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

  Zion National Park, one of our favorite places in America  Tammy Duckworth: “The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.” Many years ago, a very close friend of mine was hosting a relative from South Korea.  I don’t remember much about that particular relative, except that she mentioned how America, especially the areas around Queens (New York City), looked so dilapidated and run down, unbefitting the status of United States as the world leader in almost every major aspects of our current, interconnected world. What struck me as odd hearing that sentiment was how uninformed she was about the world around her.  Every major city has a downtown/city center where businesses and more importantly jobs are located, with housing & condominiums surrounding that city center.  The further you move away from that business saturated city center, the less developed the areas tend to be. In New York City for example, M

  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