Our two year anniversary of our early retirement: Looking back at our past year, observations, and thoughts…
 |
| Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Maine |
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Many people take no care of their money til they come near the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.”
As I write this post on our 2 year anniversary of our early retirement, I can’t help but be amazed at how quickly the second year went. It really seems like yesterday when we retired, but that was actually two years ago!
If the first year was us getting used to the idea of not working after all those years of working, figuring things out along the way after being ‘homeless’, and traveling throughout the eastern parts of the United States, then the second year marked the repeat of our pattern established during the first year of retirement. We got the pattern down pat, in that we knew basically what to do, including where to travel to, what to do and see during our travels, how to live month or longer at a destination, and how to spend our days when we’re staying home.
Our schedule became familiar as the changing seasons, as we knew we would travel during the months of October, December - February, April, and June - August. The months in between those traveling months would be spent with my parents/family.
There was certain comfort in knowing our schedule and knowing what to expect. Like a favorite blanket that is really familiar and comfortable to sleep in, the second year of our retirement was exactly that.
We got to experience new places we’ve never visited, we tried our hands at local cuisine, and we got to meet some great people along the way. These are some of the highlights of our past year’s travels:
- October 2021: Snowshoe, West Virginia
Our first overnight trip to West Virginia. We got to stay at a ski resort with a cute mountain village. We witnessed epic fall foliage, and incredible drives.
- December 2021 - February 2022: Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
It had been 18 years since we last visited Myrtle Beach area, and we were amazed at how developed the town had become. We stayed at a golf resort and our condo was the nicest AirBnB rental we had ever booked, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
We fell in love with Charleston, as well as many incredible attractions near Myrtle Beach. We met great neighbors upstairs, who we are still keeping touch!
- March 2022: New York City
We said our final goodbyes to our Pomeranian Toby in March, who was suffering from kidney and liver issues. Our lives would never quite be the same without that fur ball, but we are coping and adapting the best we can.
That month, needless to say, was one of the toughest month my wife and I had to endure…
- April 2022: Tupper Lake, New York
We finally got to visit the Adirondacks in upstate New York! Our AirBnB rental was a cozy single family home with a built in garage. We loved the lakefront location with phenomenal views.
We got to spend our time without Toby by our side that month, for the first time in 15 years. We visited art museums, attended a classical music concert, and ate out more often. We did our first summit of a mountain in the Adirondacks, which we’ll never forget.
- June 2022 - July 2022: Stratton, Maine
Our first trip to the state of Maine! We rented a mountain cabin in northwest Maine. Although small, we loved the huge windows on both sides of the cabin with awesome tree/mountain views.
We finally got to visit the famous Acadia National Park, along with several hikes to beautiful waterfalls. We got to eat some delicious Maine seafood from various top notch restaurants.
- August 2022: Canaan, Vermont
Our last trip to Vermont was in 2018, during the month of January! That trip was cut short thanks to an impending snowfall the second night.
We got to spend a good long month in Vermont during the summer. We loved our two bedroom rental with a nice view of Green Mountains.
After living through our second year of early retirement, these are our observations and thoughts:
- Nomadic lifestyle still has many awesome benefits
We still love experiencing new places. Words can’t quite describe how fulfilling it is to drive to a destination unknown, to live there like a local.
To shop at local supermarkets, to fill up gas at local gas stations, to visit local attractions, and meeting locals does wonders for our mental health. To experience a new stimuli means a healthy mind! I always believed in that.
Being able to travel is a gift unlike anything else out there. Living at least a month or longer at a destination allows us to feel what locals must feel. We get to experience the same way of living as the locals do, albeit only for a month or so at a time…
For example, in Maine, we got to experience a transfer station, which is a place to drop off your garbage/recyclable, which was about 5 miles away! This was our first experience anywhere, where we had to drive that distance to throw away our garbage.
In West Virginia, we got to live on top of a ski resort, where the cell service was not available! In that part of the state, we got to experience the National Radio Quiet Zone, and we had to rely on rental’s landline phone. In South Carolina during December, we experienced 80+ degree days where we longed for summer shorts, but we unfortunately, had not packed!
