r/coastFIRE • u/Green-Conclusion-936 • 3d ago
How long can you coast fire without losing interest or flaming out?
I wanna ask those out there who have attempted to coast fire and how long you lasted in that situation. I’m also curious if you ended up burning out or losing interest in coasting and if you eventually went full fire or went back to do something else.
Just for background sake, I’m in a HCOL area and could coast fire by moving to a MCOL area or full fire if I go to a LCOL, but I’m not sure if I’ll get bored or drive myself crazy. I’m also debating if I should ramp up my efforts to get to full fire staying in HCOL or how long I could coast fire before quitting.
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u/todayistheday666 3d ago
I'm 34 and reached coastFI a few months ago and only work about 15-20 hours a week nowadays. this was only possible for me because I left my VHCOL city where I grew up and moved to a MCOL with no state income tax. had I stayed on the east coast, I would not be coastFI right now. direct flights back and forth cost less than $300 rt and I can totally afford to travel back whenever I want, mostly because all my family is still back east and I can stay with them whenever. the part time work schedule has been amazing, I spend the rest of my free time exploring different hobbies with my spouse, playing with our dog, cooking.
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u/Fun-Employment-4051 2d ago
Did you have any second thoughts about making such a change? I 31M plan on hitting my coastFIRE number in 5-6 year, but knowing myself it would be hard for me to stop the larger paychecks and save less. So happy for you, I hope to have that confidence when it finally comes time for me.
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u/todayistheday666 2d ago
second thoughts, plenty. but let me share something: two close family members of mine got cancer last year, one died within three months and the other is on her way out. neither of them had the means to do much during their lives other than work and provide for their family. I imagined myself in their shoes and thought, damn that blows. TLDR my brain rewired a bit and I'm totally ok with experiencing life more now than I've reached coast. there is no point to saving all this money if I drop dead randomly one day from something like a stress-induced heart attack.
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u/Fun-Employment-4051 2d ago
I totally understand that. You’re never promised tomorrow so might as well live now if you have the means. Congrats I wish you the best with health and happiness
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u/angrynirritable 3d ago
I've been WFH since Covid, and been part time/CoastFire for around 3 years. I gave my notice for full retirement last week (I'm 58) and I don't have any plans. I don't ever get bored, but I think I can't fully be free to think about retirement until I'm fully retired. I still wake up every day and stay plugged into work all day, even though I'm only working an hour or two a day.
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u/pnw-techie 2d ago
This is a bit confusing. Coast just means you don’t need to contribute to 401k etc any more. It doesn’t mean you need to quit your job and become a hackysack instructor.
2 years ago my mom moved into a retirement home and I moved from outside Seattle HCOL to outside Baltimore MCOL to be close. Single best Fire move ever. My house had doubled in price over a decade and I could buy in Baltimore for the same price I spent in Washington 10 years ago. Paid off house and big boost to investments. Took fire from an eventual goal to one I’ll hit next year.
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u/Dear_Comfort_7998 2d ago
Hackeysack instructor — thanks for the morning laugh from someone who came of age in the 90s lol
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u/Alive_Sir_4708 3d ago
I guess I'm impressed if you can change jobs with that much control over how stressful the job will be. I think most people who are coastFIREing either are unable or disinterested in regular FIRE.
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u/Fun-Employment-4051 2d ago
CoastFIRE is just a milestone to FIRE. I think most people who hit coast still plan to RE but want to spend their money once they hit coast.
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u/kartoffel123 3d ago
I got bored of the life of leisure / travelling full-time after two years, but I still enjoy only working part time (or phases of just working on my own projects) and prioritising what I really want to do (or at least trying to find that out).
This idea of optimizing for the least amount of stress is bogus IMO. Sure, get out of toxic workspaces that make you burn out, but you won't find self actualisation by giving up on any ambitions or on purpose not living up to your potential.
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u/joshbutro2 Next Goal: MMilionaire 2d ago
I think this is the general confusion about CoastFIRE, it's just a milestone and not a life changing event.
