Monthly Archives: May 2026

Paying Off Your Home Isn’t the Windfall You Expect

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I was talking to a friend the other day who was excited about the rise in disposable income they expected when they were retired and “the house is paid off.”  If you also think your cost of housing will drop dramatically in retirement you may want to think again…

The Hidden Costs After Paying Off the Mortgage

Most of us assume that once the mortgage is gone, our monthly expenses will magically shrink. After all, housing is one of the biggest budget items, right?  But here’s the catch: even with a paid-off house, housing costs don’t disappear.  In fact, they continue to rise, and, recently, they have been rising fast.

Breaking Down Housing Costs

Here’s a rough breakdown of how the typical housing cost can be divided:

  • 1/3 Property taxes and insurance (variable)
  • 1/3 Principal and interest (fixed — if you have a mortgage)
  • 1/3 Utilities and maintenance (variable)

Once the principal and interest are gone, you’re still left with the other two-thirds — and unfortunately, they don’t stay steady just because the mortgage is gone.

Our Reality Check

When I was facing my early retirement date, we decided to pay off our mortgage a bit early rather than putting that money into the market.  There are good arguments for both sides, but for us the emotional impact of cash flow cushion was worth the impact on our investments and potential gains.  Mathematically it might not have been the right call, but for us it was.  Five years after paying off our mortgage, though, we assumed our cost of housing would have dropped significantly.  Instead, we have watched our housing expenses climb right back up to where they were before we were “debt-free.”

Here’s how it played out for us:

  • Our monthly housing cost (before mortgage payoff): $2,200
  • Five years after mortgage payoff, our monthly housing costs:
    • Property taxes: $600 (up from $400 just five years ago)
    • Insurance: $300 (used to be $150)
    • Utilities: $700 (energy, water, and other utility rates have all climbed significantly with inflation)
    • Maintenance/repairs: $600 (insurance deductible for replacing a roof, routine HVAC work, minor plumbing issues)
  • New monthly total: $2,200

That’s right — the same as before.  In only five years increasing costs have already eaten up the savings from no longer making principal and interest payments.  And the “cost to carry” is a number that will continue to go up (and up and up…).

Why Renting Might Make More Sense

This is why we can now rent a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Omaha for less than it costs to live in our fully paid-off house in suburban Dallas.  And this example doesn’t even get into the opportunity cost of having a big chunk of our net worth tied up in a home instead of being invested for growth! 

Here’s the mental shift:

Renting tells you the maximum you’ll have to pay. Owning tells you the minimum. The surprises? They’re on you.

And if you’re trying to control your retirement budget, predictability might be worth more than equity.

The Takeaway

Homeownership can be a path to wealth and stability.  But in retirement, your needs and priorities shift. Less maintenance, more flexibility, cost predictability, etc.

So before you assume that a paid-off house is your golden ticket to easy street, take a hard look at your actual expenses and think about how they will grow in the future.  It might be time to rethink what “home” means in the next phase of life.

Why Marriott?

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When I first started traveling for work, it was with a new company, and it took a while for us to figure out the best types of hotels for overnight trips. After a few “profit-maximizing” decisions led to some questionable stays, we started to develop a few basic rules:

  • No hotels with a number in the name
  • If the front desk clerk is behind bulletproof glass, move on
  • No chains with a misspelling in their title
  • No hotels where you have to park directly outside your room
  • Avoid places where the TV remote is bolted to the counter

These guidelines weren’t perfect, but they helped us avoid some… memorable experiences.

Beyond that, over time I started gravitating toward a single hotel brand for most of my travel. Brand loyalty makes a lot of sense when you’re on the road frequently. There is less friction when selecting and booking with brands you are familiar with.  Plus concentrating your stays allows you to build status and unlock perks that you simply won’t get if you spread your business around.

I experimented with Hilton for a while. It’s very easy to earn status, and their points accumulate quickly. The downside is that those points just aren’t worth that much, which makes redeeming them less appealing. It’s a large chain, but early on there were also a few key locations where Hilton didn’t have great options near my clients.

