Tag Archives: early-retirement

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.

Overemployed on Purpose

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I was at a conference recently where a speaker talked about being “overemployed.” In his case, he was holding two simultaneous full time W-2 jobs. Both were project-based and largely virtual, and his argument was that as long as he delivered what he was contractually obligated to deliver, the rest of his time was his own.

I don’t disagree. To me, the key distinction is output versus presence. If an employer is getting exactly what they paid for, then what someone does outside of that agreement isn’t really their concern. If work is being neglected, that’s a performance issue. But if expectations are being met, it’s harder to argue there’s something unethical happening.

Katie and I have had our own version of overemployment during our FI journey.

I’ve never held two full-time W-2 jobs at once, but I’ve often combined one full-time position with multiple 1099 roles—some of which approached full-time hours. Peak crazy was during COVID. At one point I was teaching a full-time university role (online), adjuncting at two other universities, and consulting with K-12 schools around the country on their transition to virtual learning. Meanwhile, Katie was working her W-2 job, teaching online, and doing the occasional tutoring gig.

Seven different jobs between the two of us.

It sounds intense (and it was) but it worked… for that season.

Why It Helped

Katie and I have always had a household budget based on our regular jobs, but made a deal early in our relationship that whoever brought in extra income could spend half of it however they wanted…with no questions, no recriminations.  For me that meant paying for graduate degrees and investing more.  For Katie it meant a couple of additional luxuries or bonus travel.  In the end, multiple income streams really accelerated our savings rate. There were years we exceeded 50%. That kind of margin dramatically changes the FI timeline.

Maybe even more importantly, it also made the transition to early retirement gradual instead of abrupt.

We didn’t jump from full speed to zero. We pruned.

  • The adjunct roles that weren’t leading anywhere..
  • The W-2 where you and the new boss didn’t see eye to eye
  • The projects that weren’t fulfilling.
  • The gigs that weren’t profitable enough to justify the effort.

It’s a lot easier to “retire” when you’re walking away from one of several income streams instead of cutting off your only paycheck (link to “Winding down to FIRE post).

There’s also a psychological shift that happens. When no single employer controls all of your income, you feel freer. You’re less afraid to say no. You’re less likely to tolerate work you don’t enjoy. That optionality is powerful.

Right now, I’m still holding onto one last 1099 gig. It’s flexible. It’s interesting and meaningful. It pays well. Maybe next year I’ll satisfy the Retirement Police and drop even that 🙂

But I don’t feel rushed.

A Word of Caution

This only works if it’s intentional. There’s a difference between strategic overemployment and burnout. We’ve had seasons where the calendar was too full. The key is knowing your “why.”

For us, the goal wasn’t to work more forever. It was to create flexibility. Overemployment wasn’t the destination. It was the bridge.  Sometimes the fastest way to freedom isn’t quitting. It’s stacking wisely… and pruning deliberately.

Have you ever held multiple roles at once? Did it feel empowering?  Or exhausting?

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.

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 🙂

Zero-Based Thinking: What’s Right for Today?

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I was recently listening to a ChooseFI podcast where Alan and Katie Donnegan talk about a concept they call zero-based thinking—the idea of asking yourself:  “Knowing what I know now, would I make the same decision today?”  It’s a powerful way to fight the sunk cost fallacy—the tendency to hold on to something just because of the time, money, or energy you’ve already put into it. Instead, zero-based thinking challenges us to re-evaluate our choices based on current circumstances, not past ones.  It got me thinking about how Katie and I have tried to transition our mindset in this way as we move into our “slomad” stage of life.

Not long ago, Katie was really surprised when I mentioned trading in the Camry she thought I “loved.” And to be fair, when I bought it, it was the perfect fit for me: reliable, fuel-efficient, comfortable, and spacious enough for long solo commutes through downtown Dallas.  Same for her minivan.  A van with third row seating, leather seats and built in DVD player?  Perfect for young kids and road trips… ten years ago.  But today? Our lifestyle has changed. What once felt essential now feels excessive. Zero-based thinking forced me to ask: If I didn’t already own these cars, would I buy them today? The answer was no, so we made changes.

Our house is another example of this principle. When we purchased it, we had young kids and jobs in the local schools. The location was perfect—between the elementary and junior high, right next to the neighborhood pool, and just a few miles from work. The four bedrooms and converted playroom suited our family perfectly.  Fast forward to today, and our needs aren’t the same. The house still holds memories, but practically speaking, it’s way larger than we need and tied to a location and a lifestyle that no longer reflects who we are.  Zero-based thinking asks: If we were house shopping today, would this be the right fit for us?

This mindset also applies to finances. The way we invested during the accumulation phase of life was appropriate at the time—maximizing growth, taking on risk, and planning for the long haul. But as we enter the drawdown phase, the question changes. If I had our net worth in cash right now, would I buy the same investments? Probably not. My risk tolerance and goals have shifted and my investments should follow.

Zero-based thinking doesn’t mean abandoning every past decision. It just means holding your choices up to the light of your current reality. The car, the house, the investments—they all made sense once, but the people we were then aren’t the people we are today (and definitely not the people we’ll be tomorrow).

Maybe the best philosophy is this:  Strong convictions, loosely held. Believe deeply in your choices when you make them, but be willing to release them when you have new data or they no longer serve you in other ways.

So what about you—what’s one area of your life that could use some zero-based thinking?

