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

  Beautiful Snowshoe, WV My wife and I (and our Pomeranian Toby) were very lucky to have spent a month in the beautiful state of West Virginia during the month of October.  When we planned our month long trip to the Mountain State , we were just hoping it would be during the fall foliage.   We had heard from our friends and acquaintances that October is the best month for fall foliage in the Mountain State.  Armed with this knowledge, we set about exploring and experiencing all that West Virginia has to offer! The drive down from our parent’s home in New York City was epic.  Every country road we took was beautiful, accentuated by colors of the rainbow.  Thanks to gorgeous weather on October 1st, we got to see  fall foliage in its perfect splendor.   Every country road on our way to Snowshoe Mountain Resort has curves and you’d be hard pressed to find a straight road for even a mile.  If you know me at all, I love driving all these undulatin...

  View from Chimney Rocks Park, Hollidaysburg, PA Mark Twain:  “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Ever since our early retirement in August (2020), my wife and I have traveled to quite a few places, which we wouldn’t have been able to, prior to our retirement.  What our retirement allowed us is that it gave us freedom to live like nomads most of the times, while spending time with our family in between those times. Since that August, we’ve spent a month or longer in Ocean City (Maryland), Atlantic Beach (North Carolina), Claysburg (Pennsylvania), Ellicottville (New York), Indiana (Pennsylvania), Altoona (Pennsylvania), and Snowshoe (West Virginia).  In between these travels, we’ve spent time at the Poconos (Pennsylvania), Preston (Connecticut), as well as many day trips in and around New York City area and its suburbs. In this post, I’d like to discuss why we travel and why we live this nomadic lifestyle. One of the most important things ...

  Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA Winston Churchill:  “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” Since our early retirement in August 2020, my wife and I (and Toby, our Pomeranian) have kept our promise to travel more, and have seen our share of so many wonderful places, like Niagara Falls, Letchworth State Park, Ocean City, Atlantic Beach , and Presque Isle State Park. All these travels would not have been possible today were it not for the sacrifices we’ve made throughout our journey to be financially independent and to retire early.   In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on what it means to sacrifice to achieve financial independence. Our journey to be financially independent started around the year 2010.  Thanks to blogs like Mr. Money Moustache and Early Retirement Extreme , I finally found the answer to my question, “How do I retire early?”   The simple math of saving up at least 25 times your yearly spending was a definite eurek...

  Waterfront, Morehead City, North Carolina  Dante Alighieri:  “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” When my wife and I broached this idea of early retirement to our friends and family at first, they all asked similar questions:   What happens if the stock market crashes? What happens if you get really sick?  How will you pay for insurance? What if you get really bored? Isn’t it weird to retire at your age?  Shouldn’t you work until you’re 62 or later? Let me start by saying these questions are understandable.  These were the same line of questioning I had when I discovered FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement.  I honestly didn’t have all the answers I was curious about at first.  I started to understand more and more about FIRE movement after voraciously taking in blogs, articles, podcasts, etc.   The answers to the common questions listed above are below: What happens if the stock market cra...