I’ve always liked Hyatt. In many ways, it’s the best value for redeeming points, especially in premium locations (although this may be changing with recent devaluations and a move to a tiered redemption system). For years, it was often cheaper to stay at a Hyatt using points than to use points or pay cash with any other brand.  Add in no resort fees on point stays and strong customer service, and it’s a compelling option. The challenge is scale. Hyatt simply doesn’t have as many locations, especially at the lower-cost, business-travel end of the spectrum. And earning meaningful status with Hyatt can be more difficult.

That led me to Marriott.

The biggest factor is footprint. No matter where I go, there’s almost always a Marriott option (or multiple) nearby. That matters when your travel schedule isn’t just built around vacation destinations but around where the work is.

Second is reliability. You generally know what you’re going to get. When you’re bouncing from city to city, that consistency matters more than you might expect.  I know that when I stay at a Courtyard, for example, that they will have reliable free internet, a business center where I can print as much as I need, and a restaurant on property that has a burger I like and can get for free with my welcome gift.  Knowing things like that when I roll into a new city can relieve a lot of anxiety about work preparation.

A nice bonus is the range of price points. Marriott has everything from basic, budget and business options to family friendly choices up to full-service and luxury properties. That flexibility makes it easy to match the hotel to the purpose of the trip.

Last time I checked, my lifetime total at Marriott properties was over 1100 nights.  The bulk of those were work trips where I typically ended up staying in dozens of different Fairfields and Courtyards all over the country. Over time, that has added up to Lifetime Platinum status. That gets me welcome gifts, bonus points, late checkout, and the occasional room upgrade. None of those perks by themselves are life-changing, but together they make travel a little easier, a little cheaper, and a little more comfortable.

These days, even when I’m traveling for personal trips, Marriott is usually my starting point. I still shop around, but once you factor in status benefits, familiarity, and convenience, it’s often the best overall option.  There are things I like about other brands, and I still use them occasionally. But for me, Marriott has the best balance of location, availability, price range, and rewards. 

It’s not perfect, but it’s consistently good. When you travel a lot, that might be the most important thing.

How Can Public School Teachers Retire?

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Many of my peers in public education are financially, intellectually, and emotionally unprepared for retirement.  They are in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s, yet many have not built substantial independent retirement savings. Instead, they are relying almost entirely on their state pension systems to support them for the rest of their lives.

Personally, I will be grateful for my pension when I qualify, but I don’t fully trust state governments to protect my long-term financial future. In Texas, for example, teacher pensions have no automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). That means inflation rapidly attacks the value of your pension every single year.  A pension that feels comfortable today may feel very different 15 or 20 years into retirement.  Just think about living, today, on a percentage of what you earned 20 years ago.  Yikes!

That’s why I believe teachers need to think beyond simply “earning a pension.” If you want options, flexibility, and the ability to live a rich and meaningful life later on, you need a strategy to take care of yourself independently.

One possible “catch-up” strategy is surprisingly simple:

Stop teaching in public schools.

No, seriously.

I understand the inertia. Staying in a system you know is emotionally comfortable. Many teachers also feel a deep sense of responsibility to public education and the students they serve. And honestly, our public schools desperately need experienced, high-quality educators.

But financially?

The math can become very compelling once you become pension eligible.

The Power of “Double Dipping”

Many public school teachers reach a point where they qualify for full retirement benefits under systems like Teacher Retirement System of Texas through the “Rule of 80”: where they are eligible to retire when their years of service and age add up to at least 80.

For example:

  • Age: 55
  • Years of service: 25
  • Salary: approximately $80,000

Under the Texas pension formula, the annual pension would be roughly:

P=0.023×(Years of Service)×(Average of Highest 5 Years)

In this example, that works out to approximately:

0.023×25×78,000≈44,850

or about $45,000 per year for life.

