Believe it or not, I get fan emails from time to time. They come in many different forms. Some of it is precisely what it sounds like, meaning people take the time to drop me a nice note and say how much they liked the blog, the book (or both), or how much something I wrote resonated with them. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my ego likes those emails. I’d also be lying if I said I have great tracking system for responding to all them. So, if I owe you a response, please accept my apology in advance as I try to work through the backlog. More importantly, please keep sending those types of emails because I find them extremely motivating. They help me write, even on days when I’m not feeling particularly creative.

Advice requests are another form of fan emails I receive. Those motivate me too because I get to help people directly. Most of the time, the advice being sought is pension-related. For instance, sometimes, people want me to analyze their pension as a whole. In contrast, others ask about a specific pension design element. Anyone who’d like to see or listen to me provide an overall analysis of a pension can check out the ChooseFI episode where I counseled a young married couple about the wife’s pension.

Less often, advice requests center on career/life issues associated with pensionable jobs. These issues sometimes include a mental health angle. Since I blog about my mental health issues connected to my previous pensionable job, it’s no surprise that readers reach out with similar problems or questions. That’s the gist of the latest email, which I discuss below. Continue reading →