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?

An Unpopular Opinion About Restaurants

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Some of our friends like to tease us because we don’t eat dinner at seven or eight o’clock. Instead, we usually go out for lunch or have an early dinner. Part of this comes from my preferred eating schedule. I tend to skip breakfast, eat one full meal, and then have a smaller meal later in the day. Eating earlier just fits that rhythm and I end up feeling better when I am not going to bed with a full stomach.

But there’s another benefit. It’s often much cheaper.

In fact, if we’re careful, eating out can sometimes approach the cost of cooking dinner at home. That’s especially helpful right now because the kitchen in our beach condo is… let’s call it “compact.” Cooking full meals there isn’t super practical. Luckily, over time we’ve developed a few habits that make restaurant meals surprisingly affordable.

Timing Is Everything

One of the biggest advantages of flexible schedules is being able to eat when restaurants are trying to attract customers.  Lunch menus are almost always cheaper than dinner menus. Early bird specials, weekday specials, and even senior menus can dramatically lower the price of a meal. Many restaurants offer essentially the same food earlier in the day for several dollars less per plate. When you aren’t tied to a strict work schedule, it’s easy to take advantage of that.

Split the Entrée

American restaurant portions are enormous. Katie and I frequently split a single entrée, especially at lunch. In many places, one plate is easily enough food for two people. Not only does this reduce the cost of the meal, it also avoids the “restaurant overstuffed” feeling that often follows a big dinner. Sometimes we’ll add an extra salad or soup for one of us or add an appetizer (Queso!) if we need a little more food, but often the single entrée works just fine.

Skip the Alcohol

One of the biggest hidden costs in restaurant dining is alcohol. A single cocktail can easily cost $10 to $15. Two drinks each can double the price of a meal. We don’t drink alcohol so this is no great sacrifice for us, but it keeps the bill dramatically lower than what some of our friends experience. Diet soda is my vice, but even there I’m careful. When a soda costs $5+ after tax and tip, I usually skip it. At that price, I can buy drinks for a week at home.

Fast Casual Is a Sweet Spot

Fast casual restaurants can be a great middle ground. They’re usually healthier than fast food, but significantly cheaper than traditional sit-down restaurants (and not just the price of the food.  As a former waiter/bartender, I tend to tip on the high range so eating in a place with with no service can be an automatic 20-25% discount). And many of them offer high-quality food with customizable options. It’s not fancy, but it’s often exactly what we want.

Gift Cards = Instant Discount

When we know we’re going to eat somewhere frequently, we look for discounted gift cards. Costco and Sam’s Club often sell restaurant gift cards at about 20 percent off face value. Buy a $100 gift card for $80, and you’ve immediately reduced every meal by twenty percent. You can find similar deals online, but the warehouse clubs make it easy.

Loyalty Programs

We also sign up for loyalty programs at places we visit often. I’m not going out of my way to spend money just to earn points. But if we’re going to eat somewhere anyway, letting them track our purchases often results in free appetizers, discounts, or occasional free meals. If the restaurant benefits from my repeat business, I’m happy to sit back and collect the perks.

Stacking the Savings

None of these strategies is revolutionary by itself. But when you combine them, the savings add up.

  • Early dining prices.
  • Splitting entrées.
  • Skipping drinks, especially alcohol.
  • Discounted gift cards.
  • Loyalty rewards.

Start stacking those all together and the cost of eating out can start to approach the cost of cooking at home. And sometimes it’s actually cheaper than buying groceries for a meal you have to prepare and clean up yourself. That might be an unpopular opinion in FI circles. But when you enjoy the experience, control the cost, and avoid the dishes?

Here is an extreme example:  I like Torchy’s Tacos and, once a year around Christmas, you can qualify for a “Golden ticket” card that gets you free queso for the entire next year.  You just have to spend $200.  Seems like a lot, but I just buy a gift card for that amount (and earn Torchy’s rewards points as well as 4x CC points).  Throughout the year I will go in for breakfast occasionally and get free queso and buy a taco or two, using the gift card (and receiving additional rewards points).  Katie and I also go in for lunch/dinner occasionally, especially when there is a special (of course I get e-mails about specials when they are trying new items or encouraging additional benefits).  Last year… stacking free food, loyalty rewards, CC points, food specials (and avoiding the bar), allowed us to eat there more than two dozen times!  And I had to work to finish the original spend.  Maybe that is extreme, but eating almost 30 meals for $200?  In 2025?  It feels like a pretty good deal to me 🙂

What are some ways that you have saved money so that you can splurge on meals out?

National Parks: America’s Best Travel Bargain?

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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

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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)

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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.

Myrtle Beach!

