Financially Independent Teachers

Send us Fan Mail Janet is entering her 20th year as a teacher. After spending her first 18 years as a middle school teacher, she recently made the switch to HS. In this episode, she discusses the "reset" having been at one school her entire career, the journey of wanting to retire early to know seeing herself teach well into her mid 50's, retiring from NC and hopping the border to S...

Send us Fan Mail After moving halfway around the US for college, the travel bug came again with a move overseas. With college came student loan and credit card debt...or what we usually call "normal". While overseas, our guest meets the love of her life, a German citizen with a completely different culture surrounding money. Unfortunately, the family dealt with historic flooding in Germa...

Send us Fan Mail Dave has cut grass, pressure washed, and given private pitching lessons as previous side hustles...last week, he gave Door Dash a shot. In this episode, Dave and his wife (Stephanie) discuss their experiment Dashing in Jacksonville NC for one week. What did they learn? Is it worth it? Hear all of their thoughts and how it could impact your financial future! Teachers, this episode...

Send us Fan Mail We have discussed SO many side hustles on the FIT Podcast...pressure washing, baby sitting, lawn care, mail box beautification, Door Dash, tutoring, Airbnb cleaning, private lessons, and much more! In past episodes, we have even talked about teaching abroad...what if I told you there is a way to teach abroad but you don't have to resign from your current teaching position? Me...

Send us Fan Mail Stephanie taught English for 30+ years in North Carolina. Unfortunately, throughout most of her career, she was not privy to financial literacy. Did she invest? If so, how much and in what? How is she making it in retirement off of her NC pension? As the saying goes "hindsight is 20/20"...what advice would she give to teachers who are currently working to prepare for lif...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Jillian and Dave discuss the concept of mini retirements and how they can lead to a fulfilling lifestyle while pursuing financial independence. They discuss "mini retirements" throughout your career, emphasizing the importance of taking breaks, traveling, and spending quality time family. We explore the challenges and benefits of unconventional choi...

Send us Fan Mail Sweet 16...21.....these are HUGE milestone birthdays in life! Does the party end at 21? Tune in as I talk about MAJOR milestone birthdates that play a large role in your personal finance life. Spoiler alert...21 is just the beginning of the FUN!

Send us Fan Mail Pat has been on DOZENS of cruises and was inspired to start her own social media page, giving tips and tricks to first time cruises and veterans alike. Have you ever considered a cruise or do you like to travel in general? Pat discusses the fun of cruising, how to find a deal, tips for packing, cruise line stereotypes, cost, and much more! As we prep for summer, it is time to star...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel has been teaching in NC for almost 30 years. Unfortunately, the first few decades of his career, he wasn't very informed on his NC teaching benefits, his pension, or investing. Whether you start to learn in your first year or toward the end of your career, it is never TOO late! Now, Daniel is investing, becoming an expert on all things NC teacher benefits, and is even...

Send us Fan Mail Cody Garrett (not to be confused with our good friend, Justin), is a CFP and a regular on the ChooseFI message boards and FB group. By know, most of us know about the Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b)...but many of us (myself included) have been in the dark about a taxable brokerage account. Cody is here to talk about all the positives of having one of these amazing accounts. ...

Send us Fan Mail Eric is a teacher and coach in the Boston area. In the episode, he lays out ideas for building financial success in a HCOL, we discuss renting vs buying, and his mini stint with financial independence when he moved his family to France for a handful of years. What did he enjoy? What were the pros and cons of living internationally?  Be a guest on the show: https://www.financiallyi...

Send us Fan Mail Nancy is in wrapping up "Act II" of her life journey. Act I was living in Ohio and working in HR in the corporate world. Act II brought her to the beaches of NC to become a CTE teacher at Jacksonville High School. With a few decades of teaching under her belt and only a few years left until retirement (Act III), Nancy has been gazelle intense, working on having her finan...

