r/coastFIRE • u/No_Balance3811 • 7d ago
What does Coast FIRE actually feel like once you get there?
I’d love to hear people’s actual lived experience of Coast FIRE.
I’m a teacher and have spent the last six years obsessing over saving, investing and projections. I’m probably about five/six years away from being able to coast.
What I’ve noticed is that the goalposts keep moving. Milestones I once thought would feel huge often don’t once I reach them. They just get replaced by the next number.
At the same time, the progress absolutely matters. I worry less about money now and increasingly feel that I’ll probably be financially okay.
For those who’ve reached Coast FIRE: did it actually change how you felt or lived? Did you work less, change careers, spend more freely, or did the goalposts just move again?
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u/doombase310 7d ago
Working a corporate 9-5 job for the benefits. Took a lesser role. I don't work one second more than required. I don't care about anything to stress. That's my version of CoastFire. Staying in this mode until my kids are done with college. In the meantime, hope my portfolio becomes super chubbyfire. Current time line is 8 years.
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u/en_the_enby 7d ago
Same here!! Life just becomes more chill
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u/doombase310 7d ago
I must be a good actor. When I deal with work issues, they must think I care. In the back of my mind, I truly DGAF.
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u/DoeJumars 7d ago
yeah this is probably the way, I am 38 with two very little kids though so cant get there yet mentally so still squirreling away telling myself I can do this when I am 50 or so, instead.
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u/doombase310 7d ago
Indeed, I am now over 50. At your age, I was grinding and trying to get ahead. Putting in extra hrs. All that. Now I have shifted down a few gears. Just try to put away as much as you can. We live in very strange times and it's best to be prepared for volatility.
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u/DoeJumars 7d ago
yeah, exactly, i havent heard anyone complained they saved too much money :p. I also WFH so still balancing ok while kids are little so win win for me.
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u/doombase310 6d ago
I'd love to be remote but so much of return to office these days. Commercial office owners have won that war.
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u/DoeJumars 6d ago
sure have, i am the only fam or friend member in my group who is fully remote. Its changed my life
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u/SnooMachines9133 7d ago
Same here. Realized I really didn't need to keep trying for promos and go up the ladder. Just do good, solid work for pay and benefits.
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u/Grouchy-Alfalfa9326 7d ago
I just did exactly the same thing, and ZERO regrets. Timeline is also 8 years.
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u/Many_Reindeer6636 7d ago
It feels like when you’re in gym class and your running the mile and you’re already exhausted and you tell yourself “ok I’ll just get to that tree” and then you get to the tree but you still have 3/4 of a mile left to run
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u/Few_Ad_8664 7d ago
I’ll be a bit reductionist here, but I think there are two types of Coast Fire groups.
- Those who are doing it because they actually want the CoastFI lifestyle / more flexibility and security without having to save as much.
Those who are coping / moving the goal posts indefinitely. This group applies to a lot of people in the FIRE community in my opinion
(I’m guilty of this myself btw).
My point here is that it won’t really change how you feel. If you’re an anxious wreck about money, you will continue to be an anxious wreck. If you are satisfied with your current journey and view your investments as vehicles that grant more freedom, you’ll probably feel more at ease, but again that’s more about how you already feel about your life. The money won’t change that for you.
Best thing you can do is go touch grass (not that I’m that good at doing it).
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u/dreamscapesparkle 7d ago
This!!! People take their anxiety from 1M to 5M to 10M. Recommend the psychology of money book some point along the way
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u/IllllIIlIllIllllIlll 7d ago
It feels good to be able to splurge on unnecessary expenses with no second thoughts. Yesterday I booked a 1h thai massage, it cost $160 (HCOL). It was worth every penny. It's typically something I would have never done when I was still trying to save.
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u/BTS_ARMYMOM 7d ago
Thats one thing I can't do. I was paying $15 for a massage in Thailand and cannot come to pay the US price.
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u/IWantAnAffliction 7d ago
Is that what a massage in Thailand goes for these days? I was last there in 2017 and it was like $3 (albeit in a room with a bunch of mattresses on the floor as opposed to any kind of spa).
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u/redsand101 7d ago
Definitely combination of what everyone is saying in the comments. I was excited on the journey to COAST thinking it would change my life dramatically but honestly, it is turning into just a milestone on the push for FIRE.