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Well, we have landed here in Myrtle Beach. It was a long journey as we left Dallas the day after a red-eye from Honolulu. Eric had to work in Honolulu AND be here to work so we didn’t have a lot of time to rest between travel legs.

The weather is a little cold BUT it is warming up. We knew February would still be winter so prepared accordingly. I am glad that I have been here a couple of times over the past six months so it wouldn’t be 100% new to me. We are settling in slowly as Eric has been working the past two days and I have been unpacking and organizing our space.

This will be the smallest place we have ever lived in. It is a hotel/condo on the beach and it truly has everything we need. However, we have just never lived in a small space like this before. Our place in Omaha was the smallest we had ever lived in prior to this but it is probably 1.5x bigger than this.

We bought some additional shelving and that has made all the difference! It almost makes me think that we could live like this for longer than three months. You all know that I really just love being right on the water. It is just so therapeutic for me.

Follow us on our social media to see what our place actually looks like, and also to see the view from our balcony! https://linktr.ee/earlyexitopenroad

Thanks for being here with us!

Love watching the various seabirds!

How Do You Pack for Months Away from Home?

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3 Feb 2026 This post was written last fall. We are now preparing to do it again this week when we move to Myrtle Beach!

When we started planning this nomadic adventure, the question came up: How on earth do you pack for months away from home?

Surprisingly, it’s not that different from how I pack for a week-long business trip… at least in some categories. After all, laundry and Amazon delivery still exist in other states. And, if I’m honest, even when I’m home for months at a time, I usually catch myself wearing the same rotation of clothes over and over… the ones that are rewashed and put back on the top of the pile.  Here’s how it breaks down.

The Almost-the-Same Stuff

Clothes
 My “packing for months” wardrobe looks a lot like my “packing for a week” wardrobe, just with a few extras to account for different weather. If it works in July, I throw in a hoodie for October. Done.  (In some places those of us who are 6’7” and 270 lbs have to be careful because there isn’t a ready market for extended size clothes if we need to buy something in a pinch, but in Omaha? I think I will be OK) 

Katie says: I bring my big pink suitcase, Bertha, that I usually bring to Hawaii. It holds my clothes, swimsuits, snorkels, water shoes, sunscreen and the like. I also bring the medium and small pink suitcases and a blue one as well. Also some duffle bags. I have to have SOME variety in my clothes!

Technology
 I’ve already got my go-to travel tech bag: laptop, chargers, cables, noise-canceling headphones (for planes), bone conduction headphones (for everything else). The one new addition for this trip? A green screen backdrop. I bought it during COVID for working from home, and it’s been a lifesaver for quick, professional-looking Zoom calls, no matter what shenanigans are happening behind me.

Katie says: I pretty much do the same thing. I have a travel monitor as well as some tech stuff for my cameras.

Entertainment
Sure, most of our fun will come from exploring new places, but I’m also bringing a hard drive full of movies to go along with our subscription services.  Over the years, I have converted most of my books to digital, so my library lives on my phone already. It was a little sad selling my physical fiction collection to Half Price Books for pennies on the dollar, but at least my professional library found a good home.

Katie says: I brought coloring stuff to Nebraska but did not use it. I found myself taking pictures all the time and then editing those so I could share them with the world. I also had lunch with my cousin Scott if Eric was working. One thing about Omaha was that the entertainment was RIGHT THERE!

The Pretty-Different Stuff

Recreation
Katie and I love stand-up paddle boarding, so earlier this year we swapped our DFW paddle club membership (which we loved) for a couple of inflatable boards. They’re coming with us. We also swim for workouts, so our swim bags—goggles, suits, fins—are on the list. Omaha has a few good lap-swimming spots I’ve already scoped out.

Home Comforts
We’re renting furnished places, so we don’t need to bring much, but a few things made the cut: pillows (Katie is picky, and I like extras), our own sheets (because why not?), and our refrigerator magnet collection. We’ve been collecting these on road trips for years, they pack easily, and they’ll make any kitchen feel like ours. One splurge item: our countertop ice machine. I’ve gotten way too used to having perfect ice for my daily diet sodas.

Katie says: This really made us feel like we had a little bit of home with us. Plus we used our Roku and all of the Backdrops on there are the ones we had at home so that made my heart happy.

Consumables
We’re not loading up the car like a Costco delivery truck, but we will bring a box of some bulk items we already own and don’t want to rebuy immediately, plus some brands that might be harder to find.

Final Thoughts

Packing for months of nomadic travel sounds intimidating, but when you break it down, it’s not much different from a long vacation. Clothes, tech, and a few comforts from home—plus the paddle boards. Always the paddle boards.

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.