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

  Southbank Riverwalk, Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Florida is one of those places that is easily overlooked, situated between the ever more popular Orlando to the south, and Savannah to the north.  Being near the ubiquitous I-95 , one of the most traveled interstate highways in the United States spanning over 1900 miles, the city is right there, en route from points both north and south.   We must’ve passed by this city on at least 4 different occasions when we were driving down to Orlando (3 times) and once more when we were driving way down to the Florida Keys .  Every time we’d pass by the city, with its glistening buildings, various impressive-looking bridges and its modern cityscapes, we always wondered when we might actually stop there to properly explore the city. That day finally came for us in December of 2023, during our second major road trip since our early retirement in 2020.  That second road trip would span 8 weeks during the winter of 2023-2024, with us exploring

  Ocean City, Maryland  It seems every day these day, anyone who is even remotely interested in money matters is closely watching the inflation rate.  I for one, is in that group.   When going grocery shopping seems expensive compared to just 4 years ago, or when going out to eat at a sit down restaurant costs an arm and a leg, we can’t help but notice how much more expensive things have become. I remember the early days of 2022, just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when a gallon of gasoline near Myrtle Beach (where we were staying at during that winter) was around $2.25.  Fast forward to this year, and we’re seeing that same gallon of gasoline cost upwards of $3.00 or more. Going grocery shopping is one of the most unmistakable things I notice since the pandemic.  Just even 3 years ago, we spent roughly around $300-$400 on groceries per month.  These days, we’re spending something like $400-$500 per month.   Sure, you can blame greedy corporations that raised prices on every

  Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, Florida  Oscar Wilde: “Work is the curse of the drinking classes.” August 2024 marks my wife and myself’s 4 year anniversary of our early retirement.  My, how time flies!  It does seem like yesterday that we made the leap of faith to trust the concepts of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement and to retire. Just thinking back to the days leading up to my final day at my job floods me with nostalgia.  It was during the peak of the pandemic, so I had to work remotely.  I remember dropping off all the company equipment on August 17 (my last day) like laptop, cell phone, etc., then meeting one of the best supervisors I’ve ever had (Kelly), for an exit interview. I could tell she was emotional after working together for the better part of 14 years, then having to say goodbye.  It was Kelly who made working there possible in the first place as she was one of the interviewers when I was hired.  She was so nice to have bought my favorite

  Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia  While I was planning our 8 week long road trip to the American South/Southeast/Deep South/Central South, I had this idea of visiting bunch of forts as well as other interesting points of interest along the way.  I’m not sure when I started to get interested in forts, but almost overnight, they looked really interesting. There’s something very appealing about forts with their combination of beauty, situated right near the waters, with plenty of history thrown in.  It’s learning about history not through textbooks, but rather from actually seeing and experiencing it first hand, simply the best kind of learning possible. I knew I wanted to visit the following forts during our trip: Fort Pulaski National Monument, Fort Frederica National Monument , and Fort Pickens Area of Gulf Island National Seashore .  Just  planning and mapping them out was so exciting, and it really got my brain working overtime, but in a good way. My brain is wired for trave