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[caption id="attachment_1279" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The Remains of Edwina's Paycheck [/caption] Happy Monday, readers!  I just wanted to make you aware of my last podcast appearance at the Teach and Retire Rich podcast with Dan Otter and Scott Dauenhauer .  I also need to update our 2016 savings rate numbers that have changed due to some unexpected income on last year's W2 forms. Teach and Retire Rich Podcast This was my second appearance on the TRR podcast.  Previously, I was on episode #18 (also below).  This time Dan and Scott wanted to know what we've been up to since we quit our jobs last May.  Take a listen:   You might notice between minutes 17 and 18 there is a break in the conversation.  I was answering Dan's question about our sources of income.  About that time we were interrupted with a knock on my door.  As a result, the podcast went a little off track; just know that I was basically providing the information fro...

[caption id="attachment_3292" align="alignnone" width="700"] Merida, Mexico in December of 2016 [/caption] If you read FAQs  #1 and #2 , you now know how we save money and how we cover our living expenses.  In this post, I'll explain how we invest our money as it builds up in our various plans.  How we invest our money varies depending on where it's saved.  You probably remember from previous posts that we have four main savings accounts--our IRA, HSA, 403b,  and 457 accounts.  Because each savings account operates under a different investment platform, our investment options vary depending on our choices within the platform.  Our main concerns when we invest in our accounts are 1.) investment choices and 2.) their underlying fees.  Here's how we invest our money: Our Investments by Accounts IRAs * IRAs are great because you , not your employer, get to choose where to invest your money.  Naturally, you want to go with an excellent investment...

[caption id="attachment_1279" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Poor Edwina Earns Only 7¢ a Month! [/caption] If you read FAQ #1 , I already know what your next questions is.  Here's what's going through your mind: "Gee Ed, I think the way you funnel all of your paychecks into your various savings accounts is awesome, but what the heck do you live on?  How do pay for rent, groceries, utilities, etc.?  Do you and your family live in a cardboard box?" Come on and admit it, I just read your mind, didn't I?  This question is a fair one because as you can imagine, we usually don't have much money at the end of the month after stuffing our various accounts (see Edwina's paycheck above).  In 2016 from January to August, we received combined paychecks of 26¢:  7¢ for Edwina and 19¢ for me.  Naturally, we need money to live on, so in order to work our financial plan, we set up two sources of income to cover our living expenses.  (For t...

[caption id="attachment_3218" align="aligncenter" width="223"] Cancun Monkey Bars [/caption] These days saving over $100,000 a year is a given for us .  Whenever we take jobs, we are certain that we'll save at least six figures.  You can take that to the bank.  Upon hearing such bold statements coming from two public school teachers, people are shocked and asked how the heck we do it.  My answer consists of two elements:  the mental aspect and the nuts-and-bolts component. I.  Mental Aspect:  Mind Flip Years ago my wife and I viewed our jobs as current income streams that allowed us to enjoy an awesome lifestyle.  We weren't high-rollers, but we could eat out whenever we wanted, go for drinks, and take week-end trips and nice vacations.  If we needed or wanted something, we simply bought it:  clothes, books, music, cable TV, etc.  All of our consumption was made possible thanks to our two-income household.  However, in 2009 we realized that we c...

[caption id="attachment_3075" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Playa Delfines in Cancun [/caption] Before I put 2016 in my rear-view mirror, I want to take a final look and calculate our 2016 savings rate.  Every year the Mustachian Post  updates its index of bloggers' savings rates.  That means it's time for me to crank out a few spreadsheets for more awesome tables.  First, let's take a look at what we saved in 2016; here's the recap: [table id=79 /] 2016 Savings Rates Okay, now that we know what we saved last year, let's take a look at our 2016 salary numbers.  You can see in the next table that last year Edwina and I had combined salaries of $90,720.  That number represents our gross pay (not net pay) from January to August of 2016.  However, we also had another source of income last year, our 72t IRA distributions of $18,375.  When we add that amount to our salaries, we get a total income of $109,095 for the year.  (Some years we ...

[caption id="attachment_2992" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wave Riding > Debt Servicing [/caption] Debt...ugh!  Where do I start on a topic that I hate so much?  Let's go back to the summer of 1996.  After two years of full-time graduate school, I had just finished an MBA and my  MATL .  In July, I landed my first job after graduate school, a position as an ESL instructor in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.  At the time, it was the best job I ever had:  $39,000 a year (mostly tax-free), 401k with automatic 10% employer contribution, housing, and the use of a car.  My only expenses were for food and phone calls. I was very happy to have the job because I had a $20,000 student loan that I wanted to pay off.  I was 33 years old, and I had never been in debt...EVER.  I realized that I should use my first job to pay down my loan as quickly as possible.  When my first paycheck arrived, it was for nearly two months work, so I immediately sent Sallie Mae a check ...

[caption id="attachment_2843" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Cenote Swimming in Valladolid, Mexico [/caption] If you've poked around my website at all, you already know how much we like "crappy" jobs.  (If you're scratching your head, read these posts:   #1 and #2 .)  In those posts, I explained how we moved to rural teaching districts ("crappy" places in the eyes of many but not ours) where we were able to dramatically increase our net worth through a combination of hardcore savings and frugal living.  To be honest, I'm a little tired of writing about those two jobs, but I realized that I haven't told the full story. The Inside Baseball Around March of 2009 my wife and I were doing a lot of things right financially.  We were both maxing out our 403b and IRA accounts, we had a net worth around $400,000, a nice home, a modest debt load, and our spending was in check.  However, one day during a spreadsheet planning ses...

[caption id="attachment_2491" align="aligncenter" width="227"] Spend Your Way to Hotel Rooms? [/caption] Over the last three years travel hacking has been an obsession of mine.  You would think I would write more about it, right?  Well, in this post I'd like to show you how to score inexpensive hotel rooms via travel hacking.  What is travel hacking?  In short, it's the process of using credit card sign-up bonuses to reap maximum travel benefits from airline and hotel loyalty programs. We began travel hacking in April of 2014, and since that time, we have amassed over 3 million airline miles and hotel points. If valued at 1¢ per point, 3 million points represents a value of $30,000. (If you would like to learn how to travel hack for free, click here .) Thus far, one of our favorite travel hacks has been with the Club Carlson Hotel Rewards Program . There are a number of hotel chains within this rewards program, but most of our room redemptions hav...

[caption id="attachment_2660" align="aligncenter" width="145"] Enjoying the Beach in November [/caption] Another successful trip around the sun has passed, so it's time for our year-end review.  Overall, 2016 was a resounding success for us in the following areas: Work * From January to May we finished out our teaching jobs in Douglas, Georgia.  After many years of teaching, both my wife and I were ready for a change.  Living by the school bell gets really old after a while, so we decided to leave our jobs again.  We had considered staying for a possible third year, but Edwina was adamant that her job was becoming detrimental to our family time.  (Her job required longer hours than mine, and she spent many a weekend on club trips and excessive planning.)  As my loyal readers already know, it's never difficult for me to quit a job, so I graciously followed my wife's lead.  Sure, another year of teaching would have resulted in $100k+ in savings...