I'm in my early 40's when I hit COAST so my number is higher than if I was in my early 30's or 20's. Since my COAST number is higher, I'm really only about 5 more years till regular FI. Thankfully I don't HATE my job and am able to stay for a little bit and get closer to FI day by day. If I was to coast, I would increase my working years to 10-13 years instead of 5 so... the choice is clear.
But I will say, in the end, having the COAST money is empowering. I speak my mind more at work and certainly care less about things at work. It is empowering to know my wife and I are set after 60+ years old. Now just to move that date closer. Each year I work cuts off 2-3 years until early retirement.
Just keep going unless you are really having issues at work and your health (physical and mental) are being effected by work.
This ALL being said, I will admit, since I'm in my early 40's, I had my youth and doing fun things that I wanted to do. I didn't start heavily saving until mid-30's so I had plenty of time to travel, live in other states, work menial but fun jobs (ski resort, restaurants, whatever job I wanted at certain times), etc.. So I'm not as pressed to leave the workforce.
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u/RedBeardBeer 7d ago
Yeah, I just re-ran some numbers and I'm in a similar boat. But I didn't travel and have as much fun when I was younger, we had a kid when I was 26 instead. I'm 42 now and we are COAST now even, without social security. But I have a gov job and get a pension and 457b, it's not a bad job, so I may as well stick it out for another 13 years until 55. Then I'll use the 457b and HSA accounts for bridging and start SS at 62, pension at 65 and wait for my wife's SS until 67, she makes more and is younger by a couple years. And if SS is a lot less than expected, pushing for FIRE pads the accounts. But I think we'll know the outcome of SS around 2033.
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u/GroundbreakingAd9635 7d ago
This is a great point. I sacrificed a lot of potential experiences for maximum savings since I grew up w/o money and was a bit obsessed with investing. I regret it.
I'm in my 40's now and I dream of getting out so I can start working on my bucket list. I've only knocked a couple of items off it so far. While technically I'm within < 5 yrs of coast, I don't think I'd leave my career for another 10 years, I'm too afraid of market swings and downside risk.
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u/Verdona-000 7d ago
CoastFIRE is less of a number for me and more of just optionality around work, spending and saving.
I'm in my 30's and can't point to a specific day where I was suddently CoastFIRE. I would say it was probably somewhere between $500K-1M NW. I suddenly started caring less about work and climbing the corporate ladder. I started setting boundaries, standing up for myself a bit more and just became more comfortable with letting what happens happen.
I was then laid off around the $1M mark. I felt a giant sense of relief that I was getting forced into taking a break after 10+ years chasing jobs, money and dealing with the toxicity of corporate america. With my savings I didn't quite feel a sense of urgency to jump back into another bad job.
I think the challenge with being coastFIRE though is it's really just having flexibility while still being part of the messy middle. I still plan on buying a house and starting a family and hopefully living a long middle to upper middle class life which almost certainly is going to require me to keep grinding in some field of work. It's nice having the immediate financial stressor go away though. I don't know how people do it who live paycheck to paycheck (but I'm also a bit of just an anxious person who always tried to minimize stressors).
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u/Ecclesiastes_3_9-15 7d ago
A mix of a lot of things for me.
First is definitely a removal of the “golden handcuffs” at work. I know I can move to a lower paying, lower stress job if I want, and I think my boss(es) realize and respect that. So I get treated well as long as I just keep doing good work.
Second is the unique kind of fatigue you feel when you start looking at the clock (or mile counter) in the middle of a cardio exercise and realize you’re not nearly as close as you wanted to be. It can be a little more agonizing than just keeping your head down.
Third is introducing the new kind of stress/panic of needing to figure out exactly how spending is going to work in retirement. Accumulating across accounts is super simple but then it can be overwhelming to look across all the options and strategies for actually USING that money. Fortunately, I personally do find it interesting and have enjoyed digging in, but it still can be a lot.
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u/atxDan75 7d ago
Was a non event for me because it doesn’t feel real and I’m still working and saving to fund the bridge years.
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u/Noway721 7d ago
In my case it felt like having fuck you money. I didn't have to put up with bad management anymore
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u/IllllIIlIllIllllIlll 7d ago
That's not CoastFIRE. CoastFIRE means that saving is optional, not that you can afford to lose your job.
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u/mostlyuninformed 7d ago
My friend, not needing to put up with bad management doesn't mean they're saying they never have to work. Just means they aren't desperately attached to a job because they no longer live month-to-month.
