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

Regularly saving equals earlier retirement! Warren Buffett:  “Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.” One of the most important things to do to realize your goal of financial independence and to retire early, is saving money regularly.  Whether that comes in the form of a regular paycheck on a weekly or biweekly schedule that puts away a percentage of your money into a retirement account like the 401k, or an automated savings from your checking account to a retirement account like the IRA/Roth IRA, it is vitally important to practice and to understand this topic. I read so many people who didn’t have any retirement savings (or too little) lament this fact once they reach their retirement age.  They usually say if only they had money left over each paycheck, they would’ve put away money for retirement.  Or, they might say if only they had a company sponsored retirement account like the 401k, they could’ve put away money towar...

Charleston, SC In one of our previous posts, we had discussed weight gain after early retirement, which forced us to change our diet.  That diet change resulted in my wife and myself trying veganism, that is, abstaining from eating all animal products, like meats, cheese/dairy, and seafood. We went vegan in early June (2021) after watching a documentary called “ What the Health? ”  This, along with our research into the best diet choice, resulted in our change to go vegan.  We had reported our immediate weight loss (about 4 pounds) after about 4 weeks of going vegan.  We went “cold turkey” in terms of eating meats/dairy/cheese, but we did finish the seafood we had already bought, for about the next week or so.  Vegan diet seemed to work for us, as we didn’t miss meat/dairy/cheese as much as we initially thought. I noticed one other positive after going vegan, that is, I wasn’t out of breath when lifting our luggage/belongings into our monthly rentals.  Wher...

  Beartown State Park, WV Estée Lauder:  “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” My first job when I was growing up, was helping out one of my dad’s friends at a flea market.  His stall sold everyday items from batteries, detergents, soaps, toys, to things like hand towels, in the borough of Brooklyn.  My brother and I had agreed to help him out in exchange for a 2 night/3 day trip to the city of Boston to do some deep sea tuna fishing. The job itself was setting up the stall in the morning, selling items occasionally, and closing up the stall in the late afternoon.  We worked 2 days over a weekend, and we didn’t mind the work, as we weren’t doing much at that age anyway.  We were happy for the distraction and we were excited about that upcoming trip to Boston! During the two days of working retail, I learned quite a few things.  I learned the true value of money, how hard you have to work to make money, and how difficult it is to deal with p...

  Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC After booking our pack’s (my wife, myself, and our Pomeranian) 3 months stay from December 2021 until February in Murrells Inlet, I had done some preliminary research on must see places to visit.  I had come upon Brookgreen Gardens in my research time and time again, from various sources. I had debated whether or not to purchase online tickets before our arrival on December 1st, but decided against it, as there wasn’t any good reason for early booking, e.g., no discount for early booking.  I was sure glad I had decided not to purchase the tickets as my awesome neighbors upstairs gave us two complimentary guest tickets!   The free tickets came from my neighbor’s friends at the church, who had these guest passes, but wasn’t able to give them to anyone they knew.  In comes our neighbors who mentioned us (we’ve never visited the place) and the rest they say, is history! We were ecstatic!  The tickets were to expire at t...

  Outer Banks Scenic Byway, North Carolina  Warren Buffett:  “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” Since our early retirement in August 2020, my wife and I (and Toby, our Pomeranian) have spent just about 8 months out of the year slow traveling, that is staying at a place for a month or longer.  The remaining 4 months have been spent with our family back in New York City area. The journey to become financial independent and to retire early is a delicate balancing act, as you’re trying to save up as much as you can for the future, but also trying to enjoy your life NOW.   There were struggles wondering why we couldn’t go on a European vacation like our friends.  There were times when we felt deprived of tasty food at expensive restaurants.  We wanted to be more spontaneous and do a weekender to a city somewhere, just because... If you ask me now if all these struggles and sacrifices were worth it, then I would s...