Category Archives: FIRE

Everything related to our FIRE journey and then some!

National Parks: America’s Best Travel Bargain?

2 Replies

National parks are amazing.  Nature. Beauty. Solitude.

When a country decides that a particular place is so unique that it deserves to be preserved at the national level, that’s a pretty good signal that it’s worth visiting. You’re very unlikely to be disappointed no matter which parkland you set your sights on.

It doesn’t hurt that national parks are also some of the most affordable places to travel. After all, nobody had to build expensive roller coasters or animatronic dinosaurs to convince people to come see the Grand Canyon or hike through Yellowstone. The appeal is completely natural. And many of the costs that do exist are taxpayer-supported, which means access is surprisingly inexpensive. In fact, for about $80 you can buy an annual National Parks pass that covers entry to almost every national park in the country for an entire year. Visit just three or four parks and the pass practically pays for itself.  That’s a pretty good travel deal.

The Ones We Missed

Sometimes I regret that during our whirlwind quest to get our boys to all 50 states before they graduated high school, we were often moving too quickly to detour into national parks, but when you’re trying to knock out a lot of states in a limited time, efficiency starts to win over exploration.

As a result, my personal national park count is only 13 out of the 63 parks currently in the system. That number always feels a little low when I see maps from people who have visited all of them.

Right now, though, I’m okay with that.There are some amazing people documenting their journeys through every national park (like Renee Roaming or the couple behind Trip of a Lifestyle). I love following their adventures, but visiting all 63 parks isn’t our immediate goal. For now, we’re happy to encounter them organically as part of our slomadic journey.

A Day Trip to Congaree

That brings us to this week’s trip to Congaree National Park in South Carolina. One guidebook we checked out described Congaree as “the least popular national park.” That may or may not be fair, but it definitely made us curious. We had beautiful weather, so we packed up and drove from Myrtle Beach for a long day trip.

Getting there is part of the experience. For a while it feels like you’re just driving through rural South Carolina at random.  Down narrow roads, unmarked turns, mailboxes that seem disconnected from any visible house. And then, almost out of nowhere, the park entrance appears.

Congaree is different from many national parks. There aren’t scenic drives winding through mountains or overlooks where you can simply park and take in the view. This park is about being in the landscape.  As soon as you leave the visitor center, you’re walking.

It’s a swamp.  Ok, they repeatedly call it an “old growth bottomland hardwood forest”, but it is a swamp :). Which means bug spray is highly recommended (even though the park’s famous “Mosquito Meter” rated the day as only mild). 

Fortunately, Congaree has a raised boardwalk trail that lets you explore much of the park without sinking into the mud. It winds through towering hardwood forests (love those loblolly pines!) and past bald cypress trees rising out of the water. Part of the loop was under construction when we visited, so we got to go off the boardwalk and onto a dirt trail for a while. That meant stepping over cypress knees, dodging muddy patches, and occasionally wondering whether we were still on the trail.

But that’s the point. National parks aren’t meant to be perfectly polished experiences. They’re meant to remind you that nature is still bigger than you are.

Number Fourteen

By the end of the day we had checked off National Park #14. Not exactly a speedrun. But honestly, that’s fine. One of the unexpected gifts of this stage of our life is that we don’t have to rush anymore. Instead of racing through destinations, we can take the long walk, read the interpretive signs, and linger on the boardwalk a little longer.

The parks will still be there tomorrow. As we continue moving around the country, I’m hoping to gradually add more of them to the list. Not because I need to collect all 63 and not because they might just be the best travel value in America.  Because I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every one I have been to.

Beautiful places. Minimal cost. And nothing on the itinerary except the next step on the trail.

Eric on a loblolly pine.
🩷

The Cost of Staying Fit on the Road

Leave a reply

One thing I didn’t fully anticipate when we started this “slomadic” life was how complicated gym access would become.  When you live in one place for twenty years, you pick a gym and forget about it. When you move every few months, the equation changes. Suddenly you’re comparing day passes, initiation fees, commute time, and whether the place even has the equipment you actually use.

A lot of nomads default to Planet Fitness, and I understand why. For around $15 a month (sometimes $25 for the “Black Card” with nationwide access), it’s cheap and ubiquitous. You can find one almost anywhere in the country. For someone focused on treadmills and weights, it’s a simple solution and for some “van lifers” it is worth it just for the showers 🙂 

The problem? We swim.

Most Planet Fitness locations don’t have pools, much less lap lanes suitable for serious swimming. For me, that makes the bargain less attractive. After all, saving money only works if the service provided actually fits your needs.