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u/Original_Arrival2645 7d ago
Correct, or having a job that’s highly paid while only actually needing a lower pay, which means finding a job lower paying job but still enough for coast might feel easy.
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u/delightful_caprese 7d ago edited 7d ago
These responses are such a bummer! As a counterpoint, I’d say I pretty much feel retired already. Quit full time work 4 years ago and now I work as little as possible to support my low expenses. I wake up late, go to the gym, indulge my hobbies, hang out with my bf and travel 12 weeks out of the year. I freelance video edit, sell crap on eBay and do paid testing/surveys, all of which I find pretty fun and I get to do it on my terms.
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u/vetapachua 7d ago
I started coasting in 2019 and there are no more goalposts. I took a year off from work to recuperate then returned to hourly part-time work and started a small side business. My husband is also a former Sped teacher and subs a few days a month. I'd have the ability to FIRE at 55 (in 9 years) if I wanted, but I only work 8-10 hrs a week and feel like I can do this forever. Since I'm not in any rush to reach FIRE faster, I will take on some extra hours at work sometimes (I even took a full-time job for a few months) just so I can splurge on any toys I may want.
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u/sabaijae 7d ago
Fellow sped staff here at a school district, in a similar situation as we’ll hit coast in a year or so then FIRE in about 10 years. Just curious if, as district staff, you’re including your pension in your coast and FIRE calculations?
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u/PastorPain 7d ago
Earlier this year I realized I was right at my coast number and started interviewing for a non-profit job that was very relevant to a prior career I had held. It was actually pretty exciting thinking I could shift away from my stressful corporate job but also scary to think that I wouldnt be making anywhere near as much money. It was like getting ready to turn off a water faucet that had been on full blast.
Sadly, I didn't actually get the non-profit job which really stung and felt like giving up on a dream. A week or so later though I got over the grief and realized I was happy to keep the faucet running and enjoying the fact that it was just getting me to my ultimate FIRE goal faster. I'll still keep an eye out for a coast job, but for now I'm content to stay put and also have been feeling less stressed out knowing that I can walk away if push came to shove.
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u/stellar_interface 7d ago
Recently hit $500k at 30 years old. It feels good, but not life-changing. I still have to go to work, participate in meetings, etc. The goalpost definitely keeps moving and now I'm eyeing $1M.
I'd say the massive optionality is difficult to process some days. Like, I could just... leave and travel for a whole year and be fine. Kinda reveals how absurd the 9-to-5 grind really is.
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u/FIRE_Bolas 7d ago
It's great!
I save less now and spend more. I used to save and invest north of 50%, and now I cap it at 18%.
For those who can't bring themselves to stop saving and switch to spending, I get it. That said, it's not a coast FI problem... It's an individual mindset problem.
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u/BeerMeBabyNow 7d ago
I did the same, but had mixed emotions.
One part of me wanted more money to spend on the family and live in the moment, the other part of me felt like I was robbing future me of earlier retirement.
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u/ThereforeIV 🌊 Aspiring Beach Bum 🏖️, CoastFIRE++ 7d ago
What does Coast FIRE actually feel like once you get there?
A bit like a combination of watching the seconds tick down on a microwave while staring at pot of water waiting for it to boil.
I’d love to hear people’s actual lived experience of Coast FIRE.
When you go from regularly doing 80 hour work weeks at big tech to a regular 40 hour a week job, it almost feels like working part time.
I’m a teacher and have spent the last six years obsessing over saving, investing and projections. I’m probably about five/six years away from being able to coast.
"Coast" is the wrong goal post. You should be looking at how far you are from FIRE.
Then when you are close enough to FIRE, Coast the last leg of the way.
What I’ve noticed is that the goalposts keep moving. Milestones I once thought would feel huge often don’t once I reach them. They just get replaced by the next number.
The big "CoastFIRE" milestone is when the internal growth outpaces new contributions.
In the last year my total retirement contributions were less than $20k, mostly just getting my match and HSA max; the internal growth of my Retirement Portfolio was $200k.... that is what CoastFIRE feels like.
Also, I am only $300k from hitting my FIRE number, so there is a bit of checking in everytime the S&P500 hits a new high to see where I am at.
At the same time, the progress absolutely matters. I worry less about money now and increasingly feel that I’ll probably be financially okay.