Now here’s where things get interesting.  Suppose that teacher retires immediately and takes a second full-time job at a private school, small college, educational company, or nonprofit making $60,000 per year.

Suddenly, their income becomes:

Income SourceApproximate Amount
Pension$45,000
Second Career$60,000
Total$105,000

Even assuming that the teacher takes a paycut to move into a different position, that teacher just increased their effective income from $80,000 to over $100,000 per year. 

Immediately.

“But Won’t My Pension Be Bigger If I Stay?”

Sure.  Every additional year worked increases the pension. In our example, staying one more year might increase the annual pension by roughly $2,000 per year for life.

At first glance, that sounds compelling.

But here’s the catch:

To earn that extra future pension income, the teacher gave up:

  • one full year of pension payments now (~$45,000)
  • plus the higher combined income available through a second career

In this example, staying another year in public education means choosing:

OptionAnnual Income
Continue teaching$80,000
Retire + second career$105,000

So the teacher effectively gives up about $25,000 today in exchange for increasing future pension income by about $2,000 per year later.

That creates roughly a 12-year payback period after retirement before the decision to stay actually “wins” financially.  That doesn’t make staying wrong. but it does mean the decision deserves deeper analysis than many teachers give it.

Another major factor that has changed recently is the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). For decades, many public school educators were discouraged from pursuing Social Security-covered work because those rules could dramatically reduce or even eliminate the Social Security benefits they had earned through other employment. With those provisions now repealed, a teacher who retires from a public pension system and then works in a private school, college, nonprofit, or corporate setting may also significantly increase their future Social Security Administration Social Security benefits.

That doesn’t just offset potential pension increases.  It also creates an additional retirement income stream beyond the pension and personal investments. More importantly, unlike many teacher pensions, Social Security includes annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), helping protect purchasing power against inflation over time. For many educators, this creates a much more diversified and resilient retirement strategy: pension income, Social Security income, and personal investments all working together instead of relying almost entirely on a single state pension system.

The Emotional Side of Retirement

For many educators, the biggest challenge is not math.

It’s identity.

Teaching becomes who we are. The routines, the calendar, the mission, the relationships, the feeling of being needed.  Those things can be hard to walk away from and many teachers subconsciously assume retirement means “stopping work entirely.” 

But for many educators, a better model may be to retire from the pension system, but continue meaningful work elsewhere to reduce stress, regain flexibility, and dramatically increase savings potential.  Some people even use geographic arbitrage by moving to another state, working long enough to vest in a second pension system, on top of double dipping.

The Real Opportunity

Of course, this strategy only really helps if the increased income is used intentionally.

If you simply inflate your lifestyle, buy more stuff, and spend every extra dollar, you may still end up financially stressed later on. The better option?

Use the increased income to rapidly build investments and make up for years of low retirement contributions. A teacher who suddenly increases their household income by at least $20,000–$30,000 per year and consistently invests the difference can radically transform their long-term financial picture.

The pension becomes a foundation rather than the entire plan. And that creates something many educators desperately need:

Options.

Smaller is Better Continued (State Parks)

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We recently spent a day at Huntington Beach State Park, and it reminded us of something we don’t think gets talked about enough. We have always loved national parks, and if a place earns that designation it is almost always worth visiting. But on this trip, we were reminded that state parks often offer many of the same benefits with fewer crowds, lower costs, and a more relaxed experience.

First Impressions

Huntington Beach sat just south of Myrtle Beach and felt like a completely different world almost as soon as we entered. There were no long lines or chaotic parking lots, just a simple gate and a modest entrance fee. It cost $8 per person to get in, which immediately felt like a bargain compared to most attractions in the area.

Variety in a Small Space

What stood out was how much variety the park packed into a relatively small space. In one visit, we walked along a wide, uncrowded beach, explored marsh boardwalks, and hiked through maritime forest. The transitions between these environments happened quickly, which made the experience feel dynamic without requiring multiple days of planning or driving.