Omaha: The YMCA Win

When we were in Omaha, I joined the downtown YMCA. It was a great facility. Clean, friendly, good lap pool, and within walking distance of our apartment. The cost was $30 a month which was absolutely reasonable for what I was getting.

It checked all the boxes:
• Lap swimming
• Strength training
• Classes (if I wanted them)
• Convenient location

For that price, I didn’t think twice.

Myrtle Beach: Sticker Shock

When we arrived in Myrtle Beach, I assumed I’d do something similar. Some teachers I work with here recommended the local YMCA, so I checked it out.

The facility was fine, but the pricing made me pause. Adult memberships start at $69 a month, plus a joining fee of $50. That’s not outrageous in the grand scheme of things (and to be fair, it includes a pool, fitness center, and classes) but for someone who is constantly coming and going, it felt a bit steep.

The bigger issue? Location. It would have been a 20–25 minute drive each way from where we’re staying. That’s nearly an hour round trip before I even get in the water. For a morning swim, that matters.  After all, at some point, you’re not just paying in dollars, you’re paying in time, convenience, and other friction points.

The Rec Center Surprise

So I started looking at local recreation centers. Their monthly rates were significantly lower than the YMCA, and several were much closer. After a bit of research, I found one that opened at 6:00 a.m., perfect for getting a swim in before work.

Then something interesting happened.

The staff member I spoke with suggested that, given how often I travel, I might be better off paying the $3 daily rate instead of committing to a monthly membership.

Three dollars. That changes the math.  If I swim 10–12 times a month, that’s $30–$36 total. No initiation fee. No guilt when I’m out of town. No feeling like I’m “wasting” a membership.  Katie can even join me when she gets the bug without needing to commit ahead of time.

I combined that with:
• The workout room included at our resort
• Free walking and running on the beach
• Occasional bodyweight workouts

And suddenly we had a flexible, low-cost system that fit our lifestyle much better than a traditional membership.

The Real Lesson

Of course this isn’t really about gyms. It’s about intentional spending.

Planet Fitness is a great solution…for some people. The YMCA is a great solution…for others. But in a “slomadic” life, flexibility often beats optimization.

In Omaha, $30 a month at the Y was perfect.
In Myrtle Beach, $3 per visit plus beach workouts is better.

Same goal. Different environment. Different answer.

One of the hidden challenges of early retirement and slow travel is that we constantly have to re-evaluate our assumptions. What worked in one city may not make sense in the next.

And that’s okay.

The goal isn’t to find the cheapest option. It’s to find the option that aligns with your priorities — fitness, convenience, budget, and enjoyment.

For me, swimming in the morning and walking on the beach in the afternoon beats driving across town to justify a membership fee. Sometimes the best financial move isn’t committing to the lowest price. It’s choosing the most adaptable solution.

What about you? If you travel, or even if you don’t, how do you handle fitness access? Monthly memberships? Day passes? Home workouts? 

How Much Did the First 24 Hours in Myrtle Beach Cost? (And How It Compared to Omaha)

Leave a reply

A few months ago, I broke down what our first 24 hours cost in Omaha, Nebraska (How Much Did the First 24 Hours). Since we’ve now settled into Myrtle Beach for our next “slomad” stint, it felt fair to run the numbers again.  Same experiment. Different city. Slightly different results.

Lodging

In Omaha, we paid $1,500 per month for a furnished two-bedroom apartment with utilities included — about $50 per day.

Myrtle Beach is almost identical… with one small twist. The condo is also $1,500 per month, but there’s a 7% tax. That brings the total to $1,605 — or about $53.50 per day. Not a massive difference, but worth noting. Taxes matter, especially when you’re stacking medium-term stays.

Exercise

In Omaha, we signed up for the downtown YMCA almost immediately. It was walkable, affordable, and had a pool. Done.  Myrtle Beach was different.

I was working a lot during the first week, so I didn’t rush to find a gym. Instead, we walked on the beach. Free. Hard to beat that.  (We eventually found a swimming solution – more on that in a future post – but for day one, the Atlantic Ocean and our feet were enough.)

There’s something funny about paying for a treadmill when you’re living in an apartment overlooking miles of sand.

Library

In Omaha, we walked into the downtown public library on day one and got cards immediately.

In Myrtle Beach, we already knew the downtown branch from a previous visit. They even have a “snowbird-friendly” policy, which is perfect for medium-term residents like us. But here’s the difference: convenience.

