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Coast Fire sounds like a logical evolution of the FIRE (financial independence-retire early) idea. Not everyone thinks ending work is the greatest idea, but a lot of people might prefer less demanding jobs, such that they can both work and enjoy a lower stress life.
When I look at the technology and tools available to help people organize their personal finance and take over their lives I’m truly envious.
There are many approaches. Mine was a hybrid, which at the time I called a “phased retirement”. It took a number of years of planning and preparation (10, actually). I created the means for remote work.
Once I triggered the plan, I continued to work for another 10+ years. With social security benefits and income, I was able to “vacation” for many months each year, purchase a RV, set up “lily pads” in AZ and MI, travel extensively and rest our feet in a condo.
My income and expenses were such that I used annual surpluses to continue to contribute to my retirement plan. One thing that really helped was being debt free. My approach allowed my spouse to retire earlier, too.
I could have worked substantially “forever” but health issues interfered. However, I did continue even then, but completely under my own terms.
I “formally” retired in 2023. That means I continue but without pay. This approach provides me with the ultimate freedom and no work obligation of any kind.
Working on your own terms is a wonderful feeling. I did this from age 52 to 70. It wasn’t Coast FIRE but the end result was the same. After divorce, I did not have sufficient retirement assets to coast. Through a combination of hard work and luck I met a wonderful girl and built an income tax business that enabled me to practice at being retired for 8 months per year. We had to save like crazy to reach our retirement goals, but at least I got to work on my terms, while Chris was able to retire at 64.
The FI is always more important than the RE!
I think there are different flavours of Coast FIRE:
sometimes called BaristaFIRE, take a lower paid job for low stress and the social/lifestyle aspects.Coast FIRE in place, continue the same job but don’t chase promotions, stressful projects etc for advancement with knowledge that not a tragedy if you are fired.Pre-retirement FIRE, take sabbaticals or reduce days/hours to begin lifestyling into full retirement.No doubt there are more variants – how about the freedom to pursue an interest/hobby as a small business that wouldn’t have been feasible to fund a full life from zero?
I don’t think whether a person does or does not continue to contribute to retirement savings should be a large determinant – that’s largely a feature of income vs expenses in whatever role the person is in. If someone NEEDS to keep funding retirement savings then they aren’t FI. It seems to me the reduced striving/stress is the more important determinant.
I’d say I did “pre-retirement” FIRE. Being a professor, I got both sabbaticals and regular time off (summers and holiday breaks), plus my work week was pretty flexible—when I wasn’t actually in class or at a committee meeting, I could plan my time as I chose. Honestly, for a long time I thought I’d retire much later in life because my work life was so accommodating. But as I’ve written here, institutional changes, politics, and bureaucracy propelled me to retire at 65.
We agreed years ago that we would not postpone travel and entertainment until after retirement, taking advantage of my flexible schedule and time off and my husband’s ability to work remotely—not to mention a lot more disposable income to pay for it. We’ve checked a lot of destinations and experiences off the list over the ten years from age 55-65.
The COVID interlude also influenced me. We were remote at the university from March 2020 to September 2021. That’s a long time, and I broke some workaholic patterns and substituted healthier ones (better eating, exercise, more enjoyment of non-work hobbies). By the time we were fully back, I’d lost the tolerance for a packed schedule and juggling deadlines.
I suppose I did Coast followed by Barrista, but only for a few years. I worked at my previous job part time for nearly year, and then, after returning from a long trip, at a related but less demanding job part time for another couple of years. Getting back from a very long trip and needing a new position I decided to try quitting altogether and have never regretted it.
FIRE demonstrating it’s flexibility, why I posted it, good ideas have a way of morphing into a lot of different flavors
This what I’m doing, and I can confirm it’s pretty great. Lots of flexibility, but still a sense of protection in continued saving and investing. And if the job loses its luster you can just drop it and do anything else 😁 it also allows me to make meaningful charitable contributions right now without feeling like I’m missing out on that money for my future.
The year I retired I worked one summer performing fine gardening. Since I love landscaping this was really not a job and it allowed me to invest in a Roth to the max. Didn’t continue the following year due to issues at the end with the owner.
The funds are invested 100% world stock and in six years has slightly
More than doubled.
I think it’s incredible how technology and math are changing how people live their lives. It feels like we’re seeing empowerment on a different level.
Kudos to you on finding your happy place!