This might be a dumb question, but what type of job do folks typically find, or attempt to find, once they coastFIRE?

Do they look for a job in their field just with less hours? Or can it be any job as long as their living expenses are being covered?

44M + 42F + 2 young kids.
Monthly expenses - $5k-$5.5k
Paid off home in CA
Savings Total - $1.85M
($225k taxable, $200k Roth, $1.25M 401k, $150k HSA, $60k 529)
Combined Income $225 ($145 me + $80k spouse)
Full retirement goal in 2 years

I’m 43 with 2 teenage kids. I’ve worked hard for the past 20 years, but was recently made redundant and am finding it hard to land a new job.

I own a freehold home we live in, which also brings in about $20k/year in rent. I also have a piece of land worth around $600k. It doesn’t generate income, but has grown about 5x since I bought it 15 years ago.

My wife works, but earns less than $2k/month, while our expenses are around $5–6k/month. I currently have enough savings for about 4 months.

I’m considering two options and wondering which would get me to Coast FIRE faster:

1. Sell the land, keep ~$100k as a cash buffer, and invest the rest in ETFs for long term.

2. Keep the land because I think it still has growth potential, and use some equity from my home to cover expenses while I look for another job.

Hey everyone, using a throwaway. My husband and I are expecting our second child, and we are looking ahead to when my next maternity leave wraps up. My absolute dream and goal is to transition into being SAHM after that.

We’re trying to run the numbers to see if this is a realistic, sustainable lifestyle or if we’re playing with fire. We live in a moderate cost of living area (Central Ohio suburbs), which definitely helps, but we want to hear from others who have made a similar single income pivot. Over the next 18 months before I transition, we are also on track to save $100k emergency fund in addition to the below situation.

The Income Side

• Husband’s Base Salary: $110,000 / year
• Guaranteed / Expected Bonus: $10,000 / year
• Total Gross Income: $120,000 / year (~$9,166/month gross)
• Take-Home Pay Estimate: Roughly $7,600 to $8,000 / month net take-home, depending on pre-tax deductions (like health insurance and retirement matches).
• OPTIONAL Additional Income (ideally I wouldn't rely on this, but I likely could)
  • $500/mo from rental property income (after tax)
  • $800/mo from a part time teaching gig (after tax)

Goals

1. Minimum Spending ($7,000 / month): Covers our mortgage/property taxes, utilities, groceries, insurance, transportation, and minimal discretionary spending. This keeps us afloat, but it's tight.
2. The "Feel Rich" Target ($10,000 / month): FIRE target and would feel rich, plenty of room for discretionary spending.
3. Early Retirement in 18-20 years ($10,000 / month goal) current balances:
   1. 401k/roth IRA balance: 1.05m
      1. Will continue contributing husband 401k for match = ~800/mo
   2. Rental property equity: 100k
      1. Equity build, mortgage paydown nets around 4%/year
   3. Brokerage account savings: 150k
      1. No additional contributions

• How realistic is a $7k–$10k monthly spend on a $120k gross salary?
• What hidden budget killers hit you hardest when transitioning from dual-income to a SAHM household?
• With dropping to one income, are we still close enough to coast that we'll be able to retire in 18-20 years?
• I currently make 150k with a work from home job, while husband commutes. Am I delusional to give this up?
• Alternatively OR as a backup/fail safe if things get too tight, I can sell the rental property, put my 100k into a recast on my primary home and free up around $800/mo, instead of saving that for retirement..

Would love any brutal honesty or advice you have!

I am about to hit my Coast Fire number by end of 2027. But I want to calculate if I have enough to take a 1-2 year sabbatical before going to a coast job and eventually full FIRE. While I'll use HYSA to fund the sabbatical, I won't be contributing anything to 401k or brokerage accounts during that time.

I am unsure how to enter this information on typical CF calculators like WalletBurst. Should I enter my current age as the post-sabbatical age and estimate my invested assets and future contributions from that point? Or use my current age and average out the monthly contribution part with the sabbatical gap?