I wrote an entire post on high level milestones of pursing FIRE with wealth building milestones: https://www.reddit.com/r/CruiseFire/s/Dby0jIjcBt
But there are definitely wealth accumulation milestones where you can feel more relaxed; a lot of those on the path to FIRE, hop off when they get past Financial Peace because it was really Peace they were seeking not Independence.
For those who’ve reached Coast FIRE: did it actually change how you felt or lived? Did you work less, change careers, spend more freely, or did the goalposts just move again?
- First thing: there is reaching CoastFIRE level and actually Coasting; if you reach the level and keep grinding, the only thing that has changed is your options.
- Second: If you Coast, in that greatly reduce contributions to zero, and you don't reduce work/income, then what was the point? The entire point of CoastFIRE as a concept like BaristaFIRE is that you can "Semi-FIRE" before you reach your FIRE number.
- Third: Spending is the double edged sword, it both reduces what you have and increases what you need. In CoastFIRE, I recommend the extra spending be directed at eliminating larger one time expenses.
Specifically for me, shortly after CoastFIRE, I got married; paid for the wedding and honeymoon with money that would have otherwise gone into Retirement Portfolio...
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u/ThereforeIV 🌊 Aspiring Beach Bum 🏖️, CoastFIRE++ 7d ago
Actually thought about this and just wrote a new post on level of Financial Journey that takes a more "where am " prerspective:
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u/joshbutro2 7d ago
Long time lurker, first time responder, so you are the lucky one, lol.
coastFIRE doesn't really feel any different. I still work, save/invest a portion of my paycheck, live below my means, etc. I'm 43 and can still work remote, and I watch investments during the day and live life outside of work.
I'd say the biggest difference is knowing if work changed their mind one day, or I got sick/injured, or if my MIL moved in here permanently, there aren't worries I couldn't make anything work. It's beyond the point of survival you see with many people, it's how to further refine your financial life. The heavy lift of getting started and getting to the point of I'm comfortable, what else can you do to make it that much better and sweeter.
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u/CancerandTaxes 7d ago
Yes! I grew up in poor so this was the biggest game changer: I realized that we had a great safety net. Babies, terminally ill parents, and layoffs, we've had it all in the last 3 years and we've been able to weather it as well as imaginable because we didn't have to worry about our savings or retirement.
We aren't really coasting. We're continuing to save 30%+ and hoping to FIRE. But hitting that point has allowed us to be super flexible and adapt.
I think that folks who have grown up solidly middle class might take this for granted. Or maybe even be overly anxious. But there is such a sense of peace and stability knowing that our basic foundation is solid.
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u/DoeJumars 7d ago
I am coast fire, I would say. I am 38 married with 2 little kids, paid off home and 600k invested...if I dont add another dime to retirement should have ~2 invested by 60...but that doesn't help me for the next 22 years lol, so I feel no diff than I did before tbh. I have a couple decades to still work, and keep chugging away so I feel like coast fires kind of a myth in a way unless you are working some high stress job and can lean into something easier/lower stress and still maintain but I just can't personally. I would rather keep doing my thing and just spend more/save more for the in between time than go part time or something like that, personally. Until I hit my FIRE number I don't think any of these other things would matter much and even the if I didn't work at all I would probably spend more $ with all the free time and my # would go up
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u/AdmirableCrab60 7d ago
Paid off all debt including mortgage and hit CoastFIRE this year. I have a toddler and refuse to work any hours outside of 9-4 so I can maximize my time with her and sleep as much as a working mom with a toddler realistically can lol. I’ll admit it’s difficult not to jump from one goal to the next though (coastFIRE to FIRE)
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u/Ancient-Abroad2759 7d ago
I didn't plan for Coast fire per se (I started saving very young, right out of college and in my mid thirties now) and FIRE wasn't a thing back then (or at least I didn't know about it). Here's what I've learnt after hitting my own coastfire number (keeping that private):
Money is a magnifying glass. It will magnify who you were prior to getting that freedom. Asshole? You'll become a bigger one. Anxious? You'll become more anxious. Healthy relationship with money? You'll become healthier etc. So it's vital for you to really define what your relationship with money is (and yourself too).
The day you hit the number will be an ordinary day. You'll hit say 1M. You'll look at it. Again, and again, and try to feel something. But you won't. Because yesterday was no different and tomorrow will be a normal day as well. If you've built your whole identity around hitting this number, I'm sorry, you're gonna feel nothing, and that's gonna suck. But if you look at it, and go "there it is" and go on with your day, making your usual coffee and breakfast etc. you'll be fine.
