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

  Car dealership  Welcome back!  The topic of car financing and car leasing is our tenth in a series of financial tools to master.  This is undoubtedly one of the most important things to learn as an adult.  For most adults, buying a car is usually the second biggest purchase (besides a home) they’ll make in a lifetime. As I’ve mentioned many times, there aren’t many places to really learn about financing and leasing cars while in school.  Most of us grow up not knowing much about this stuff until we face it head on... In this post, I’d like to share my knowledge about this topic.  A little background... I sold different cars ranging from Toyotas, Pontiacs, Acuras, Mercedes Benzs, to BMWs for a total of about 5 years.  I got into the business to make a living right out of college.  I always enjoyed cars so it made sense...I learned valuable things about the car business and how to finance or lease without being fleeced! With that background done, let’s jump right in.  We’ll cover finan

  Reading stock ticker symbols! My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  We’ve been retired since August 2020, and we’ve been slow traveling with our traveling companion Toby, a 13 pound Pomeranian dog.  We are followers of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement, which is in its simplicity, requires lowering your expenses and maximizing savings for early retirement. In this post, I’d like to discuss the important concept of the ‘rule of 72.’ What is the rule of 72? The rule of 72 is a method of calculating how quickly an amount doubles.  This is the actual formula: t = 72 / r * where t is how many years it takes to double the money, and r is the rate of return Rate of return always changes every year.  But over a long period of time, like a 10 year timeframe, you can reasonably expect about 10% rate of return, if you invested in a S&P500 index fund. One of the worst decades in our recent memory for S&P 500 was from January 2000 to December 20

  Credit cards are an important part of financial life! Welcome back!  This is a ninth in a series of financial tools to master.  If you’ve missed any of the ‘financial tools to master’ series, please see the bottom of this post for links! What is a credit card? Credit card is a payment card issued by an issuing financial institution to enable the cardholder to pay for goods and services with the understanding that cardholder will pay back the amount. Why do I need a credit card? Credit card is perhaps the easiest way to build credit history.  By opening one up, then using it, you can start to build a good credit history.   Credit card is useful when buying an expensive item as it typically doubles the manufacturer’s warranty.  It’s also useful when traveling, as most airlines and hotels would prefer you use a credit card, and not cash. What are the dangers of using a credit card? Like anything in life, a credit card should be a tool you learn to manage.  Used correctly, you can earn c

  Statue of Liberty, New York City I’m a recent early retiree at the age of 48.  August 2020 was when I decided to forgo regular paychecks to travel and spend more time with our family.  We have been living like nomads since August, and we’ve been slow traveling across the eastern parts of the United States.  We are followers of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement. My wife and I both grew up in New York City.  I spent 22 years in NYC, and my wife spent 20 years there.  We went to schools there, worked there, and entertained ourselves there.  We still visit our family who are still living in NYC and its surrounding areas (Long Island) on a regular basis, now that we have time on our hands! We always wondered what makes New York City what it is.  We couldn’t help but come up with these 3 things:  Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, the Empire State Building, and Times Square.   These places are where we would take someone if someone was visiting from out of town.  It is p

Money growing over time! My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  We’ve been slow traveling with our traveling companion Toby, a 13 pound Pomeranian dog since our retirement in August, 2020.  In between our travels, we’ve spent time with our family in North Carolina and New York City. In this post, I’d like to share my perspective on the question ‘ retiring on $100,000 .’ This was a question I asked myself many times in what seems like a lifetime ago.  Around 2009 or so, I was searching for answers on how I could retire early and get off the rat race. I started asking this question along with ‘how to retire early’, ‘get off the rat race’, and ‘how much do I need to retire.’   I’m not going to sugar coat this answer.  Retiring on $100,000 is not going to be easy.  Believe me, I thought through this question and researched it thoroughly.  I asked myself what I could do, if there’s anything that can be done. I thought maybe, if I really reduced my expenses per year that

  Ricketts Glen State Park, PA In the 14 years my wife and I lived in the state of Pennsylvania, no other park had such an immense appeal than the Ricketts Glen State Park.  We took numerous trips to Ricketts Glen State Park even though it was over 2 1/2 hour drive from where we lived near Philadelphia.  Ricketts Glen State Park will forever be our absolute favorite park in the state of Pennsylvania! Located about 140 miles northwest of the city of Philadelphia, Ricketts Glen State Park encompasses 13,193 acres in Lucerne, Sullivan, and Colombia counties.  Ricketts Glen harbors the Glens Natural Area, which is designated a National Natural Landmark.   It was one of the most scenic places we’ve had the opportunity to see in person, and rightfully so.  It boasts a beautiful Falls Trail which is the main centerpiece of the state park.  The visit to Ricketts Glen State Park wouldn’t be complete without hiking at least parts of the Falls Trail. The Falls Trail affords views of the glens and

  Leonardo Da Vinci:  “Life without love is no life at all.” My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  We have been on this journey to reach financial independence and to retire early for the past 10 years or so.  We finally reached that on August 2020.  Since August, we’ve been traveling to various locations in the eastern parts of the United States with our companion, a Pomeranian dog named Toby. In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on the importance of a significant other’s role in reaching financial independence and to retire early. My wife and I met in college in New York City.  I remember telling her that she looked like the partying type (she was pretty!)  I loved her reaction when I told her that (she couldn’t believe I had said that to someone who just met).  I had literally met her for the first time in the second floor cafeteria that day.  I guess I wasn’t very socially aware... For whatever reason, I just knew she was someone I could see myself marr