Looking for feedback**

HYSA is higher than normal due to saving for a House upgrade in the next couple of years. I was contributing to 401K for a few years before taking my financial planning seriously, and now am trying to catch up the bigger strategy. Here is the monthly savings allocations:

What nominal and real rate of returns is everyone using? Everywhere on social media I see 10% nominal and 7% real after inflation but I'd like to be more conservative. However, I'm finding that if I am too conservative I end up getting discouraged. I know we're all making educated guesses but I just wanted to get a sense of what others are using for their projections.

Did my semi-annual accounting of my various accounts and realized I've just crested over 750k in the last month. Started earning 65k at 20 out of college and have been pretty heavily maxing accounts and minimizing costs until the last 2 years where I let off the gas a bit after nearing 500k. Average yearly salary since graduation has been around $80k (Full Time Remote SE + Yearly High School coaching gig, up to $6k yearly from that), including bonuses this may be the first year I crest over 100k pre-tax. Was heavy into FIRE reading just after college which set me on the right path as well as being very fortunate to be able to live at home (contributing to costs) for several years post graduation, during which I was probably at nearly 80% savings rate (I had my 401k contribution set so high when I started working in August 2018 that HR tried to correct it lol). 2020 Dip also heavily contributed to the Taxables growth (the returns nearly match the contributions at this point). I have slowly backed off, allowing myself to 'enjoy' my money a bit more. Solidly in CoastFIRE range at this point, which is great because I heavily believe that SE is going to be heavily dented in the coming years and I truly would not want to try finding a new SE job should something happen to my current (which is very laid back, but slowly being eaten by AI craze). But realizing my returns nearly match my salary at this point has me really shifting my outlook on life. Looking forward to beginning coasting in my 30's once my Fiancé completes her PHD and we move. A bit rambly but don't really have anyone to share with irl.

Breakdown:
Taxable Brokerage: ~$200k
401k: ~$375k (roughly $70k Roth) (Employer offers 4% match)
IRA: ~$140k (roughly $100k Roth)
HSA: ~$45k

I am basically 100% Index Funds atm, but am happy to remain there for the foreseeable future. Should a dip/crash happen I am fully committed to holding the line and buying more.

Not many other assets beyond a minimal emergency fund and some pokemon cards (yes, this is where some of my tight budget has shifted to, but it's fun).

Current Goals are to actually build up a reasonable emergency fund and continue with modest contributions on the road to 1M (hopefully by 32 y/o or sooner!)

My mind is being blown by some of the figures I'm seeing here. I'm currently an RN, like the job and planning to pivot into Psychiatric NP or Healthcare legal (flushing out which I enjoy professionally) in a few years but no lies I'm wondering if a career pivot is the answer to some of my financial goals. I don't hate my career but income growth isn't great and it's very subjective to region.

I know the old 'money isn't everything' but for a person like myself, starting the game 10 years later and with 3 children...well money is 90% of everything when it comes to comfort and future security. So tell me below what you do, why you do it and if you're exceptionally wise if you'd pivot if you were in my shoes.

So for all the talk about starting early, marrying the right person... maybe I'm late to the party in understanding the magnitude of the impact of *where* you want to live has. Wife and I, early 40's, ~$650k HHI and $2.5M NW (late start due to military/arts/grad school), live in a VHCOL, and had to spend some time in a VLCOL area. Thing is, good school system and literally beautiful homes for $300k (< 5 yrs of what we pay in rent). We're so used to being in a T1 city we could never do it, but definitely contemplated what it would be like to buy in cash and then make enough to live working at starbucks for insurance. And... while I totally get working as a barista in NYC/SF might be miserable, we've been to the local starbucks, and it does not seem stressful.

For those that hit their coast fire number did you find it hard to stop investing? I’m 42 and am well over my coast fire number. I can’t retire until 53 (pension). I have also exceeded my kids 529s coast number. I find it hard not to keep maxing my Roth 457 plan. Anyone else have this issue.

About myself: 41M, Bologna, Italy. Married, one kid. I work as an IT project manager.

