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

  Lake Chautauqua, NY My wife and I (and our Pomeranian Toby) had been staying in the town of Ellicottville in western New York for the month of June.  We came upon the Chautauqua Institution from the many marketing brochures/visitor guides we had picked up from one of many New York State rest areas. At first glance, we didn’t know what to make of Chautauqua Institution .  It looked to us like a part college, part resort, part lakeside destination, and part concert venue.  We were right on all fronts! Chautauqua Institution is nestled in a dramatic lakeside setting and it’s registered as a National Historic Landmark.  During the summer months (late June through late August), the institute comes alive with lectures/seminars/concerts on art, music, theater, religion, recreation, lectures, and top entertainment. Chautauqua Institution is known for its Victorian architecture throughout the village.  In many ways, the village feels like a college campus, with it...

  Niagara Falls State Park, NY Bruce Lee:  “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” I’ve lived close to half a century.  In that time, I’ve come to a certain realization that there are too many people living with great expectations  (expectations put on themselves or by others) that are not met, living with anger, depression, animosity, and eventually leading to ruin. I’ve seen this up close.  When I was growing up, I knew a nice lady on the 4th floor of our apartment building.  She had a daughter and a son. She was widowed when she just had her youngest, and had been raising her kids since her husband’s untimely death. No one can dispute the hardships she had to endure to raise her two kids.   The problem started when she started to expect great things from her kids after they grew up.  I remember when her kids made mistakes, she made sure she punished them by having them kneel and b...

  National Comedy Center, Jamestown, NY Charlie Chaplin:  “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” My pack (myself, my wife, and our Pomeranian dog Toby) spent a month in western New York, in a town called Ellicottville, during the month of June.  It was during this time that we took a day to visit the town of Jamestown, about a 45 minute drive from Ellicottville. When we first heard about the National Comedy Center, we weren’t completely sold on visiting this attraction.  However, when we heard Lucille Ball / Desi Arnaz Museum was also in the same town, we were intrigued. We grew up watching reruns of “I Love Lucy” television show.  Let me set the scene for you:  We had immigrated to United States in early 1980’s and English wasn’t our first language.  Because of the language barrier, we initially watched shows that didn’t require much English to understand.  Such shows were Looney Toons cartoons, most of Saturday m...

Sunset at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina  One of the most important life goals should be to be stable emotionally and not constantly worry about everything .   My motto is to worry if you can actually impact the outcome of an event .  Otherwise, why bother?  If worrying ‘fixed’ your worry, then I would worry.  But it does not... I’ve seen too many people in my life constantly waste away their lives, worrying sick about everything!  This characteristic, of being even-keeled, will help you to lead a happier life in the long run.   In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on being even-keeled in life and for FIRE (financial independence retire early). When I was young and impressionable, I read a story that would stay with me my entire life.  It would cement my belief that life will inevitably balance itself.   Here’s the story: In ancient China, there lived a farmer, his wife, and a young son.  One day, the son broke his legs while ridi...

  Perry Monument, Presque Isle State Park, PA When my wife and I lived in the state of Pennsylvania, we always wanted to visit Erie, PA.  We heard of the city from my colleagues at work who raved above the area, and from travel guides/brochures we picked up from one of many Pennsylvania’s rest areas.  The distance from where we lived near Philadelphia to Erie, was one of the biggest hurdles for us visiting Erie, as it would’ve been at least a 6 hour ride to get there. All the hurdles disappeared thanks to our month long trip using Vrbo to western New York, in a town called Ellicottville.  The location of Ellicottville is awesome.  Niagara Falls State Park is under a 90 minute drive, Letchworth State Park is about a 60 minute drive and Erie, PA is under a 90 minute drive. We had to check out Erie! We prepared lunch, snacks, drinks, and Toby’s treats for our trip to Erie.  We left around 9 a.m. on a beautiful June weekday going west!  Road trip again! To...