The library here is a little further from our place, so we didn’t rush to get a temporary card. It can wait a couple of weeks. Of course, that’s the beauty of slower travel.  Not everything has to be solved on day one. Cost so far? $0.

Household Goods & Groceries

This is where the contrast really shows up. In Omaha, the apartment was set up for medium-term living. Starter consumables, decent storage, plenty of space. The Myrtle Beach condo? It’s clearly optimized for short-term rentals.

If you’re staying for a weekend, you don’t bring much. If you’re staying for two to three months… you bring more.  So our biggest purchase this time was storage.

  • A five-shelf storage rack to serve as a pantry and extra storage for non-clothing items
  • A shoe rack for the entryway (Beach life means shoes-off living, and we needed a system.)
    • We did buy a floor mat.  I argued for the Christmas mat that almost matched the one we bought for Omaha.  It was on clearance for $5 🙂 

Total for those three items: $59.

Groceries were $72, slightly higher than Omaha’s $52 first trip. The kitchen here is… compact. Let’s call it “cozy.” We don’t plan on cooking as much from scratch here, but we still need to have some cheap and filling meals we can prepare quickly so we aren’t eating out all the time..

The difference this time? Experience.

We brought more starter items with us (salt, pepper, Ziploc bags, odds and ends) so we didn’t have to repurchase as many basics. That small learning curve saved us money.

Dinner

In Omaha, we celebrated move-in day with a $37 buffet dinner.

In Myrtle Beach, after unpacking and installing storage racks, we kept it simpler. No celebratory splurge. We grabbed Chipotle after shopping and ate it on our new balcony.  Sometimes familiarity lowers the need for ceremony.

Myrtle Beach Day One Total

Lodging (daily equivalent): ~$53.50
Household storage: $54
Groceries: $72
Exercise: $0
Library: $0

Total: $179.50

Slightly higher than Omaha’s $152.15, but most of that difference was one-time storage purchases.

What’s the Real Difference?

The bigger contrast isn’t the dollars. It’s the feel.

Omaha felt urban, organized, infrastructure-ready. Walkable YMCA. Library next door. Plenty of space.  Built-in systems.

Myrtle Beach feels seasonal and recreational. Designed for short bursts of visitors rather than medium-term residents. More driving. Less built-in storage. More improvisation.

But it also offers something Omaha didn’t: A free, beautiful, natural gym outside our door.

Each city comes with tradeoffs.

Omaha had better infrastructure.
Myrtle Beach has better sunsets.

The startup costs are similar. The experience is different. And that’s part of the experiment.

When you slow travel, you start to see how much of your daily spending is shaped by the environment. Not just cost of living, but design of living.

We’re still collecting data, but one thing is clear: the more moves we make, the smarter (and cheaper) our transitions get.

Turns out you can amortize experience, too 🙂

The Superpower Behind Our Financial Independence

1 Reply

I was at a conference recently where a speaker talked about the health benefits of getting outside and walking in nature, enjoying views, spending time near water, etc. The science is pretty clear: time outdoors lowers stress, improves mood, and boosts overall well-being.

But as I listened, I found myself thinking about something slightly different. It made me reflect on how two teachers got to financial independence so early. People often ask me for “the secret,” expecting some kind of financial arcana…a special investment strategy, insider knowledge, clever tax loophole, etc.

True FI people know the reality: Ninety percent of the money formula is simple. Over time, spend less than you earn and invest the difference.

That’s it.

The math isn’t complicated. The hard part is this: How do you spend less than you earn and still live a genuinely happy, fulfilling life?

Our Real Superpower

Katie has a phrase for this. She calls it our “low coolness threshold.” Simply put, we find joy in simple things. We don’t need the newest, most exclusive, or most expensive version of everything to feel like we’re living well.

Take Hawaii, for example. My work frequently takes us there.  It is a place that can drain a bank account quickly if you let it. There are helicopter tours, guided excursions, luxury dinners, private charters… all incredible experiences.

And we’ve done some amazing things there. But most days? We’ll grab snorkel gear and head to a public beach. We’ll pack lunch and have a picnic in a park. We’ll hike, swim, or just sit and watch the sunset.

But we don’t see it as deprivation. We do it because we genuinely enjoy it. That’s the key. It isn’t sacrifice if it’s what you actually prefer.

The Hedonic Treadmill

The ChooseFI community talks a lot about the “hedonic treadmill” or  the idea that as your income rises, your expectations rise with it. What once felt luxurious becomes normal. Then insufficient. Then embarrassing.