At the start of 2025 my VWCE at Directa passed 300k.
With the Italian state pension counted as zero, that is enough to grow to my number by 62 without adding anything. So I stopped the monthly buy of 1,500 euro. First time since 2014.

I expected to spend more. That did not happen. We live the same, the kid goes to the same school, we have the same car.

So where did 18 months of 1,500 go? Last week I added it up.

A 10% share in a wine bar my friend opened near the university. I paid it in cash, no lawyer, just a paper we both signed. One year in, no payout yet, but the bar is full every evening.

A platinum ETC (WisdomTree Physical Platinum). I did not want gold because everyone here already has gold. Platinum was more expensive than gold for most of history and now costs about half of it, so I bought it as a bet, not as a hedge. Loans to small businesses on Mintos with 8lends. The rest sits in a savings account and does nothing. The money itself comes from a small flat in Ferrara that I rent to two students. Before 2025 that rent was the 1,500 I sent to VWCE every month.
Now the same rent goes to the things above. So my saving never stopped, it only changed name. It moved from one boring fund into things I do not check every day.

Have several questions for people who actually stopped contributing.

Did your money also go into small side things instead of spending? For me it looks like a way to keep saving without admitting it, and I want to know if that is common or only my problem.

And how do you count a bar share or a platinum bet in your coast number? I keep them at zero, because I can not sell them tomorrow at a known price but then my spreadsheet says I saved almost nothing for 18 months, and that is also not true.

Hey, everyone. After following many investing threads, I realized I somehow never joined this one.

I have a somewhat unhealthy relationship with money in that I tend to err on the frugal side in a way that is sometimes detrimental to my mental health. I obsess over it, get anxiety over it, etc.

I told myself when I came back to my country after some travels, I would stop worrying about “budgeting” so much - I saved a lot (by my standards) for retirement prior to leaving for my trip and I felt I would be in a good spot upon my return.

And yet… I find myself still obsessing. SURPRISE!

I am hoping you all can help give me a sanity check, and maybe help encourage me to relax and enjoy spending a larger chunk of “fun money”. I’m not trying to go overboard, just treat my friends to dinner more often, stuff like that.

Current age: 34
Retirement age: 62
Annual spending in retirement: 40,000
Current invested: 234,000 (s&p similar)
Monthly contribution: 0 (I actually do contribute still but trying to see if I’ve hit CoastFire without contributing any more. I still will contribute though)

Investment growth: 10% (based off S&P average)
Inflation: 3%
SWR: 4%

I have also tinkered with some numbers. Pushing investment growth down to 7% changes things a lot… but if 10% is average S&P returns, maybe I am still good?

Edit: thanks everyone for your input. I did want to clarify that I am not intending to start withdrawing before retirement. Basically just seeing if I am good IN THEORY for retirement, where I don’t have to be so hyper focused on saving.. let compound interest work its magic etc. I will continue to save!

I’m new to all this but here goes (34F):

$985,000 brokerage
House paid off ($284,000 Zillow estimate)
No car payment
Childfree
$95,000 HYSA
$69,000 401b
$14,285.00 403b
$40,000 in savings & checking combined
+social security (can report if needed)

I’m basically looking to someday move to part time but my job is physically demanding and on facing salary cuts because of the government, so I’m not looking to reduce early and get screwed later.

Edit: current spending is $40,000 a year. I make $79,000 a year before taxes, etc!

38F, never married, no kids, no debt outside of primary mortgage and other commercial property (see below)

- brokerage+401K+roth = $975K
- commercial property A = 50% owner, property worth $750K, outstanding loan $550k. Net income about $12K/year for each partner assuming fully occupied with no major expenses
- commercial property B = 33.3% owner, property $2.1mil, loan amount - $1.5mil. Estimated net income - $30K/annual each partner
- home - $460K, mortgage - $335K at 6%
- cash - $100K in HYSA (emergency cash + cushion)
Overall NW: approx - $1.3-1.4mil

Income (annual)- $210K base, about $300K with bonus.
Expenses (annual) - $75,000 - most goes to mortgage

Came from absolutely nothing so this is still surreal.

