Tag Archives: budgeting

Tax Time!

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I appreciate the classic joke that always circulates this time of year…

Government: “You owe us money. It’s called taxes.”
Me: “Do you know how much I owe?”
Government: “Of course, but you have to figure it out for yourself”
Me: “I’ll just pay what I think is right?”
Government: “Yes, but guess wrong and go to jail.”

Despite the sentiment, I actually think tax season is a useful annual check-in on our finances and our planning.

I just finished filing our taxes for the year. I’m no expert, but I hired professionals for a few years and did our return alongside them. When we consistently came up with the same results, I figured I’d keep doing it myself.

A few takeaways from this year:

Our General Drawdown Strategy

Now that we are “retired,” our income doesn’t just show up on a W-2. We build it intentionally. Our general order:

  1. 1099 consulting income first

 Uncle Sam really does encourage small business. If we bring in, say, $30,000 in 1099 revenue, after legitimate business expenses (unreimbursed travel expenses, software subscriptions, home office, mileage, etc.), that might drop to $22,000–$24,000 of net income.

  1. Fill the rest of the 12% bracket with 457 distributions 

(from my University job.  One of the occasional perks of working in education is having access to the money I invested in this type of account penalty free before 59 1/2)

For 2025, married filing jointly:

  • Standard deduction ≈ $30,000
  • 12% bracket tops out around $94,000 taxable income
  • Which means gross income can be roughly ~$124,000 before hitting the 22% bracket

But we rarely go anywhere near that. This year we targeted closer to $70,000–$75,000 of total MAGI.

Example:

  • $30,000 net 1099 income
  • $40,000 from 457
    = $70,000 total income

After the ~$30,000 standard deduction, only ~$40,000 is taxable and it is almost entirely in the 10% and 12% brackets.  That’s intentional. We are using low brackets now before our pensions start in a few years..

457 vs. Long-Term Capital Gains

We could sell appreciated investments and realize long-term capital gains. This is a common recommendation for early retirees since, for married filing jointly, the 0% capital gains bracket runs up to roughly $94,000 taxable income. With the standard deduction, you can often realize almost $100 thousand in long-term capital gains and pay $0 federal tax.

That’s powerful.  It is also a great example of how the system is skewed towards wealthy stock owners rather than wage earners.  Even the next bracket for LTCG is only taxed at 15% 😦   But here’s the wrinkle for us, and many others:

ACA subsidies create a “hidden tax bracket.”

ACA subsidies phase out based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) as a percentage of Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

For a household of 3, 2025 FPL is roughly $25,820.

  • 200% FPL ≈ $51,640
  • 250% FPL ≈ $64,550
  • 300% FPL ≈ $77,460

If we let MAGI creep from $64,000 to $78,000, we might:

  • Lose thousands of dollars in premium subsidies
  • Effectively face a marginal rate north of 20–30% when you combine taxes + lost subsidies

That’s the “hidden bracket.” So even though capital gains are taxed at 0%, they still raise MAGI — which can cost us real money.

ACA Subsidies: A Real Planning Tool

One of the most frequent questions we get about retirement is healthcare. We’re currently using the ACA. Even without subsidies, we’re getting a better plan for about the same price we paid as public school teachers in Texas (which tells you how bad public educator plans in Texas are).

This year we deliberately stayed just below a key subsidy threshold. Example:

If our MAGI had been:

  • $64,000 → strong subsidy
  • $72,000 → meaningfully reduced subsidy

That $8,000 difference in income might have cost us $2,000–$3,000 in lost premium assistance.

The biggest wildcard in our planning right now is the return of the ACA “subsidy cliff.” Democratic policies provided “enhancements” so that subsidies gradually phased out as income increased, and even households above 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) still received some help if premiums exceeded a set percentage of income. Despite the recent shutdown, the Republican party held firm on removing those enhancements so the old rule is back: cross 400% of FPL by even one dollar and subsidies drop to zero. For a household of three in 2025, that line is roughly $103,000 of MAGI. If your income is $102,900, you might receive thousands of dollars in premium assistance. If it’s $103,100, you get nothing and will owe the entire subsidy back at tax time. That creates an extreme marginal “tax” on just a few extra dollars of income, which is why we have to be careful about managing MAGI. It’s not just about income tax brackets anymore; it’s about avoiding a cliff that can turn a small planning mistake into a five-figure swing.

This year was good practice.  Not only was it the last year of enhancements before the cliff returns, but In a few years, when our household drops from 3 to 2 and my pension income starts, those margins will matter even more.

State Taxes: There’s No Free Lunch

At tax filing time, I do have a brief moment of gratitude that we are official residents of Texas and don’t pay a state income tax. When your federal return is finished and there’s no separate state return to file, it does  feel pretty good.  For a moment. Then I remind myself: Texas absolutely gets its revenue.

Even now, in a lower-income early retirement phase, we still pay:

  • Property taxes are often in the 1.8–2.5% range.  On a $300,000 home, that’s $5,400–$7,500 per year.
  • State + local sales tax of 8.25% in the Dallas area, which is among the highest combined sales tax rates in the country.

And unlike an income tax, these are regressive and don’t scale neatly with our earnings.