You upgrade the car. You upgrade the house. You upgrade the vacations. You upgrade the restaurants.

And suddenly your higher income doesn’t make you wealthier.  It just makes you more committed, more stuck in “the middle class trap.”

That treadmill is expensive. Keeping up with the Joneses isn’t just emotionally draining. It’s financially destructive. Our “low coolness threshold” has quietly protected us from that.

We bought an older starter home and didn’t upgrade. We drove used cars for over a decade. We skipped the flashy experiences in favor of the ones that felt meaningful.

Not because we’re anti-fun, but because we actually like simple.

Nature as a Financial Strategy

Here’s what struck me at that conference:

Stopping to smell the roses isn’t just good for your mental health. It might be the key to financial independence.

If you can train yourself (or discover within yourself) that a sunset is as satisfying as a luxury rooftop bar, you’ve unlocked something powerful. If a beach picnic feels just as good as a $200 dinner, you’ve reduced the cost of happiness. If a morning walk in a park competes with an expensive hobby, your savings rate increases without feeling like a sacrifice.

That’s not frugality for its own sake. That’s alignment.

The Bigger Picture

Financial independence doesn’t require monk-like discipline or joyless living.It requires clarity about what actually makes you happy and then intentionally spending on things that actually impact your happiness.

For us, that clarity has been a superpower. A low coolness threshold. 🙂

The world will always try to sell you a more expensive version of enjoyment. Bigger. Better. VIP access.

But sometimes the most profitable thing you can do is sit outside, breathe deeply, and realize you already have enough.

How Long Did It Take Two Teachers to Retire Early?

Leave a reply

If you’ve ever read the classic Mr. Money Mustache post, The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement, you know that the key to retiring early isn’t about your job title or how many zeros are in your paycheck. It’s about how much you spend and how much you can save.  That idea, along with the principles I picked up from podcasts like ChooseFI,  was a game-changer for us.  Before joining the FI community we were saving without any real plan other than the vague concept of having options later in life.

As two public school educators with average salaries and more than a few life detours, we’re not exactly the prototype for early retirement. But here we are… Two teachers who reached financial independence in about 20 years.  Here’s how we did it (without turning our lives into a never-ending death march of deprivation).

It’s Not What You Earn — It’s What You Keep

When we first got serious about financial independence, we were both around 30, starting our second marriages and essentially starting over, financially speaking.

We were also raising two kids, paying for a house, buying reliable cars, earning advanced degrees, and yes — going on vacations. Our life didn’t look “lean” from the outside. But behind the scenes, we were saving 20–30% of our income in most years.  That savings rate, not our salaries, was the real magic.  We figured: if some of our friends were raising families on a single teacher income, surely we could live on 1.75 incomes and still stash some away. 

No Steady March to FI Here

Although I might have, personally, been willing to deprive myself to walk the path to financial independence faster, Katie balanced us out and made sure that we weren’t going to “grind it out” for 10-15 years just to have the vague hope of a better life at the end.  As always, listening to Katie makes things better (OK, I put that in just in case she reads this post).

We weren’t minimalist saints.  We had busy lives, two kids, big expenses (house, cars, advanced degrees, and vacations).  We were intentional, though, making choices (I don’t call them sacrifices) on things we just didn’t value that much.   Some of the things we willingly opted out of included:

  • A fancy home – we never upgraded from our initial “starter” home.  No long commute from the shiny new suburb with the huge houses.
  • Cars – we bought newer used cars and drove them until they died.  No point in having a nice car parked in a high school parking lot 🙂
  • Super expensive kids activities – No taxi parenting or  “travel ball” for us.  Each kid got one regular sport and one other activity at a time. 
  • No luxury vacations – we did road trips and stayed in budget hotels near our vacation spots (until we learned more about travel rewards)

We also took some intentional detours along the way. There were years where one or both of us stepped away from our W-2 jobs.  Sometimes this was for side opportunities, sometimes to escape a toxic campus situation, sometimes just for a break.  Those pauses refueled us, and only slowed the long-term plan slightly.

The Side Hustle Strategy

You don’t have to sell organs or become a TikTok influencer to boost your teacher salary. We took a more grounded approach:

  • On-campus work: summer school, picking up extra classes, coaching, refereeing basketball games, etc.
  • Off-campus work: proctoring SAT and teacher certification exams, tutoring, teaching online, consulting, etc.

Our general rule of thumb on side gigs was simple:

Half of the side income went into the “family pot” — for vacations, kid expenses, or special treats. The other half was ours to spend individually.

