Jill and Wayne Taylor are celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary this Valentine's Day. Both teachers in the Business Department at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts and users of NGPF resources, they shared their story of going from colleagues to committed couple.

Affectionately known as Jay Tay and Way Tay, their relationship became official in July 2016 and were married February 14, 2017 following a 10-day engagement.

“'When you know, you know,' is the advice I would give to other couples," says Wayne. "I didn’t really know what that meant until I met Jill."

How It All Began

The two first met exactly 10 years ago. "I interviewed Wayne for a long-term substitute teaching position at Lowell High in the middle of the school year - February 2015," recounts Jill.

"Wayne was not our first selection for the position, but as fate or luck would have it, the other candidate declined the offer since the position was only to finish the school year."

Wayne was able to interview again in June and was hired full-time that fall. 

Separate Paths to a Teaching Career

While both Jill and Wayne have been interested in finance for a long time, their journeys to becoming a teacher are quite different.

Jill has taught Personal Finance over the course of her 33 years in business education.

Wayne graduated from Bentley University with a B.S. in Finance and worked in the retirement recordkeeping industry for 12.5 years. He then went on to own his own business in the handyman industry for more than four years and frequently used his financial background before entering education.

Better Together

"I have become a better teacher having Wayne to discuss not only the challenges of a school day and students, but developing curriculum and working together to bounce questions off of each other," says Jill.

"We can discuss school or lesson plans and we come at it from different perspectives," adds Wayne. "Jill comes from an academic background and I come from an industry background, which allows for great conversations."

They can only recall one time over their 10 years teaching that they had a "public display of differences." The source of the argument? A grading rubric.

Beyond helping each other develop as teachers, working together makes things more fun.

"Jill has always dressed up for the holidays and I was never one for those things," says Wayne. "Well I am now. We are known in the school for our outfits for every holiday."

Applying Personal Finance in Partnership

"As both of us are near retirement age, we definitely have learned so much working together and using the resources from NGPF have opened our eyes to really being ready for retirement," says Jill.

They put into practice the same lessons they pass on to their students.

"We can use what we have learned and teach in personal finance to use ourselves," says Wayne. "I only wish I had this advice when I was in high school and used it."

Sporting a Symbol of Love

"Considering we met 'later' in life, we have matching tattoos we got in January 2021, since it was a 'first' neither of us had done before," says Jill.

Similar to their wedding cake, Jill says it depicts a crown and soccer ball because, “I’m the queen and Wayne is the soccer nut!”

"Jill has the tattoo on her left arm and I have it on my right arm so when we hold hands they are connected," says Wayne. "I know it is corny."

To celebrate their anniversary (and Valentine's Day), the two will be dining out tonight at the place they got engaged and married. Congratulations, Jill and Wayne! 

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.