We still love visiting new parks, waterfalls, mountains, and with Toby’s passing, museums and concerts. We are never bored visiting new places.
It’s these and many other instances like these that keep our minds sharp and interested. It’s never boring when traveling thanks to never ending new stimuli and experiences…
- We’re still budgeting, but maybe not as strictly as the first year…
The second year of our early retirement started out well, with our housing budget during August at $1,000. In October, we did even better in West Virginia, at $870. Here is a list of our housing budget for the rest of the year.
- December 2021- February 2022: $1430 per month
- April 2022: $1315
- June 2022-July 2022: $1330 per month
- August 2022: $1711(!)
We ended up spending on average $1316 per month when we stayed at long term stays, which is higher by about $300 compared to the first year. We noticed AirBnB prices have been creeping up, but we also admit that we did splurge a little at South Carolina and Vermont.
Traveling with a dog limits the rental options and it tends to increase the price of a rental thanks to a higher dog cleaning fees at most rentals. When we had booked our long term stays, we still had Toby with us.
Both South Carolina and Vermont were the only ones available for rent to these two popular summer time destinations, that allow dogs. Now that Toby is no longer with us, we can probably (and hopefully) find more affordable options to rent.
Even with higher housing budget, we still managed to balance our budget. As we’ve done in the past, we cut down on other things like gas, entertainment, and dining out when housing budget is high. For example, in South Carolina, we practically stayed most days near our rental during January and February. We mostly went to parks nearby (we had a free SC state park pass compliments of our rental), and to nearby Myrtle Beach area.
Because of that, we saved plenty of money on gas and entertainment. During the winter, we mostly did takeouts and not much at sit down restaurants, which also saved us money. It’s important to balance what we spend our money on, more so now that we’re living on a fixed budget.
Our one recommendation about budgeting is this: Always pay attention to what you’re spending. If you’re going over on one category like housing, cut down on other category(s) as needed. Remember, we’ll never be perfect in life. Just do the best you can each and every month.
- Despite a higher housing budget for the year, we still managed to save some money in some months that offset higher spending on other months
We put away about $2200 for the year for a rainy day, which was put to good use on month like December 2021, when all of us went to see a doctor for a yearly checkup. Toby’s vet bill was over $1000 that month, while ours was close to $1000. That money we saved went to pay for those expenses.
Always having an emergency fund is what I’ve been preaching for the past two years. Please have one yourself! Life will happen, and you need to prepare for it.
- Year of losing loved ones, and losing friends…
Previous year was a tough one, as we lost my mother-in-law, our Pomeranian Toby, our good friend and neighbor from Pennsylvania, and my coworker from work, also in Pennsylvania. Our second year of retirement was the best of times, and the worst of times…
Losing family and friends is never easy, but it is the way of nature. What is born must also die. It’s how we deal with these that makes us adults.
I always knew everything has a finite shelf life. Our time spent with our loved ones never last forever, neither does time spent with our friends.
I always wanted to do the best I can with loved ones so I have no regrets when they inevitably pass. I believe I’ve done that with my mother-in-law by spending time with her, dining out, traveling, and talking like families do.
Same goes for our Toby. We’re glad we got to spend the last year and half together since our retirement, spending almost 24/7 with our baby. We got to travel to new places, experience new stimuli, and just playing together or showing affection together. These moments will always stay with us…
After their passing, we are still coping but we are still living our lives fully. We’ve been keeping to our traveling schedule, doing similar things like hiking, visiting parks and nature, but also doing new things which we couldn’t do much of when Toby was around, like dining out or visiting museums.
Time heals things and it certainly is true for us. The pain of losing our loved ones is there, but luckily receding day by day…
- Losing loved ones and friends puts your life in perspective…
With the loss of our close family/friends, we do get a sharpened perspective on life. We are even more sure of ourselves of our decision to retire early, and doing something we love. We’ve seen too many people wait to retire, only to die the first or the second year. Or worse yet, die before retiring.
We’ve also seen too many people living with regrets, wondering what it could’ve been, should’ve been, or would’ve been. Wondering why they didn’t enjoy life as it was happening, wondering why they didn’t travel, or wondering why they didn’t save enough money to retire.