That’s how I cash-flowed a doctorate. It’s how Katie built a tutoring side business she genuinely enjoyed (most of the time).  And it’s how we stayed sane while still progressing toward our FI goals on educator salaries.  Not every side hustle paid well, but many brought benefits beyond money: travel opportunities, new friends, professional growth, etc.

What Teaching Gave Us (Besides a Paycheck)

Look, teaching isn’t a high-paying career. We knew that going in. But it gave us something else: schedule flexibility, a deep understanding of systems, and the ability to self-educate.

Those last two? They’re superpowers for anyone chasing financial independence. The problem is that far too many educators don’t use them when it comes to their own lives.  But if you can deconstruct standards, explain algebra to a room of teenagers, or differentiate instruction on the fly… you can understand your 403(b) and plan a savings strategy. And if you can manage a time schedule of teaching, grading, and lesson planning, then you can learn about personal finance and manage your budget too.

The Bottom Line

It took us 20 years, with a few setbacks, some big expenses, and plenty of real life in between but we made it. We hit financial independence as two average-paid teachers with kids, bills, and all the complexity life brings.

The secret? It wasn’t really a secret at all:

  • Learn as you go.  Personal finance is not magic
  • Keep your savings rate as high as you can
  • Spend intentionally on the things that matter to you.
  • Say yes to side income and no to lifestyle creep
  • And remember: early retirement isn’t a finish line.  It’s a launching pad!

Want to know what early retirement actually looks like for us after leaving education? Or why we chose to slow travel instead of putting down roots right away? Stay tuned — we’ve got more stories to share.

Finding Community Through ChooseFI Local Groups

Leave a reply

Today I had the chance to meet with the ChooseFI Nebraska group to facilitate a conversation about the Pillars of FI, domestic slow travel, and how we can all intentionally design our ideal lives. I’ve always enjoyed connecting with other members of the FI community, and this group was no exception. Back when we lived in Texas, I loved my local ChooseFI meetups, and it’s been great to find a new community here in Omaha. Having a built-in group of like-minded people makes this early retirement experiment not just more sustainable, but also more enjoyable.  After all, FI is more fun with friends 🙂 

What Are ChooseFI Local Groups?

ChooseFI local groups are free, community-based meetups that connect people who are pursuing financial independence and a more intentional life. You can find one in almost every major city (and many smaller ones) around the world. They’re made up of people from every stage of the FI journey: some are just starting to budget, others are fully retired, and most are somewhere in between.

The best part? There’s no selling, no judgment, and no one-size-fits-all advice. Just real conversations about what’s working, what’s not, and how to design a life you don’t need to escape from.  The formats vary.  I have seen social meetups, watched people get “financially naked” for case studies, watched presentations on specific topics , but the common denominator is people working to improve their lives and helping others along the way.

If you’re interested in finding your local group, visit local.choosefi.com. You can search by state or city, join your local Facebook or Meetup page, and start connecting with people near you who share similar goals. Whether you’re looking for accountability, motivation, or just a few new friends who don’t think saving for the future and talking openly about money is weird, it’s a great place to start.

A Big Thanks to the Nebraska Crew

A huge thank-you to the ChooseFI Nebraska organizers for making me feel so welcome. The discussion we had around the Pillars of FI, lifestyle design, and the balance between work and freedom was a reminder of why this movement matters so much. I left inspired, encouraged, and grateful to have found a community that gets it.

For those who asked for a copy of my presentation, you can find the slides here

Your Turn:
 If you’ve ever wondered what FI looks like in real life (or just want to talk about financial freedom without putting your friends to sleep) you are welcome to reach out to me or just find your local ChooseFI group and show up. You might walk away with a new strategy, a few laughs, or even a friend who reminds you that you’re not crazy for wanting something different.

Financial Independence Resources

Leave a reply

I was talking with a friend today and realized it’s been a while since I updated my list of resources for teachers who want to learn more about personal finance and financial independence. Interestingly, when I looked at it, the list hasn’t changed much. That’s because the foundational ideas in FI are timeless.  Most of the newer content I’ve been exploring is either relatively niche (like All The Hacks) or so new that, while exciting, I’m not ready to recommend it yet (like Sean Mullaney and Cody Garrett’s new book on Tax Planning for early retirement).

Version 1.0.0

Luckily, for beginners, many of the best ideas are still right where they’ve always been—in a few classic blogs, podcasts, and books.