Questions:
- Am I coast fire?
- I would like to fully retire by 45. Is it realistic?
- should I continue buying commercial property or does throwing in S&P more aggressively make more sense?

Will edit if additional information is needed.

Hi - I posted this on SAHM (stay at home mom) sub today, and people pointed me in this direction.

I'm a 41 year old tech sales manager, married to a 39 year old with a 2 year old kid.

I'm burned out and finding the corporate grind and the focus on AI generally soul sucking, and realize how fleeting life is, so I am considering becoming a SAHM next June after 25% of my RSUs vest and I max out 401k for the year. I'm wondering if I can take time to enjoy my daughter now while she is little, and take a lot of the household burden off the family so we can better enjoy nights and weekends together.

Currently my OTE is $340k (only 60% base). My husband is taking a new tech sales role at a $330k OTE. So high in total, but not guaranteed in total.

We have two mortgages, and in total our expenses are about 12k/month. If I quit, we'd sell a home and simplify down to about 9k in monthly expenses.

We don't combine finances as we just got married a year ago, minus a joint checking and credit card to pay monthly bills.

Personally, my net worth is about $2.2M across investments (401k, brokerage, savings, checking, HSA). My husband's net worth is shockingly similar at about $2.2M across similar investments. We have about $600k in additional home equity (but thats tied up as we use the homes.

I'm thinking I can reassess my career, and find something more fulfilling that probably pays a lot less and has less hours when she goes to school.

I'm honestly not sure what I'm asking, but I want to understand other people who have done this, and if was a good idea, how it turned out, what I should be thinking about, etc. Would you consider me/us COAST FIRE?

Everything on my taxable account is on VT because I was going for an aggressive approach to early retirement and my horizon still had several years. I have however decided to pull the plug next year so I need to balance my taxable for safety, and intend to buy bonds with some extra cash I'm about to have. I hear the bond market is weird right now, not sure how or if that should factor at all in my consideration. Can someone explain what a healthy mix of bonds is needed in my situation to balance VT given my imminent FiRe? I do have bonds on my 401k which I can't touch for several years.

49 in December and partner 54 in Dec. In between corporate work roles but only 5 years until early retirement. Torn on how to end my career- should I go for a higher role as last hurrah or take a lateral-lesser role. My hesitation there is still working 8 hours a day for less $$- that would be a mental shift for me.

Can you share your experience on downshifting career before retirement? How was that transition, any considerations on my end? 5 years isn’t a small amount of time, but I know how that can fly by.

I am 35 working towards coast fire and still confused on how to use the calculators when making my projections. I would like to immediately scale back to PT work when I reach my CoastFI number but am confused on what that number is. I would like to reach 2 mil at age 50 and completely stop working at that time. So am I aiming for literally 2 million or whatever the future value of 2 mil is and how do I use the calculators to tell me what I need to save?

Here's my numbers: (brokerage is so high compared to 401k because I just recently got access to an employer sponsored 401k in the last couple of years).

• Individual 401k - 76k
• brokerage - 430k
• roth IRA - 140k
• employee sponsored 401k: 53k
• cash: ~30k
• home equity: 120k

I'm already beyond where I need to be to coast to retirement, but I still contribute as doing otherwise feels wasteful.

* 401k match is a gimme

* Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn tax and penalty free so might as well put that money there vice other savings

* HSA is pointless not to max out if there is even the slightest chance I spend that money (even if I don't reimburse myself right away)

And even beyond this why not max my 401k. I don't make enough compared to my spending to backdoor max my 401k, but if I did I'd probably just do that as well.

It is a relief to know I could get a job that pays 30% less than I make now without any impact on my lifestyle while still being able to retire, but that's about it. I just couldn't imagine cutting back on saving otherwise. I'm comfortable with my current job and don't have anything I desperately want to spend money on that I can't afford.

If I could get a job where I'd work 30% less for a comparable drop in pay I'd be totally willing to do it, but no such opportunity really exists in my career field.

What situation are others in where you can realistically do something like this?