Wildlife Highlights

The wildlife ended up being one of the biggest highlights. Huntington Beach is known for birding, but the most memorable encounters for us were the alligators. We saw dozens in the freshwater ponds and marsh areas, sometimes just off the trail. (We also learned that crouching down for pictures is not recommended.) Being that close to wildlife was both fascinating and a little humbling. Along the way we also saw herons, egrets, pelicans, and more turtles than we could count. By the end of the visit, it felt less like a park and more like a living ecosystem that we got to step into for the day.

Atalaya Castle

One of the more unexpected features of the park was Atalaya Castle. Built in the 1930s by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, this Moorish-style winter home sat right in the middle of the preserve. For an additional $2 per person, we explored the grounds and walked through its open courtyards and rooms. It was not a polished, highly curated experience, but for us that was part of the appeal. It added a layer of history that complemented the natural surroundings and made the visit feel more complete.

State Parks vs National Parks

This trip helped clarify something we have been thinking about for a while. National parks tend to offer larger, more iconic landscapes along with more infrastructure and more crowds. State parks, on the other hand, are usually smaller, less expensive, and easier to navigate. They also tend to feel more accessible and less rushed. Another advantage became obvious as we traveled more. There are far more state parks than national parks, and in places like South Carolina, where Congaree is the only national park nearby, they provide more frequent opportunities to get outside and explore.

The Financial Angle

From a financial independence perspective, the value was hard to beat. Ten dollars per person covered entry and the castle and gave us a full day of beach, trails, wildlife, and history. We packed a picnic, so there were no expensive add-ons or pressure to spend more once we were there. The simplicity of the experience kept the cost low.

The Bigger Lesson

This fits a pattern we have been seeing throughout our travels. Smaller zoo experiences often felt more enjoyable than the biggest ones. Eating earlier often provided the same experience at a lower cost. Local recreation options often replaced more expensive memberships. Now we could add state parks to that list. We will continue to visit national parks because they offer something unique and memorable, but places like Huntington Beach reminded us that we did not always need the biggest or most famous destination to have a meaningful experience. Sometimes a quiet trail, a view of the water, some wildlife (and a healthy respect for alligators 🙂  is more than enough.

Your Turn

Have you found places where the simpler option turned out to be just as good or even better than the big-name destination?

Five Nights, Five Marriotts

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Typically when we’re on the road, we stay at low- to mid-range chain hotels. We used to go for the absolute cheapest option. After all, we’re really only there to clean up and sleep before heading to the next destination.  But this is one area where we’ve relaxed a bit. Years of business travel taught me that trying to save a few dollars on a no-name hotel can make the next day miserable if you don’t sleep well. The consistency of a known brand also makes life on the road a lot easier.

On this road trip, I decided to challenge my habits and run a bit of an experiment. Instead of sticking with our usual go-to, we switched it up when possible. It didn’t hurt that Marriott was running a promo where I earned bonus points and elite night credits for each different brand. That meant this cross-country trip turned into five Marriott brands in five consecutive nights.

Same loyalty program. Very different experiences.

AC Hotel – Asheville, NC ($129)

I picked this one for the location and because it’s not a brand I stay at often. AC Hotels lean into a modern, European-inspired aesthetic. Clean design (Katie called it “minimalist”), smaller but efficient rooms, and a focus on shared spaces instead of oversized rooms.

I had some work to do, and the “AC Library” gave me a great space outside the room. We got a $10-per-person welcome credit, which we turned into locally made cookies and popcorn. They also waived the usual $22 parking fee.

A few minor negatives: I’m not a fan of sliding barn doors on bathrooms, and Katie didn’t love the sofa. But the balcony, rain shower, and long bench for suitcase living were all big positives.

Funny story: we scheduled a late checkout so I could return and work after dropping Katie at the Biltmore. When I came back, the overzealous housekeeping crew had already stripped the beds and started cleaning the room. The front desk apologized, gave me some bonus points, and set me up in a media room normally reserved for meetings. It ended up being a better workspace than the room would have been so… win/win 🙂 

Fairfield Inn & Suites – Cherokee, NC ($122)

I’ve stayed at this brand… a lot. Fairfield is one of Marriott’s more affordable options, focused on simplicity and consistency. Clean rooms, free breakfast, and not much else.  It was also the only Marriott option near the park entrance, so it won by default.