The Shockingly Simple Math of Early Retirement

If you read only one article on financial independence, make it The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement by Mr. Money Mustache. It’s a short but powerful read that shows how your retirement age depends almost entirely on two variables: how much you spend and how much you save. It’s a true “light bulb” piece for many people who suddenly realize how much control they have over their financial future.

The ChooseFI Podcast and Book

The ChooseFI podcast was my personal gateway into financial independence. Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa built an incredible archive of episodes on saving, investing, travel hacking, and designing a life you don’t need to retire from. If you’re new to the show, start at Episode 100 for a great introduction.

Not a podcast listener? They also wrote a book, ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence, which distills years of content into a structured, easy-to-follow guide.

The Dave Ramsey Approach

If you want something more traditional, Dave Ramsey’s system has helped millions of people pay off debt and build a financial foundation. His “Baby Steps” and “Debt Snowball” approach are simple, actionable, and great for people who need structure or motivation in the early stages of getting organized. I don’t agree with everything Ramsey teaches (his investment advice is a bit outdated and his politics are suspect), but his behavioral approach to debt payoff is effective for a lot of people.

The Simple Path to Wealth

Once you’re out of debt and ready to invest, JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth is the best next step. It’s widely considered the “go-to” investing book in the FI community. Collins’ message is refreshingly simple: live below your means, invest in low-cost index funds, and stay the course. I used to keep extra copies of this book in my office to give to colleagues and to give to new graduates, because it really is that good.

Some Educator Specific Resources

Teachers have some unique financial advantages (and challenges) like pensions, 403(b)s, and the occasional “free lunch” salesman in the faculty lounge. These next few resources focus on that side of the journey:

TL;DR Financial Literacy Series
Educator Karl Fisch and a series of co-authors created short, accessible books tailored to teachers in different states. Each version explains how pensions and retirement systems work locally, and how educators can make the most of them. Obviously I haven’t read all of them, but my friend Ryan Cruz wrote the Texas edition, and I can highly recommend it.

403bwise.org
Retirement planning for teachers can be a minefield.  The 403bwise.org site was founded to help educators make sense of their retirement options and avoid predatory products. It’s packed with articles, calculators, and an active forum where teachers can ask questions. Their “Teach and Retire Rich” podcast is also excellent.

Financially Independent Teachers Podcast
Recently, I’ve been enjoying the Financially Independent Teachers podcast. It’s hosted by two North Carolina teachers who interview educators and personal finance experts about real-life challenges. They’ve also written a book that’s helpful for teachers trying to balance the realities of the classroom with long-term financial goals.

Final Thoughts

The financial independence movement has evolved a lot since I first discovered it, but the core ideas haven’t changed: spend less than you earn, invest wisely, avoid debt, and keep learning. The beauty of these resources is that they meet you wherever you are, whether you’re just getting started or refining your path toward early retirement.

I’d love to hear from you about what resources have shaped your own journey toward financial independence.  What should I add to my list?

The Pillars of Financial Independence

Leave a reply

I just finished listening to a ChooseFI podcast where Brad Barrett and Jackie Cummings Koski went back to the basics of Financial Independence and it made me reflect on my own FI journey. I’ve been listening to ChooseFI since it first started almost ten years ago, and the idea of the “pillars of FI,” or the basic principles that, if embraced, will inevitably lead to financial independence really resonated with me on my path to early retirement.

The FI community doesn’t use the language of these pillars as much anymore, but it stuck with me. Over the years, Katie and I have tried each of these pillars out with varying degrees of success. Today’s podcast conversation prompted me to take stock and reflect: which ones actually made the biggest difference for us?

1. Low-Cost Index Fund Investing

Instead of trying to beat the market, we stuck with broad, low-fee index funds. This alone saved us a fortune. Early on, I got suckered into a high-fee annuity that bled me dry with commissions and surrender charges. Switching to index funds like VTSAX completely changed our trajectory.  Our nest egg would be only a fraction of what it is today if we hadn’t gotten smarter about this one.

2. Affordable Housing

Housing is usually the biggest expense, so keeping it under control matters. Many in the FI world “house hack,” but being a landlord never appealed to me (One of the reasons we are traveling now is so I don’t have to take care of my own home, much less one that renters are living in 🙂).  Our version of this pillar was simple: we bought an older starter home when we got married and resisted the urge to upgrade along the way.. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was cheap, easy to maintain, and close to work. That decision freed up thousands each year for investing.

