Greetings All,
I just wanted to share what I'm doing. In mid-January I took a teaching job about an hour away from my home. While I hate commuting, I decided to take the job and make the best of it. To reduce my commuting time I stay two nights a week with my brother-in-law who lives about 10 minutes from my job site. I hate being away from my family those nights, but I cannot spend two hours a day in the car.
Now for the good part. The first thing I did was set up a 457 and 403b plan with the district. Since I had already missed the January deadline for contributions, I received a January paycheck that actually landed in my checking account. Not what I wanted, but I made the best of it by using the money to open up a Vanguard IRA ($3,000 in the LifeStrategy Growth Fund). I then set up contributions of $3,285.71 to my 457 account for seven months (Feb. to August). This will result in $23,000 (old fart turning 50 later this year) stuffed in the 457; any remaining money will be sent to my 403b account.
I took this job with the idea of using it to blow out some retirement accounts in a short period of time. At the end of the school year, I can decide to return or resign. If I decide to return (unlikely), I will be able to finish contributing to the 403b and my IRA. More likely I will resign to take some time off with the family. My wife is maxing out her 457 and 403b at her job too.
We look forward to using our financial freedom to spend time traveling, visiting family and unschooling our son. I hope this post helps somebody find their own financial independence solution.
Ed
p.s. I forgot to mention that while school is over at the end of May, I will receive paychecks for the months of June, July and August.