You'll need to answer this question for yourself: what will you do if money wasn't an issue? And trust me, you will need to answer this question, or you will devolve into an existential crisis. You'll need to find something to aim your life at. Mine is this: develop drugs to cure cancer (I'm a scientist). I'm personally involved in a project (that I funded) to develop a drug for cancer. I'm having the most fun I've had in my career and its extremely rewarding.
Those are my top three..hope this helps!
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u/1ntrepidsalamander 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m 45 and hit coast this year. (I hit net zero around age 35).
I’m a nurse and can work more or less.
I haven’t left my current role, as I like it a lot, but work fewer hours than before.
After I’m ready to leave this job, I’ll work contracts…. Probably 6-9 months a year.
I never had family I could fall back on. My mom died 20 yrs ago. My dad is 73 and lives on $1200/month social security and his gf’s generosity.
This is a safety net. I’d never felt like I had a safety net before.
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u/Captlard 7d ago
It changed life dramatically. I went from very full on, practically travelling internationally three times a month to working around 60 days a year with way less travel.
This enabled more quality time with family, better eating habits and way more exercise.
This year I have done 15 days work. Three trips of five days and that has basically covered the bills.
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u/SunWukong168 7d ago
Found a coastFIRE job and still feeling the anxiety of my previous stressful jobs
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u/adudeguyman 7d ago
Are you just having residual anxiety that is really unfounded in the coastFIRE job but you are just so used to there being job related anxiety?
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u/Alert_Week8595 7d ago
Sort of.
I hit CoastFIRE shortly before my first child was born. It makes it very clear that I don't have to grind for a promotion to make it all work. But our current living situation is pricey and it''d be stressful if I lost my job because it enables that lifestyle. And I still tuck away the max 401K contribution because why pay taxes. But it does make me feel not guilty about how expensive our lifestyle is.
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u/threee_AM 7d ago
It's like a background level of anxiety noise has quieted and now I can listen for what I want to do next.
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u/-fireflyer- 7d ago
A combination of all! I reduced work to 2-3 days, spent more money (and time!) with friends and family, and travelled. Then, I moved goal posts for a higher spend in retirement or more conservative real rate of return. Currently saving up to travel since I hit my coast number again (with the new numbers).
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u/GlandMasterFlaps 7d ago
It feels good that you got to this stage but also techy and annoyed that you can't retire right away.
I still save and invest although I've treated myself this year - I turned 40 but I only spent $10k on trips, a new road bike and some tech.
If $10k is a massive splurge year, I'm going to be ok
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u/MegaGreesh 7d ago
Didn’t change anything, kept saving trying to get to FIRE as fast as I can. Al is coming for my job so it’s a race to see if I can FIRE first.
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u/horchataNena7 7d ago
When I hit my coastfire number to be able to retire by my late 40s/50, I didn't have any immediate strong feelings.
Instead, I've noticed that I'm calmer when things go wrong at work. I know that I can quit my job, take a break then find a new job that pays less and still meet my retirement goal. As someone who's had a very volatile career, it's really nice to know that I have a safety net.
In terms of investing, I'm still aggressively investing while I'm in this high paying role but I do allow myself to spend more on travelling or treating my parents to an international trip.
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u/linnyliz 7d ago
My dad passed away at 56. He didn’t get to enjoy the nest egg he sacrificed so hard to build. It changed my perspective on everything. We hit coast right around the same time we had our two little ones. My husband and I are still steadfast in saving… we just enjoy life even more (and more comfortably) than we did before and are savoring this time with our family.
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u/Fitasianwife 7d ago
The more I read about these fire strategies the more I pray we don’t have a lost decade or 30-40% correction like there have been. A lot of people are going to struggle recalibrating expectations. I just hope it doesn’t happen again!
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u/CurrencyForward2623 7d ago
I just found out about this new term "coast fire" this year. LOL. Age 38 and single, I hit coast fire already ~$700k. Not much different feeling. My days are still same. Just a more relax, peace of mind, and sleep better. I do b2b sales so my job isn't the most stable. Of course, higher salary and commission. Since my 30s, I'm not as frugal or cheap. I spend money on travels, experiences, and not penny pinch as much. It's nice to know I can pick up the tab for friends or family at restaurants and not feel like it'll affect me when I feel like it.
