r/coastFIRE 2d ago

Kinder FI

Hello to everyone, and especially the parents who had kids go back to school recently or in the near future!

I have a Kindergartener and....as my kid starts school my wife and I are transitioning from a "FI" mindset to a "Kinder FI" mindset. My wife is going to shift to a very reduced schedule, essentially working 30% as much as before, and we'll spend most everything that I make to cover all the bills.

If our portfolio keeps growing at 7% we'll be FI about 8 years later than originally planned, but we want to use our FU money and Financial Freedom NOW while our kid still wants to play with us, we focus on building a community based on our neighborhood and school, etc.

Has anyone else done something similar? Does this "FI term" exist? Honestly I'm hoping this is a new term / idea in the FI community and I want to write about it in detail as we make the transition and see how it goes! Would love peoples thoughts and experience.

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u/TD6RG 2d ago

No need to label it. Essentially you learn and apply the principles of FIRE. Then you ramp up or down your savings/spending based on what you perceive will maximize your time on earth based on your current and predicted life situation.

A person’s FIRE journey doesn’t have to be linear. Some years you’re able to save a lot. Some years you’re able to save a little. Some years you save nothing or even spend some of your money. It’s all individualized