Wandering Money Pig - A journey of early retirement and FIRE (financial independence retire early)

  Investing is the way to retire early! Warren Buffett:  “I don’t look to jump over seven-foot bars; I look around for one-foot bars that I can step over.” My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  Since our early retirement in August of last year, we’ve been traveling with our companion Toby, a 13 pound Pomeranian dog.  Places we’ve visited so far include Ocean City (Maryland), Atlantic Beach (North Carolina), Claysburg (Pennsylvania), Ellicottville (New York), the Poconos (Pennsylvania), and other attractions in New York and North Carolina.  We look forward to traveling across the eastern parts of the United States in the foreseeable future. In this post, I’d like to discuss the importance of investing and not saving for early retirement. Although both words may mean the same thing to most people, investing is the only way to reach financial independence and not saving.   What is investing? Investing is expending money with the expecta...

Wildwood Park, Harrisburg, PA During our 14 year residency in the state of Pennsylvania, my wife and I (and our Pomeranian dog, Toby) spent many hours at Pennsylvania’s wonderful state parks.  Unlike other states like Maryland, New Jersey, or New York, Pennsylvania being a commonwealth, does not charge park entrance fees. Our pack took full advantage of this perk! Being relatively close to Harrisburg area from our residence near Philadelphia, meant we took many trips to the Pennsylvania capital.  Two of these places, Wildwood Park and Fort Hunter Mansion and Park are two of Toby’s and our favorite places there. Wildwood Park is located within the city limits of Harrisburg.  The park features a visitor center / nature center, a Boardwalk that takes you into the swamp / marsh area, bird watching, biking, hiking, and picnicking.   The first time we visited there, we noticed Toby was enjoying the park.  He was pulling us(!) to hurry up.  This is a good sign he...

Toby enjoying himself at Natureworks Park, PA Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” As I watch the heavy rain coming down outside of our Airbnb apartment in Ellicottville (New York), I can’t help but feel completely happy right this moment.  The sound of rain hitting the windows, the deck, and the trees, is music to my ears.  It is absolutely one of my favorite things in life! It got me thinking about how simple rain falling down can make me so happy.  It also got me wondering if this is why I’m able to fully enjoy my early retirement as well as the journey to get to early retirement and financial independence. In this post, I’d like to discuss the importance of learning to enjoy the moment for life and for FIRE. My love for simple joys of life started early.  I always remember enjoying eating and really savoring the food.  I know some people say they eat to live, but I’m just the opposite.  I live t...

Things we buy becomes an item someone may not even want... Will Rogers:  “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” My wife and I are recent early retirees as of August 2020 at age of 51 and 48.  We sold our home of 14 years at the end of August.  Before closing our home on August 24th, we literally went through hell to get rid of our belongings as we weren’t moving to another house or rental.  Instead, we were going to live like nomads, traveling to various locations for a month (or more) around the eastern part of the US, and to spend time with our family. Between the time our home was put up for sale in early July and closing, we spent 5 rough weeks trimming our stuff.  I will say this was one of the most challenging periods my wife and I went through together... Even before deciding to retire early, the idea of downsizing or minimalism always appealed to us.  We got hooked on TV sho...

  Cedar St. Park, Emerald Isle, North Carolina  My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  We’ve been slow traveling with our traveling companion Toby, a 13 pound Pomeranian dog since our early retirement in August 2020.  We’ve visited several destinations on the eastern parts of the United States including Ocean City (Maryland), Atlantic Beach (North Carolina), Claysburg (Pennsylvania), the Poconos, and others.  We’re planning on living this way in the near foreseeable future. Previously in my blog, I had written a post on how to retire on $100,000 ($100k).  If you missed that post, please click here .   In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on retiring on $200,000. When I was researching financial independence and retiring early during my late thirties, one of my favorite search topics was exactly this one:  How to retire on $200k.   I knew looking for answers on how to retire on $100k was not going to be easy.  ...

   View of downtown Ottawa, Canada  My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Ottawa when we resided in New York City.  Ottawa is the capital of Canada, and it certainly shows, from its majestic Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River, and world class museums.  Bordering the city of Montreal to the east, and US border to the south, Ottawa is derived from a native Algonquin word for ‘odawa’, which means to trade.   Ottawa is home to nearly 1.4 million residents.  Its main economic driver is the federal government, which accounts for majority of jobs.  Close second is the high technology industry, which earned Ottawa the nickname ‘Silicon Valley North’.   Located about 460 miles northwest of New York City, it took us about 9 hours to arrive there.  The highway we chose, the I-87, is one we’ve taken many times to travel upstate to the Catskills Mountains, Lake George, and Canada. We left early around 6 am on a Saturday morning so we can arrive ...