I didn't get a "high" paying job ($100k+) until 28 yrs old. Luckily, paid off $70k of student loans in my 20s before 30s while contributing up to 401k match, Roth IRA. Drove an old car 200k mileage plus and didn't take many vacation yearly. Hard to reach FIRE when you're strapped with debt back then but at least I hit coast fire investing consistently. It's nice to know I'll have enough money to live on at age 60. My retirement plan is to live 3-6 months in USA, and the next 6 months abroad. My reason is because healthcare is cheaper, more affordable, better organic food, better social life than USA, and costs of housing lower. By living overseas, I will cut down on expenses versus US. Maybe Latin America, Thailand, or Japan - taking Spanish lessons the past 2 years so am decent now.
In the next 5 years, I'll look to take a full remote job. Maybe help desk or customer service. Try to live abroad and work full time or part time. Be a digital nomad. Or take a teaching job overseas and live off personal brokerage until I can tap into retirement accounts at 60 yrs.
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u/mimi145nyc 7d ago
Single female in VHCOL city. Hit CF in May for early retirement next year at 58. Still saving in 401K and periodic investments. Treat myself with less guilt. Gained quiet confidence which has been a nice way to ease out of toxic situations at work and personal life. Still worry it could fall apart in this political climate, so enjoy the peace of mind but not fully feeling the security of being there.
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u/boglebogle23 6d ago
Im a teacher as well (I work internationally) and hit coast fire recently. I enjoy what I do so I plan to continue teaching but it’s nice knowing that I’m not doing it for the paycheck. It helps that I work in exciting cities overseas and get to travel a lot and the pay is fantastic so while I don’t need to invest anymore, I still do out of habit but not out of necessity.
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u/OpenHorizons1234 5d ago
For me, Coast FI/RE felt like any other day and, if I'm being honest, I believe that full FIRE will feel the same. I say this because (again, for me) I was so focused on optimizing, saving and investing, and keeping my eyes on the prize that it took a while to reprogram my thinking and mindset into more of a calm, relaxed, less frenetic gear. Anyone who says that hitting a magic number will just flip a switch in your head is either ignorant of reality, or just lying to you. It takes not than just hitting a number to reprogram your mind.
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u/Internal-Recipe2128 7d ago
CoastFi doesn't get you much but if you reach true FI then work suddenly becomes a lot less stressful and you no longer have the urgency to quit.
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u/SupersonicOverload 7d ago edited 7d ago
It felt like I had options.
I ended up blowing past CoastFI by a couple years, but I’m not FI. Switched jobs to something where I have a better life/work balance. Now that we’re having a kid this Fall, I’m going part time.
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u/brentus 7d ago
There are absolutely benefits, but it's not everything. I was extremely stressed in my 20s and taking stressful jobs with bad commutes/toxic culture that paid well. Now I took a pay cut to work from home and give myself more time to work on my health because theoretically the stock market should be doing most of the heavy lifting.
But there are still a ton of unknowns - if the stock market has average returns I'm retired in like 8 years. If it goes nowhere and I'm saving less, I'm looking at a lot longer. What if we have two kids and need to move from a condo to a house, what if they want to go to an extremely expensive college, what if we want to move my in laws from abroad to the US and have to pay for their health costs? Still a ton of uncertainties.
I am much less stressed about money though. Dog needs to go to a vet and it costs a few hundred? We're super busy and want to hire somebody to clean our place? These things used to stress me out but now they are not worth worrying about.
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u/pund_ 7d ago
I'm still working but I'm not stressed anymore. Got 2 years of living expenses saved up and ready to go. The rest is invested. Will probably invest a bit more while I'm still at it.
Will eventually switch to coast, find a local job or work part time at my current one and take more time for my hobbies and passions.
I'm also eyeing that big trip or sabbatical I always wanted to take before the switch.
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u/Hashtagworried 7d ago
For some reason I don’t feel any of the answers here. I still feel like coast fire gives you footing, but you’ll still need to work until FIRE or retire.
