As far as music equipment, I have a few things I could sell.  I may give away a couple of guitars to the organization I volunteer with – Kids Who Rock.

Retirement Goal – read 45 books/ebooks

I’ve set this goal to a more challenging number for this year.  Last year I had to bump it up.  I don’t see a problem with meeting this goal.  I’m usually reading two books a month.  One e-book and one hard book.  I have a Kindle subscription that feeds many plenty of books.

Retirement Goal – Medicare

I had a great finance plan for 2026 but it got blown up when the Obamacare subsidy ended.  Along with the ending of the subsidy, my health plan went up $900 per month!  So without the subsidy, plus the increase, I’m paying 3 times what I paid in 2024 and 2025.  Sucks!  Going to sign up and start receiving Medicare in October.  

Retirement Goal – Stress Relief

Minimize stress from managing my Mom’s finances and dealing with a brother that doesn’t understand money or a budget.  Ultimately its not my problem.

Minimize the stress of helping my sons out of financial jams.  I guess it’s better to give now and help them out instead of waiting for them to inherit it. I feel a certain level of obligation to help my kids, but I also counsel them on busting and maybe consider moving to a small town where things are cheaper.