If our income drops from $120,000 to $60,000, the property tax bill doesn’t get cut in half. The county doesn’t care that I’m strategically harvesting long-term capital gains or staying under an ACA threshold. The appraisal district still wants its check.  And sales taxes? Those are inherently regressive. The family earning $60,000 and the family earning $600,000 both pay 8.25% at the register.

Texas makes a policy choice: tax consumption and property instead of income. That structure can be very attractive during high-earning years. If you’re making $250,000+, avoiding a 5–8% state income tax is meaningful. But in retirement, especially early retirement, the tradeoffs feel different.  There’s no such thing as a tax-free state, only different ways of collecting the bill.

Kids, Tax Credits, and Reality

I’ve been telling our youngest that he’s useless to me now that he has aged out of the Child Tax Credit (which ends at age 17).  Turns out that wasn’t entirely true.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) can be worth up to:

  • $2,500 per year
  • 100% of the first $2,000 in qualified expenses
  • 25% of the next $2,000

If you’re paying tuition, that’s meaningful. So as long as he stays in school and we’re within the income limits, I guess I’ll let him slide 🙂

The Bigger Picture

Unlike some people I talk to, I don’t actually mind taxes.  It’s like a subscription fee for living in a functioning society. Call me crazy, but I like things like roads,public schools, National Parks, libraries, basic social stability, and caring for my fellow man.

Do I think the system is perfect? No.
Do I think rates should probably be higher, especially at the top end of the wealth spectrum? Yes, absolutely.

But while the tax code exists in its current format, staying informed matters.

This year we:

  • Stayed in the 12% bracket
  • Managed ACA subsidies
  • Used business deductions appropriately
  • Leveraged education credits
  • Reduced future tax exposure by drawing down tax-deferred accounts before pension income begins

That’s not “beating the system.” It’s understanding the rules of the system you’re playing in. And when you treat tax season as a strategy session instead of a punishment, it becomes one of the most powerful financial planning tools your family can have.

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

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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

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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?

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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.

Financial Independence Resources

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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

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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?

How Much Did the First 24 Hours in Omaha Cost?

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We’re one full day into our first “slomad” journey and are settling into our new home in Omaha, Nebraska. I get a lot of questions about costs, and, even though we’re renting furnished places, I’ve also been curious about what unexpected expenses might pop up during these moves. So here’s a breakdown of everything we spent in our first 24 hours in Omaha:

Lodging

We pulled into town around noon and moved into our place. It’s a fully furnished, utilities-included two-bedroom apartment right on the edge of the Old Market neighborhood in downtown Omaha. At $1,500 a month, that comes out to about $50 per day of lodging.

Exercise

A couple of blocks away, we checked out the neighborhood YMCA. Our building has a decent workout room, but Katie and I swim a lot and we wanted access to a pool, plus classes and the chance to be social. I bargained away the joining fee by agreeing to pay the first month up front. For both of us, with full access to every YMCA in the region, it’s $75/month—or $2.50 for the first day.

Library

On the way back, we ducked into Omaha’s downtown public library. It was spacious, modern, and definitely a place we’ll return to when we want a work spot outside the apartment. We signed up for cards for $0 and now have access to meeting rooms, printers, copiers, and, of course, endless digital and physical media.

Household Goods & Groceries

Our next trip was to grab some household essentials and groceries. Honestly, I was worried we’d need a lot, but the apartment was remarkably well equipped.  They even gave us starter sets of consumables like paper towels, soap, and laundry detergent. That said, we still picked up a Brita filter, a laundry basket, a drying rack, and a few other upgrades, most of which will stay behind when we move out.

  • Groceries: $52
  • Household odds and ends: $121 → amortized over our stay: $1.15 for day one

Dinner Out

By the time we finished shopping (and skipped lunch), we were starving. Friends had suggested Pizza Ranch, a buffet I was skeptical of until we tried it. Yes, it’s family-friendly, but the food was solid: salad bar, pizza, fried chicken, dessert, the works. Maybe more than we should have eaten, but worth it 🙂  $37 for the two of us.

Free Fun

The next morning, I used the new gym membership, then Katie and I took a long walk around downtown, hung out at a park, and even tried out the public hammocks. Cost? $0

Day One Total: $152.15

So, what did we learn?

  • Furnished rentals can save big money. Filling a place from scratch adds up fast; Furnished Finder has already proven cheaper and easier.
  • Hidden costs still pop up. Even with a well-stocked apartment, there are always “little” things you want—like a water filter or a laundry basket—that need to be budgeted for.
  • Entertainment doesn’t have to cost much. Libraries, parks, and neighborhood walks are free, and they’re going to be a bigger part of our lifestyle as we check out different locations.
  • Life has a baseline cost. A chunk of this spending—food, exercise, even some household items—would have happened whether we were home or traveling.  Too often we look at all travel expenses as additional money out of pocket, but if I am buying groceries here, I am not buying them in Texas.  Even the monthly YMCA expense just replaces a gym membership that we cancelled last week.

When you look at it that way, traveling isn’t necessarily more expensive than staying put. In fact, with the right planning, it can be cheaper and a lot more fun.

Of course this was just day one in Omaha. We’re curious to see how the averages shake out as the days and weeks go on, but so far, the experiment looks promising 🙂