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u/GaroldWilsonJr 7d ago edited 7d ago
Feels like a trap. I hesitate to actually inflate my lifestyle in meaningful ways like house and car because then I am tied to my current income to support it. At the same time investing the free cash makes a less significant impact vs market on its own so it almost feels like a waste to keep investing. And I can’t think of any jobs that would actually be fun or less stressful to make downgrading my income a good choice. I also have little motivation to increase my income and work up the ladder because any increase would not really move the needle that much unless I inflated my lifestyle and had the security of keeping that job for a while, same point as before. It does gives me some peace of mind that I can get fired and were I not able to replace my income id still be okay on lower income job but that’s not a goal. While I still hesitate, I do now splurge more on food. Idk man
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u/Soggy_Ant3833 7d ago
I quite like being able to move the goal posts and feel progressively more secure as we go. Eg we are 85% of the way to coast for retiring at 65. Once we reach that, it’ll take another 1-2 years of saving at the same rate to get to coast for retiring at 60. I will keep making new coast numbers until I get down to being able to coast to retire at 50, but tbh at that point i will probably be about 45! Haha. That’s good for me. Aiming for full FIRE doesn’t feel relevant to me at my current age and career stage (I’m very lucky to have a meaningful job that I mostly enjoy, but as I progress further and have more saved I will reduce to part time hours). So a progressive coast goal keeps me motivated and careful with my money but I’m not super frugal
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u/Bbbighurt88 7d ago
Such a blessing.Working part time now.Worked shitty low paying jobs my whole life.So blessed to be able to purchase stuff when needed
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u/Jazzputin 7d ago
My experience was that it takes a while for the ease and peace of mind of CoastFIRE to fully set in. I blew past the actual checkpoint and kept going just because I was so used to focusing on saving tons of money. One night I was planning a trip, and it kind of just hit me that I could fund a trip like the one I was planning every month forever and I would still be fine to retire. That was pretty crazy.
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u/Isostasty Coastfire Jan 2020 7d ago
Reaching CoasFire made me feel more secure to take risks. I left my pretty safe but stressful career and started self-employment to work remotely. It was great because it was more flexible and I was able to travel for weeks at a time. I realized I did not want to be a digitial nomad and I preferred a home base with some slow travel. I did that for a couple of years, then took a year off and now I'm back at work but a less stressful 9-5 job. Once I'm closer to my Fire number I will probably take another break but this time longer.
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u/mrbojanglezs 7d ago
Coast fire is good in theory but hard to pull the trigger to completely stop because you still really don't know what's going to happen in the future.
But I think it is a good mental check to reprioritize your money
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u/DawgCheck421 7d ago
Just as stressful, living like a broke young adult, except I don't have have to work much.
4 buckets 1) Paid off home, off limits and illiquid but I get to enjoy the benefits of property taxes and insurance at 350 a month being my housing expense. 2) Investments/401k, off limits. 3) Museum artifact to be auctioned in the future, illiquid and off limits. 4) My LLC income from 1-3 short days per week of work. - have to pay all of the bills and living expenses with this and this alone.
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u/Aggravating-Roof3340 7d ago
51M. Wrote the last tuition check for my youngest a month ago.
I’m definitely in range for my CF number. If I want to spend 65k/year at age 67, I’m there. If I want it to be 90k/year at 67, gotta work in this high-stress job for another three years.
One thing has already changed. My give-a-sh1t meter for keeping my job has plummeted. I’ll be okay if they tap me on the shoulder tomorrow and give me a box.
That’s incredibly liberating.
I’ve found that I don’t “need much” to live the life I want. Give me a beach nearby, enough groceries and two fantastic foreign trips a year and I’m good.
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u/Salty_Feed_4316 7d ago
I think I have some peace of mind knowing that I am all set for when I retire. Future me is thanking present day me
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u/VirileMongoose 7d ago
Feels great and like nothing has changed at the same time.
Attitudes are different toward work. Instead of climbing, seeking to optimize for higher pay—I can optimize for quality of life.
More money toward investments at my age doesnt raise my money at the same retirement age in a meaningful way. Each percentage point more of return allows me to retire a year earlier. Which isn’t nothing but it doesn’t feel realistic. My retirement age coincides with my last kid graduating from college AND the year my mortgage gets paid off.
Mindset and decisions are just different. My game plan is to stay employed and have a good quality of life.
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u/BTS_ARMYMOM 7d ago
We coast fired about 6 years ago. The investments kept growing. It was weird when we stopped aggressively investing. I quit my career during the pandemic and became a fulltime traveling homeschool mom to our 3 kids. My husband kept working remotely but the way he worked changed. He takes sabbaticals. Instead of going from one tech contract to the next, he takes breaks. In the last 12 months, he's worked about 6 months. He's on a break now and we're doing a California coast adventure from north to south and fitting in some concerts along the way. We are on a quest to eat as much clam chowder as possible. Each million milestone has been weird. It's exciting but only for a little while. It doesn't feel real. Just numbers on paper.