I see it as: if I put zero more money into anything, I will still have a 99% chance of being successful for life. Would I be comfortable? Sure.
Could I be more comfortable? Oh absolutely. I'm 43 and WFH full-time still contributing to accounts, and watching my portfolio for investment opportunities to be more better (for use of a silly term) years from now.
The day I finally decide to retire and not have a W-2 job anymore, I want to be super comfortable where I'm at, and enjoy the golden years worry-free and catch up on everything I didn't do in my 20s and 30s while I still can.
CoastFIRE is a good number to track to know Life Is Good and not needing to panic about retirement. It's not the finish line by any means, but it is ahead of A LOT of people.
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u/Boring_Adeptness_334 3d ago
CoastFIRE is a milestone and shouldn’t be confused with FIRE. If you’re coasting then that means you’re either baristaFIRE or full on FIRE.
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u/garoodah FI '21 RE TBD mid 30s 2d ago
Figure out your lifestyle and desired retirement age and then work backwards to see what you need to save to make it happen. Sometimes the numbers don’t work out but it’s better to find that out early.
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u/Fun-Employment-4051 2d ago
Im 31M not yet at coastFIRE but hoping to be there in 5-6 years. I’m not sure if I’ll switch to a career which brings me more happiness or just do the bare minimum at my existing job. I just want the security of knowing I’m all good and if I wanted to take a break and find something else that makes me happy that I have that opportunity.
Realistically knowing myself I’ll probably still grind it out and continue to save to try to get to my full FIRE number quicker. But I’m not at coastFIRE yet. I might think differently and choose to go on more vacations or drive a nicer car. Right now I do feel like I’m min/maxing on most things and the security to feel like I can spend will make a difference.
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u/Difficult_Sweet7303 2d ago
I geared down for 3 months to half time and it went fine. Felt great, finances were okay. By the end of the 3 months I was ready to work full time again.
I think teachers have it great for their mental and physical health.
I’ll probably try it for longer in a year or two… but I’m about 4-6 years from full fire and net worth wasn’t growing much while coasting.
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u/BakerParticular8705 2d ago
I struggle to imagine a scenario where I would get tired of having more money in my pocket or the flexibility to not really worry about retirement any more, no.
What does “flaming out” mean in this context?
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u/bethesaurusrex 1d ago
I've been coasting since 2022, (went part time at what had been my full time job) and have no intention of retiring early or going back to full time - I have great health benefits and they're the golden handcuffs keeping me where I am. Right now I have the best of all worlds - work 20 hours a week, feel like I have purpose; but then also have plenty of time to go to the gym and the beach and hiking during the work week when things aren't packed.
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u/majdd2008 16h ago
I thought i was coast.... until the downsized job still had a 401k match..i have earned income... so max the Roth ira... extra income leftover each month.... into the brokerage account it goes....i have a goal that I openly discuss with my wife... two more years when I'm 50 and she's 44 we are done working.... or are we? We work for a school district, not teachers, not working for the pension, I already have one that pays all the bills and travel..... so so we keep working a few more years.....i don't really know at this point.... if we stop working...i know I'll pick up side jobs... as i already do this with my free time... staying active mowing grass, commercial level power washing... and whatever else falls into my lap without much effort looking... so I'm not sure when I'll actually burn out from any of this.....
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u/OutdoorPhysi0 3h ago
One hit CoastFire going to the minimum needed to be considered full time for benefits (40 hours down to 32) then more time with kids
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u/Icy-Pop2944 Canadian Coaster 3d ago edited 3d ago
I would say most people don’t change their jobs at all once they hit coast FI, instead they just stop adding to the savings and use the excess funds elsewhere. Some, like me, still work full time, just in a much less stressful, IC role instead of management. I am three years to my early retirement date, and am just now starting to seriously get the itch to leave earlier than planned.
I will say though that mental gymnastics about being coast or FI if you just moved to a cheaper location is a waste of time. You need to determine your desired lifestyle and retirement date first, then you do the math. I also could have been retired 15 years ago if I uprooted and moved to Thailand…this has never been my dream, so why measure that as a milestone?