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

  Chameleon adapting to its environment! Albert Einstein:  “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” 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 early retirement in August 2020.  We’ve spent a month or longer at various destinations on the eastern parts of the United States. In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on importance of adapting to change for life and for FIRE (financial independence retire early). What is adapting? Online dictionary defines it as ‘ make something suitable for a new use or purpose; modify .’ I define it this way...Life is constantly changing.  What was, will never stay that way for long.  Things we do to hold on to the status quo will eventually make us unhappy when they don’t stay the same.  When we can’t deal with that change, then life becomes difficult... When we work at a job and we’re let go (terminated), most of us are una

  Classic Room at the Borgata, Atlantic City My wife and I have been going to the Borgata hotel and casino since its opening 18 years ago thanks to my dad.  My dad had a loyalty/player’s card which allowed free hotel stays (comped rooms).  We couldn’t resist free hotel rooms when my dad asked if we wanted to go! Fast forward to now. I now have a loyalty/player’s card that I use to take my parents to the same hotel for free.  Funny how roles switch...My dad used to treat us to free rooms, so now I’m treating him...Favor returned! Borgata Hotel & Casino was built in 2003 to huge fanfare when it opened.  Costing then $1.1 billion, it rivaled the best hotels in Las Vegas and New York City.  It features 2000 rooms, outdoor / indoor pools, a spa, a buffet, 3000+ slot machines, and many high end restaurants. Since its opening, it added the Water Club (a boutique hotel) in 2008 at a cost of $400 million, which added another 800 rooms to the available room capacity.  The casino is located

  Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii  Mark Twain:  “The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean.” My wife and I are recent early retirees at ages 51 and 48.  Since our early retirement last August (2020), we’ve been slow traveling with our traveling companion Toby, a 13 pound Pomeranian dog.  We’ve spent a month or longer in Ocean City (Maryland), Atlantic Beach (North Carolina), the Poconos (Pennsylvania), Claysburg (Pennsylvania), as well as several other attractions on the eastern parts of the United States. In this post, I’d like to share our experiences of living in Hawaii and the pros and cons. In the year 2003, my wife and I decided to move to Hawaii.  We had lived through 9/11 while working in Manhattan (New York City).  I worked one train stop away from the Twin Towers and my wife worked in midtown (35th Street).   9/11 would have a huge impact in our lives. After 9/11, we didn’t like working in the city.  We sure didn’t like working in tall buildings anymore (or v

  Highpoint Scenic Vista and Recreation Area, Wrightsville, PA My wife and I have lived 14+ years in the state of Pennsylvania.  Being that I’m a wandering soul, I’ve always sought out beautiful and scenic spots wherever I go.  My passionate hobby is researching places to visit by using Google searches.  I usually find a scenic place and a place to eat nearby.  Traveling and eating are two of my favorite things in life, along with talking about money matters!   Pennsylvania has its share of so many beautiful spots, which we will be sharing today.  All these scenic spots are located with an hour’s drive from each other, so you can probably do all three spots in one day.  All three of these spots also share their commonality with having the Susquehanna River as its main feature.   Top 3 scenic vistas we would like to recommend are: Highpoint Scenic Vista and Recreation Area: Highpoint Scenic Vista and Recreation Area is located in the town of Wrightsville, PA.  It is a 79 acre park  tha

  Don’t give up, always dream for a better future! Nelson Mandela:  “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” 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 early retirement in August 2020.  We’ve spent a month or longer in various destinations across the eastern parts of the United States, visiting Ocean City (Maryland), Atlantic Beach (North Carolina), Claysburg (Pennsylvania), and the Poconos (Pennsylvania). In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on how tough childhood impacted my current self in life and in pursuing financial independence and retiring early. I didn’t have a good childhood.  Before immigrating to the United States in 1981 (I was 9 years old), my family lived in a one room studio with no modern appliances or a bathroom.  Our bathroom was a combination outhouse (for doing our ‘business’) and the kitchen, t