Stuff: The Other Four-Letter Word

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We’ve lived in our current home for twenty years. That’s two decades of books, birthday gifts, holidays, hobbies that didn’t stick, and random purchases that “might” come in handy… someday. Katie insists that compared to many of our friends, we’re practically minimalists—either because I’m too cheap to buy things in the first place or because I lack any sense of style when it comes to decorating.  If you know me, you know it’s probably both 🙂 

Still, two decades in one place adds up for anyone. And when you have a house, you have room to let things pile up. As George Carlin famously said, “A house is just a place to keep your stuff.” He had other words for stuff, but you get the idea. Now that we’re planning a life without a permanent house, we’ve had to confront a scary truth: something has to be done with all this “stuff.”

There are a lot of popular theories on the best way to downsize:

  • The Marie Kondo method: Does it bring you joy? (Spoiler: most of my stuff just brings me confusion.  What if I go back to a job I last held 15 years ago?  I might really want that…)
  • The one-year rule: If you haven’t used or worn it in the past year, it’s out.
  • The Storage Bin Challenge (my personal, unpopular idea): Everyone gets one big bin to keep items they value.  No-questions-asked. Then we swap rooms and decide what’s valuable in each other’s piles and throw EVERYTHING else away. This, I argue, removes the emotional attachment and speeds up the process. The family disagrees. Strongly.
  • The fire test: If the house burned down, would I pay to replace this?
  • If you didn’t think the fire test was dark enough: If I passed away, would the person cleaning out my house find any value in this?

For now, we don’t have to actually decide on everything. We’re keeping the house for our first year of nomadic travel, partly as a home base and partly as a very expensive storage unit. But just prepping for our older son to rent it this year has forced some tough decisions and a lot of trips to Half Price Books and the donation center.

So, what works for you? If you’ve downsized, what’s your secret weapon for letting go of stuff? Because one thing’s for sure—if this slow-travel adventure works out, we’ll need to learn the art of living with less.

Why Are We Slow Traveling the U.S.?

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One of our family goals was to get both boys to all 50 states before they were out of the house.  Sadly, circumstances (Link to other article) left Katie the boys stuck at Forty-nine.  That is still an accomplishment, but instead of scratching that off our list and settling into a “normal” retirement routine now that the kids are grown, we’ve decided to hit the road again— just a little differently this time.  We’re not tourists anymore.  Now we’re test-drivers. 

Texas has been great for us.  We got degrees, raised a family, had careers here.  It has never really felt like home to Katie, though.  And just because we live here now, that doesn’t mean we have to live here forever.  Maybe we will want our forever home to be in a cooler climate, so we don’t have to hide in the AC for 4-5 months a year?  Maybe we want actual elevation changes?  Trees?  Maybe fewer extremes… in weather and in political climate? 😊

Wait, You’re Not Traveling Internationally?

Nope — not yet.

Sure.  My FIRE people, the travel blogs, Instagram reels… everyone seems to be sipping espresso in Italy or eating $1 pho in Vietnam. And with Katie being a fluent Spanish speaker (and me speaking like at least a third grader), Central and South America seem like a natural fit.   We’re all for exploring those options… eventually. But for now, we’ve made a conscious choice to look domestically. Why?

1. Consulting work – I’m still doing some consulting, and it’s just easier to manage from within the U.S.  Travel, time zones, Zoom calls, internet reliability — it’s not glamorous, but it’s real life and it helps fund the adventure and minimize sequence of returns risk at the start of our early retirement.

2. Scouting our “forever home” – We don’t just want to travel for the sake of movement. We’re on a mission. We’ve done the tourist version of all 50 states, but now we want to live in them — or at least in some of the top contenders.

3. Logistical simplicity – No visas, no long-haul flights, no currency exchanges, and no language barriers. Plus, we can bring more stuff, cook in our own kitchen, and drive our own (new) car along the way.

Why 2–4 Month Stints?

At this point we think that staying at least two months is going to be our sweet spot.  Both of us have travelled a lot for short trips for vacation or business.  That wasn’t enough for a real look at different areas, though.

Month one is for figuring things out — Where the best grocery store is, how the weather really feels, can Katie get decent Mexican food, and how far the walking trails are from home.

Month two (and more) is when we settle in and get to know the rhythms. We will notice things like traffic patterns, neighborhood personalities, and whether the town actually has a good community feel or just good PR.

What We’re Looking For in a Home Base

We’re not just looking for postcard beauty or an affordable zip code (though those don’t hurt).  We’re looking for:

·   – A manageable cost of living

·   – Mild-to-moderate seasons

·   – A sense of community

·   – Access to nature without being hours from an airport with good connections

·   – Solid healthcare options

·   – Bonus points for walkability, water access, and a good public library system

The Unsexy Side of Domestic Slow Travel

Is it always going to be dreamy? Of course not!

Finding decent mid-term rentals has been tricky, especially with the rise of AirBnb fees (Link) and leases that either want a weekend stay or a full year commitment. We’ve had to get creative using furnishedfinder.com, Facebook groups, and even reaching out directly to landlords.

We also have to be careful not to just “vacation” our way through this. This isn’t about tourist attractions, restaurants, and photo opportunities.  It’s about real-life living — doing laundry, getting oil changes, finding the nearest urgent care.

And honestly, there’s going to be some emotional fatigue in packing up and starting over every few months. It will be especially problematic this Fall when my consulting schedule is a lot heavier than we had originally planned.  But we will balance it with some slow days, outdoor time, and the occasional indulgence.

What’s Next?

We’ve got a few areas on the shortlist already, largely based on my work schedule.  Omaha, Myrtle Beach, Seattle, etc.  Eventually, we might dip our toes into international waters. But for now, we’re looking forward to roaming America’s backroads, main streets, and regional gas station chains — one stay at a time.  And who knows? Maybe the next stop will end up feeling like home.