I recently read an article by a death doula who recounted a story of someone dying. That person was regretting why he didn’t take the time to enjoy the little things in life, like those times spent with his kids. He said he lived life like an automaton, not fully engaged and just going about everyday without much joy or happiness. By the time he realized he needed to enjoy his life, it was too late…
We at least know we’re trying to live ourselves the best we can, without regrets. If this early retirement thing doesn’t work out, we at least have some good stories to tell…
We are very grateful and happy that we’ve retired early, not needing to punch the clock, and traveling to new places as we please. We’re also grateful that we get to spend much more of our time with our family.
I believe life should be interesting and that you should be able to tell some good stories about the life you’ve lived. What’s the point of living if you’re not doing anything interesting and fun?
We could never see ourselves working 40-50 years then retire at 65 (or later). Traveling after 65 will always be more difficult than at 50! We realized this before we thought of retiring early, and we know this to be true now.
We’re so much happier now that we no longer need to work. Living with no regrets!
- Importance of filling up the days in between the traveling days
Even though we’re moving from one location to the next, we don’t spend every single day going out, sightseeing, or driving. On average, we may travel 2-3 days out of a typical week. The rest of the week is spent inside our rental.
It’s vitally important to find something to do in those days not spent traveling. Lately, I’ve been hooked on audiobooks. I’ve found these at Spotify, or on YouTube, and since I’ve found them, they’ve been keeping me busy.
It’s one more thing to do when we’re staying inside. As we mentioned in the past, you’ll need to find something to do after you retire. Whether that’s reading, listening to music, writing, painting, playing an instrument, and/or cooking, you’ll going to need to keep yourself busy and fulfilled.
- Not working is still awesome, the second year
One of the primary reasons why we retired was to not work. It’s still a huge deal the second year in that we no longer have to get up to go to work. We still joke to each other every night before going to bed, if we should set our alarm at 6:40. *That was the time we used to get up when we worked.
Just the reality that we no longer are in the rat race makes us so happy. Nothing’s changed the second year. We still cherish the weekdays when we’re going on hikes, or just staying home, saying how lucky we are that we’re able to do this.
We hear so many stories of people getting physically harmed while working, and we thank the universe we don’t need to deal with that, each time we hear these stories…
In conclusion:
Second year of our retirement has been a roller coaster ride. It had its high points and its low points, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Throughout it all, we managed to enjoy the ride while also dealing with life (and death)…
We still cherish the many things we get to enjoy after retirement like not needing to work, traveling, and spending quality time with our family and friends. We wouldn’t change our lifestyle anytime soon…
We hope to visit some more new places in our third year, and we’re ready (always) for more stimuli. We thank you all for reading and stay tuned for our continuing journey through our early retirement!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
If you missed the post ‘What’s it like to hand in your resignation...’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘How to retire early...’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘We sold our home during the pandemic...’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘What is the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement...’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Magic of compounding interest...’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Our minimalist update…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Dangers of entitlement on your path to happiness…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Get rid of debt to reach your goal of financial independence…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Thinking of moving to Pennsylvania…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Learn to say enough to be happy on your path to financial independence and to retire early…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Why is downsizing/minimalism so difficult…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Is America still a land of opportunity…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Learn a skill that pays you well to retire early…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Invest and not save for retirement…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Learn to enjoy the moment for life and for FIRE…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘The correlation between consumerism and early retirement…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Retire on $200,000 (200k)…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Adapting to change for life and for FIRE…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Thinking of moving to Hawaii…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Tough childhood leads to success in later life…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Thinking of moving to New York City…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Importance of finding purpose in early retirement…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘What is the rule of 72…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Retire on $100,000 (100k)…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘The importance of a significant other’s role in your path to FIRE…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Save for retirement or pay off debt…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘How much do I need to retire…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Early Retirement Manifesto…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Pros and cons of early retirement…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘How to save money when traveling…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘What is the average 401k balance…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Doing a garage sale during the pandemic…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘First few months after early retirement…’, please click here.
If you missed the post ‘Not caring too much equals happiness…’, please click here.