The room was clean, and the breakfast was actually better than expected. Eggs that weren’t rubbery, a good selection of Greek yogurt, and real oatmeal with toppings. Not amazing, but solid.

The Wayback (Tribute Portfolio) – Pigeon Forge, TN ($98)

This one caught my attention online. Retro roadside motel vibe, bright colors, lots of social spaces. I was a little skeptical, but it turned out to be a fun property that fit the Pigeon Forge atmosphere perfectly. I don’t love exterior doors, but ours opened into a courtyard overlooking a pool, hot tub, and even an Airstream bar instead of out onto the main road.

The breakfast (a welcome gift) was made-to-order instead of a buffet, which was a nice surprise. A couple of minor issues with the bathroom door and a double charge that was quickly fixed, but overall a fun and unique stay.

SpringHill Suites – Bowling Green, KY ($193)

When traveling with the kids, we used to prioritize all-suite properties like SpringHill. Extra space, separate living areas, and free breakfast made a big difference.

The extra space is not as important when it is just the two of us, especially for a one night stay, but I chose this location because it was only a little more expensive than a brand with smaller rooms and it was located a little more conveniently to our next stop, the Mammoth Cave National Park.

The extra room was nice, but the property wasn’t the cleanest we’ve stayed in. The staff was friendly and responsive, though, and the bar came in handy for grabbing limes for the rest of the trip 🙂

Courtyard – Little Rock, AR ($146)

Courtyard is probably the Marriott brand I’ve stayed at the most when traveling for work. It’s designed for business travelers and sits right in the middle between budget and full-service. It typically features comfortable rooms, flexible workspaces, and an on-site bistro for made-to-order food and drinks instead of a traditional free breakfast.  That all works for me because I don’t typically eat breakfast on work trips, but I do sometimes need the business center options.  And, at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man… because of their target demographics, at Courtyards it is rare to have kids running around, screaming, or dripping all over the elevator on their way out of the pool like you sometimes see in family focused hotels.

We chose this one for a calm final night on the road.  This property is located downtown, but is super convenient to the highway so we knew that we could duck in, get a nice clean room in a probably quiet hotel, and hit the road again in the morning.  No muss, no fuss. 

Bonus points for the fitness center, which was larger than usual since it’s shared with other businesses. After a long day of driving and exploring Mammoth Cave, I needed it.

Final Totals

Here’s how the numbers shook out:

  • AC Hotel: $129
  • Fairfield: $122
  • Wayback: $98
  • SpringHill Suites: $193
  • Courtyard: $146

Total: $688 for five nights
 Average: ~$138 per night

That’s a little below our $150/night target for this kind of travel.  At each hotel I received welcome gifts ranging from water  bottles and free parking, to $20 credits, to free breakfast.  We also earned roughly 25,000 Marriott points, which is about enough for a free night at a similar-level property.  Because of the promo, I also earned a lot of elite night credits which will help achieve Titanium level (and yet another free night certificate).

On top of that, I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve at 4x points, earning about 2,750 Chase points (4x on $688). That’s not life-changing, but those points are transferable and generally considered to be much more valuable than the Marriott points.  it layers on another small layer of value, enough to contribute toward a future flight or hotel stay.

The Bigger Takeaway

Spending five nights across five different brands was a great reminder of how wide the range is within a single hotel chain. Each property served a different purpose, and none of them were “better” in a vacuum. They were just better or worse depending on what we needed that night.

Some nights called for space.  Some called for convenience.  Some called for price.

That’s one of the real advantages of sticking with a larger brand like Marriott. It’s not about always picking the nicest option. It’s about picking the right option for the situation.

Sometimes, the best trip isn’t about consistency. It’s about variety.