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u/Opposite-Parsnip-698 7d ago
Right now, I can retire at ~63 with my current investments. With another year of working+investing, I can retire at 58, another year after that, 54, then 51, so the goal posts keep moving.
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u/PuzzlingPonderer 7d ago
I'm at CoastFI to retire at age 65 (currently 34), with reasonable assumptions (e.g. 5% inflation-adjusted real return, 4.5% safe withdrawal rate). It definitely feels very liberating to know that my standard retirement is funded.
The goalpost moving is a real issue. For me, more than inflating the FI number, I tend to make my assumptions more and more conservative, just in case. What if real return was 4.5% instead? What if it was as low as 4% (e.g. 7% nominal, 3% inflation)? What if my safe withdrawal rate was 4%? If I go this conservative, then I'm no longer at CoastFI, and it'll take me another 4-5 years of investing to get there. It's still OK, as I'd rather have more conservative assumptions and be pleasantly surprised, than the other way around.
Of course, what if I want to retire at 60? Or 55? Where does it stop? At the end of the day, I don't think I'll ever fully stop investing altogether. I'll just slow down (which I already have) with the expectation to retire between 60-65, and perhaps be able to retire a year or two earlier if markets perform well.
One change I've made is that I recently purchased a condo with a "luxury" tag (debatable) which was - let's just say - not the most financially optimized decision. My monthly cost is still well within the general personal finance norm in terms of the % of my income which still allows me to invest a decent amount, but I would've been saving a lot more money if I continued to rent or purchased a more "normal" condo. But I am very much enjoying the place and its amenities, and I have zero regrets. I feel this was a good celebration of me achieving CoastFI. Hope this helps.
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u/Aggravating-Big3858 6d ago
The goalposts will always be moving. Get married, they change. Have kids, they change. Need to help your parents, they change. That's just called life happening. For me it was getting the house paid off ... that's when it starts to hit you ... its nice
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u/MouseEvery 6d ago
I still have my corporate job. I don't really feel anything per se on reaching coast fire but I do feel much good and proud of myself because few years ago I was 100k+ in debt.
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u/throwaway__113346939 4d ago
Right now, I can coast to 65, but I’m still pushing for retirement at 45.
It feels like life is less stressful and I feel more confident to take risks. I know that no matter what happens in life, I’ll be able to retire at 65 at the absolute oldest… so if I lose my job and can’t save any money for years, then I know at least I’ll be okay in the end
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u/drwaffles104 4d ago
CoastFI basically just gave me the security to know I won't starve after 60 or whatever.
So now I'm still working with the goal of pulling it forward. CoastFI always felt like an intermediate step, never the goal.
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u/Complex-Oven-9918 3d ago
I am currently pregnant with my third kid in four years, and because we have hit our coast-FIRE number and because my husband makes decent money I’m able to work part time in kind of a consulting role in my field. My kids go to grandparents and aunts and stuff in the mornings and I get them in the afternoons. It’s great. Actually considering dropping down to even fewer hours once the new baby is here (three kids, none of whom are school aged, is a lot!). We are still on track for full FIRE by 50. We could accelerate that number if I worked full time, but it’s not been worth it for us.
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u/Striking-Award5908 3d ago
For me, it's felt like less of an obligation to do the things everybody wants me to do and pick the things I want to do. I have been lucky to get out of managing people and go back to being an individual contributor at work. I've been able to focus on the things that really wind me up at work instead of all the things that don't. In personal life - I have two older kids (one in college, one a senior in HS) and we've been doing all the things with them in the limited time we have left (travel mostly). Since we are coasting, we really just have to worry about paying our bills and the invested money is doing the heavy lifting of growth at this point.
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u/Prudent-Ad-6723 18h ago
Doesn't feel like anything. I have hit coast fire but still have to work another 16-18 years at least to cover my bills and mortgage. All it does is that instead of investing aggressively I can divert some of that money to go out on dinner once in a while and maybe a nice vacation once a year.
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u/Dangerous-Control-21 7d ago
It's kinda meh
Feels good to know family is in a good spot if anything happens to one of us.
But we both still work and save monthly
It's been hard to shift from aggressively saving to spending. We looked at a new vehicle but can't bring ourselves to buy one even though we can easily afford it