3. Buy Gently Used Cars

Cars lose value fast. We’ve driven used cars for 8–14 years each (and counting.  Bertha is still chugging along as our back in Dallas car), avoiding car payments while watching our savings grow. No regrets here—this one was an easy win for us.  What is the point of having a pretty car and then parking it in a high school lot every day? 

4. Crush Your Grocery Bill

Early on, meal planning and cooking at home saved us hundreds every month. Now that we’re in a more comfortable spot (and aren’t feeding two kids), we’ve loosened up on this one. It was a powerful lever in the beginning, though.

5. Tax Optimization

When we could, we took full advantage of accounts like 403(b), 457(b), but we prioritized funding our Roth IRAs. As teachers in relatively low tax brackets, paying taxes up front made more sense to me than deferring them. I can’t imagine our tax rate being much lower in the future.

6. College Hacking

We cash-flowed our own advanced degrees with side hustle money. For our boys, we wanted them to have skin in the game so we set a boundary: we’d cover the equivalent of two years at community college plus two years at a state school. If they graduate for less, they keep the difference. Kid #1 used every penny; kid #2 has a path to graduate early and spend the difference on grad school or pocket the savings. Either way, the cost was predictable for us.

7. Travel Rewards

This hasn’t necessarily sped up our FI path, but it certainly has made the journey more fun. In our version, we’ve leaned heavily on travel hacking to fund dozens of budget-friendly trips rather than blowing money on a few luxury ones.

8. Cut the Cord and Premium Cell

We ditched cable years ago, but have added so many streaming services back that I don’t think we actually saved much. Same with cell phones.  We could optimize here, but at this point, we’re fine with the splurge.

9. Multiple Income Streams

This was huge for us.  Some years we had the equivalent of three full time salaries!  Side hustles paid for extras (like advanced degrees and travel) and also boosted our investments. Our family rule: half of any side hustle income went to the family budget for extra fun or unexpected expenses, half was personal money for the earner. That balance kept us motivated and moved us much faster toward FI.

10. Savings Rate & The 4% Rule

At the end of the day, Financial Independence comes down to saving enough so your investments can cover your expenses. Some years we hit a 50% savings rate; other years, one or both stepped away from W2 work to invest time into a side business and our rate dropped. The point is, we always had the basic framework in mind: spend less, invest more, and track progress against the 4% rule.

Looking back, every pillar helped in some way, but for us the biggest levers were multiple income streams, keeping housing and car costs low, and investing in low-cost index funds. Those three principles alone got us most of the way to where we are.

So what about you? Have you seen this list before? Which of these pillars could have the biggest impact on your financial path?

Why Finding a Good Financial Planner Is So Hard

Leave a reply

At a meetup today, several people were sharing how frustrating it has been to find a good financial planner. And I totally get it. Finding good professional help is tough in any industry, but it is especially challenging in personal finance where many people lack confidence, the terminology is intentionally confusing, and the incentives are often stacked against the client. The fundamental dichotomy is this: if you know enough to find the right professional and ask the right questions, you probably don’t need them. After all, for most people, personal finance isn’t actually all that complicated.

How Planners Get Paid

At its core, financial planning is a service business. The planner wants to make money, and the client wants to pay as little as possible. That tension has created a whole menu of compensation models and, sadly, some of them are far better for the planner than for you.

Commission-Based “Advisors.” These are the people who only get paid when they sell you something and, on first glance, they look the cheapest because they don’t charge you anything!  Their incentive is to earn the biggest possible commission, not to grow your wealth. Teachers have been especially vulnerable here, with high-fee annuities shoved into 403(b) plans. Early in my career, I fell for this. A commission-based advisor showed up at school and filled my portfolio with variable annuity products that sounded great but were really designed to pay him. It cost me years of growth and some expensive surrender fees to get out. I learned quickly: if someone is being paid to sell you something, expect them to sell you something, whether you need it or not.

Assets Under Management (AUM). – Another common model that is slightly less problematic is charging a percentage of your portfolio, usually around one percent. That sounds small, but on a $500,000 portfolio it’s $5,000 every year — $100,000 over twenty years, not even counting the lost growth. I ran the math once and realized that one percent shaved off my returns was the equivalent of buying a luxury vacation every year, but for the planner instead of me and my family.

Subscription Services. – A newer option is paying a flat monthly or annual subscription for access and advice. This makes costs predictable and avoids the commission/AUM conflict. The downside is inconsistency.  Not all services are equally strong, and if you don’t use them often, you end up paying for more than you need. Still, for busy seasons of life, it can be a good fit.

