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

  Cucumber Falls, Ohiopyle State Park, PA Johnny Damon:  “I’m gaining weight the right way:  I’m drinking beer.” In July 2020, when my wife and I were preparing to sell our home in anticipation for our early retirement, I weighed 172 pounds.  That was probably due to the stress of downsizing and the need to lift heavy objects like furniture.  Few months prior to that, I had weighed around 175 pounds. Even though downsizing was hard work, I did appreciate the fact that I was trimmer going into my early retirement.   Fast forward to around May of 2021, when I weighed (gulp!) 180 pounds!  How did this happen?   There were many reasons for this weight gain: I was celebrating our early retirement early My supervisor had given me a 12 pack bottle of Sam Adams beer for my retirement gift on my last day.  Of course I couldn’t let that go to waste!   A week prior to that gift, I also purchased a 12 pack of IPA (India Pale Ale) beer from a local supermarket to celebrate our retirement. I was hav

  Use dollar cost averaging to grow your money Warren Buffett:  “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.  You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.” One of the biggest contributor to us (my wife and I) successfully becoming financially independent and retiring early, was our use of company sponsored retirement account, the 401k.  Besides automating the savings process where a set desired amount is put away each paycheck, the 401k also has a major benefit of reducing taxable income during the working/earning years.   While some people may consider 401k to be a success while others may consider it to be a failure, it’s our job as individuals, to learn to use this tool to our advantage.  In life, there is no perfection.  Everything will have its pros and cons.   Learning to accept the limitations while understanding the benefits is the attitude we all should take when it comes to 401k.  I c

  Grandview Overlook, New River Gorge National Park During the month of October, our pack (my wife, myself, and our Pomeranian) stayed at a ski resort in West Virginia, called Snowshoe Mountain Resort .  It took us several days to get acclimated to our new place, but eventually we set out to explore the beautiful state of West Virginia. One of those destinations ended up being the New River Gorge National Park .  We were introduced to this park by YouTubers Adventure Archives , who visited the park twice on their many awesome camping trips.  We were excited to be visiting a park filmed by the folks at Adventure Archives, and we were eager to get going! New River Gorge National Park is one of the most recent parks to be designated as a national park (December 2020).  It was also listed by Time Magazine as one of 100 greatest places on the planet.   The New River is one of the oldest rivers in the world, with many believing it to be the oldest in the United States.  Encompassing over 70

  Toby at the World Famous Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, PA Epictetus:  “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” My wife and I (and our Pomeranian) have lived in many different AirBNB/Vrbo rentals since our early retirement in August 2020.  Our first foray into our month long AirBNB/Vrbo rental started in a tiny one bedroom third floor walk up in Ocean City, Maryland. It was a tiny place with a even tinier bathroom.  The place reeked of smoke, and we also had a neighbor downstairs who smoked often and smoked heavy.  We learned to make the rental our own after cleaning the place and ventilating it.   Our initial disappointment at our rental would eventually give way to actual enjoyment, satisfaction, and appreciation.  We learned to appreciate the smelly little place with a tiny bathroom because it had everything we needed for our stay.   It had a working toilet/shower, running water, air conditioning, beds, full kitchen, a

  Green Bank Observatory, WV Albert Einstein:  “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Our pack (my wife, myself, and our Pomeranian Toby) was on our way to Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia from New York City, on October 1st, embarking on our 1 month long journey in the Mountain State .  As we got near our destination, we were totally taken aback by the sight of Green Bank Observatory , in the town of Green Bank, which is about 13 miles from Snowshoe Mountain Resort. When we first saw Green Bank Observatory, we couldn’t believe a scientific institution of this size (facility is immense!) existed in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia.  As we approached the town of Green Bank, the first thing we remember about the town was of a police cruiser pulling over someone who was speeding.   The speed limit had decreased rapidly from 55 mph to 35 mph as we entered the town.  It was a speed