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

  Statue of Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley Birthplace, Tupelo, MS Leonard Bernstein:  “Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century.  He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution…the 60’s comes from it.” Growing up, I was always a fan of Elvis Presley .  It’s not because I personally got acquainted with his music and fell in love with him when I was real young, but rather, it was my father who had a huge influence in me loving the man, the legend, and a huge part of Americana. Few times a week, our family would listen to the sweet sound of his sonorous voice, at times singing achingly melancholy love songs, and at other times singing upbeat rock & roll numbers, singing like no one that came before him.   The more I listened to Elvis, to more his music became part of who I am.  His music was my comfort, my solace, and at times, it literally felt like going home, to a safe place, a home.  His music represents a warm

  Oahu, Hawaii Benjamin Franklin:  “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” In our early thirties, my wife and I decided to get off the rat race, away from the hustle and bustle of New York City, for land of paradise that is Hawaii .  We envisioned living a slower pace of life, content with living close to nature and that beautiful Pacific Ocean surrounding the island. We thought about drinking Pina Coladas or Mai Tais , while watching jaw dropping sunsets in the land where palm trees sway.  We honestly thought that would be enough.  We were tired physically and mentally, from working and living in a “ city that never sleeps ”, that is New York City. For the first year of our life in Hawaii, we actually thought we could live simply, without much care in the world, and live with less, much less.  We were making minimum wage working in retail/transportation industries but our expenses were low, as we forgo a car and we paid most things with cash. We walked over to the world

  The Narrows, Zion National Park, UT Ernest Hemingway:  “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it?  Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already? August marks my wife and myself’s third year anniversary of our early retirement.  It is amazing how quickly three years went by when looking back, and this past year has been, without a doubt, the best one so far, thanks to our epic cross country road trip going from North Carolina to California! To be able to do something for three years is meaningful and fulfilling in any endeavor, but to be able to retire early , is definitely something else.  Like anything, we’ve had our ups and downs during our three years, as life happens, but overall, we’ve had the best of times in our personal journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early). Our first two years went by in a blur, with us needing to make multiple adjustments to our newfound freedom and indep