Fee-Only, Project-Based. – My favorite option is hiring planners for specific projects. I’ve done this myself (once for retirement withdrawal strategies, another time to check my work on tax optimization strategies). It felt good to pay for exactly what I needed, get an expert’s input, and move on without strings attached. An added bonus is the “checks and balances” inherent in having different professionals review my situation rather than relying on, and trusting, a single generalist.

One important detail: always ask if the planner is a fiduciary. Fiduciaries are legally required to put your interests first. Advisors working under the weaker “suitability” standard can recommend products that are “good enough” for you but excellent for their paycheck.

My Takeaway

I sat down and learned a lot of this stuff on my own before I discovered the financial independence movement, but this is where the FI community has really helped me.  FI encourages people to educate themselves and provides resources and a community to do so.   The more you know, the less you have to rely on expensive intermediaries and the less vulnerable you are to being taken advantage of.  I still DIY most of my finances but occasionally bring in experts for a second opinion. The peace of mind is worth it for me (and even more so for Katie).

I do worry about friends and relatives who aren’t interested in personal finance and don’t take the time to learn. The hard truth is that finding a good planner is difficult, not because ethical professionals don’t exist, but because the ones who profit most can afford to have the biggest marketing budgets, fanciest offices, and show up on the first page of Google searches. If you’re impressed by a sharp suit, a fancy lobby, or free swag, stop and ask yourself how it’s being paid for. Spoiler: it comes from clients.

The more you educate yourself, the easier it is to cut through the noise. A few simple questions can help: How do you get paid? Are you a fiduciary at all times? What services do you provide, and what will they cost in total? If someone can’t answer clearly, don’t just walk away.  Run!  After all, whether you manage things yourself, lean on community resources, or hire fee-only experts for targeted needs, the goal is the same: make sure your money is working for you, not for your planner’s commission check.

Has anyone found a good solution to financial planning?

Winding Down to FIRE

2 Replies

If you spend any time in the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) community, you’ll hear a ton of acronyms and categories: Lean FI, Coast FI, Barista FI, Fat FI, and more. In case you’re not fluent in FI-ese yet:

  • Lean FI – Reaching financial independence with a minimalist lifestyle and relatively low expenses.
  • Coast FI – Saving enough early on so that, without adding more to investments, compounding alone will carry you to full retirement age. You can “coast” by working only to cover current expenses.
  • Barista FI – Hitting a point where you can cover most expenses from investments but still choose to work part-time (often in lower-stress or more enjoyable jobs) for extra income and benefits.
  • Fat FI – Achieving financial independence with plenty of cushion—enough to maintain (or even upgrade) your lifestyle without worrying about expenses.

A lot of FI talk focuses on hitting a specific number and then leaving work entirely. But there’s a catch: studies show a high failure rate for people who go from full-time careers to nothing overnight. It’s like slamming on the brakes at highway speed—it’s jarring, and it doesn’t always end well.  High powered, type A personalities can only sit on the beach or play golf for so long.

Personally, I think the ideal career trajectory looks more like a bell curve: ramping up in intensity to a peak, then gradually declining as you learn how to relax and explore what retirement can be.  So, even though I left my last W2 job at 50, for me, the RE stands for “recreational employment” rather than “retire early.”

My career path ended up looking pretty close to that:

  • I spent years working multiple jobs, including high-stress school administration roles where 80-hour weeks weren’t uncommon.  During a lot of this time I was working other jobs on the side to sock away more money in investment accounts or going to school to give me more career options.
  • Eventually, I moved back into the classroom, but at the University level instead of in K-12.  Thai was still busy, but far less stressful (Committee work was tedious, but not difficult).  A lot more flexibility in my schedule offered me the chance to explore additional side hustles and types of travel.
  • Next I left the University and shifted to full-time consulting.  I was traveling almost weekly to visit schools and work with teachers and administrators around the country.  Lots of fun, plenty of opportunities for travel (and travel rewards), but time consuming and tough on the family.
  • Over the last few years, as I’ve approached FI, I’ve tried to scale back my consulting work—aiming for just two weeks a month and combining it with more fun travel that Katie and/or the boys can join in on.

I’ll admit I’m still vulnerable to “one more year syndrome” or the lure of an interesting contract in a fun location. But looking ahead, I want to shrink my workload even more—maybe one consulting gig a month, and eventually none at all, so I can focus on overseas exploration and our slow travel.

The lesson? Financial Independence, and retirement in general, shouldn’t be a cliff you jump off. It should be a slope you walk down—at whatever pace feels right to you.