Send us Fan Mail While cruising the Western Caribbean, I had GRAND plans to read a book a received for Christmas titled "The Bucket Plan: Protecting and Growing Your Assets for a Worry-Free Retirement"...well, sometimes grand plans do not come to fruition! Luckily, we had a 6 hour wait in the Miami Airport, so I had a chance to finally read that book that I had planned on reviewing earli...

Send us Fan Mail John Chester, the Millionaire Math Teacher is back on the show to continue our discussion on the current state of the stock market. As a retiree and in his late 60's, what is his perspective on the market? Will he get out? Will be buy more? We talk about his portfolio and diversification allotment.  How do you mentally and emotionally handle large swings of 50k+ gains/losses?...

Send us Fan Mail What a crazy week! The stock market is down around 10%...should I keep investing? Should I sell? What can I control when we face these uncertain times? Former teacher and current financial advisor, David Gourley joins us on the show, almost in REAL TIME to discuss!  David is a former coach and high school math teacher, helping teachers from around the country build their financial...

Send us Fan Mail Allison has been a history teacher in NC for over a decade.  Currently, she is teaching at a Charlotte area Early College and has taken on the task of learning new curriculum by teaching NC's new EPF course.  The theme of Allison's story is resilience! Like many, she has regrets on how she used her student loans in college and has worked hard to overcome her mistakes. Fr...

Send us Fan Mail Paul has been a dedicated public educator for over 24 years. His goal is to blend the love for education with a passion about finances to help lay out a strategic plan to assist teachers with their retirement goals.  Many financial advisors and supplemental retirement plans have both outrageously high fees mixed with limited knowledge about Ohio (or other state) pension plans. Pau...

Send us Fan Mail Fritz Gilbert is an expert in the retirement space, and he is back on FIT to discuss the Top 5 Retirement Regrets and how to not make those same mistakes. You only get one chance at retirement, let Fritz (a retiree who has intensely studied retirement) help give us all a leg up on our future! Check out his website: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/blog/ Be a guest on the sho...

Send us Fan Mail Stac Be a guest on the show: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/contact-8 Check out our website: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/ Sign up for FIT coaching: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/services-4

Send us Fan Mail Jeff lives south of Charlotte, across the border in Rock Hill SC.  He is in his 30th year teaching, all at the time school but actually retired after his 28th year.  He is now "double dipping" and making well over 130k to teach in South Carolina.  A divorce in the middle of his teaching career really made Jeff rethink finances as he enrolled in FPU and went on to lead ma...

Send us Fan Mail There are some important milestone birthdays in life...16, 18, 21, 59.5, 62 and 65. What is special about 65? This is the age you transition to Medicare. Did you know? There are two main choices in your healthcare at 65...Traditional Medicare OR a Medicare Advantage plan. Lucrecia Ryan takes us on a journey on which plan she likes best and why. As a 42 year old, I think a lot abou...

Send us Fan Mail Dennis is retired from the military, but recently made the move to work with special needs students in the public school setting. With the wiring to always want to help others AND have some work flexibility, Dennis and his wife have both found themselves working within the school system.  Be a guest on the show: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/contact-8 Check out ou...

Send us Fan Mail In 2011, Adam and his wife married with a net worth of ZERO. In 2025, their net worth has climbed to 1.7 million! Adam is a community college professor and his wife works part time as a substitute teacher. Although their family has W2 income of less than 100k per year, their lifestyle is enhanced by owning 3 rental properties. Listen in as Adam shares their journey from nothing to...

Send us Fan Mail Zach graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in finance. In his mid 20's, he was clearing 100k+ and his wife had income as well. Even though he knew WHAT to do with money, the temptations that we all face (cars, travel, eating out) proved to be a major roadblock to building financial independence. After taking a pay cut to teach, Zach and his wife have tracked...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 200 is here! What better way to celebrate 200 than you sharing your wins with the FIT Family! Be a guest on the show: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/contact-8 Check out our website: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/ Sign up for FIT coaching: https://www.financiallyindependentteachers.com/services-4