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Originally Posted by Bugeater
Ah hell. Should've known it wasn't that simple. Apparently the only way to itemize deductions is to have a giant mortgage and a shitload of kids.
Something else occured to me, lewdog mentioned that the max we can put in the 401k is $18,000/yr, and the Mrs' pension buyout will well exceed that. So her idea of putting it all in 401k won't work then. Maybe we should just take the tax hit and buy a Corvette. /shrug
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Create a small business out of your hobby. Now you're itemizing, and many of your personal expenses can become business expenses, so you get an above-the-line deduction on lots of stuff you aren't right now.
Also, with a small business with no employees (other than you and your spouse) you can each contribute up to $18k like you said, but then the business can also contribute 25% of your salary up to $38k, giving you a total contribution limit of $56k. That's for each of you, too, so that's $112k contribution you could make to a traditional or ROTH 401k if you so choose to (many would argue there are better investment opportunities with that much cash.)
Also, with a small business you can hire your kids if you have any and get all sorts of tax breaks there, too. I've gone into detail about some of these things in threads under DC.
Nothing beats owning a business when it comes to keeping your money in your own pocket. Keep working your job, start a small business on the side, and you will get to keep a LOT more of your earned income from both the job and your small business. This extra money can be used to get out of debt more quickly, and then start buying more assets that generate more cash flow...sending you on lovely journey of wealth building.