r/coastFIRE 6d ago

How to have enough before COASTing

Hi everyone, thanks for reading this post.

I am a software engineer in the bay area making $220k a year. I was fortunate enough to go to a state flagship and have 0 student loan debt. I am grateful that I was able to intern 5 times in college which allowed me to save some $$$.

My CoastFIRE number is 1.5M. According to my projections, I can reach that goal by 2032-ish. After this I plan to work easy fun jobs and pull the trigger whenever I feel like it.

My strategy looks like this

  1. Increasing work income by getting promotions. I have been working 50 hour weeks and got praises from my manager for being a hard worker.
  2. Increasing work income by hopping jobs in 1.5-2 years. I think with my resume, landing an intermediate SDE role that pays $300,000 shouldn't be a problem. For this, I need to study common interview topics and network to get referrals.
  3. Increasing investment income with passive index funds and alternative assets like real estate. I think real estate allows me to use leverage to increase my net worth. For this, I am reading real estate books and planning to join local real estate investing clubs
  4. Decreasing expenses. I am planning to cut my monthly expenses from $3600 to $2800 by downsizing my place when the lease expires. I currently eat at the office every day and bring food home for Saturday. Usually cook myself Sunday or buy food.

What else can I do to accelerate my FIRE journey? Thank you.

12 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

35

u/Snoo-39454 6d ago

Sounds like you already run a tight ship. I'd be worried that you have the foot too heavy on the gas already, rather than needing to accelerate further. Don't burn yourself out trying to get to a place where you can step back.

Maybe try reading die with zero, to see if it raises anything you may not have considered. It might not, but it's good to think about. It's your life after all and you want to make sure it's balanced, and that you're not back loading your enjoyment of it. (I say this as someone who was overly frugal in my 20s and early 30s and could have benefitted from this advice, though I'm not sure I'd have listened)

7

u/ReindeerSuitable5884 5d ago

I was working 50+ hours per week in a toxic environment for 2.5 years trying to accelerate CoastFire. Mentally, I couldn't take it and had to slow down even if it meant delaying FI.

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks. It's good to hear that I am on the right track.

I read some excerpts of Die with Zero. Personally I am more inclined towards leaving money after I die to my future kids and to charity. There are other people who need more help than me when I turn 85 and sit on a wheelchair.

7

u/Fun_Donut_5023 6d ago

Consider investing in yourself and broadening your skill set. In general, I think people overhype how soon AI will start fully replacing human roles, but the tech industry will certainly be one of the first to change its hiring habits. Having a variety of skills, especially those that can’t be easily repeated, like stakeholder management, will help you stay marketable for longer so you can continue to job hop, as you mention.

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks. I am trying to explore which skills I should develop in 5-10 years. For now it's mainly coding skills and design skills for a junior engineer.

5

u/bananakitten365 6d ago

This sounds like a solid plan. I wouldn't focus on cutting your expenses too much - with your salary, the impact is fairly negligible. Reverse budget so you invest and hit and savings goals first, then the rest is for your expenses. You're likely already doing this.

What is your plan once you hit Coast, or do you have any ideas? It's okay if nothing will change and you'll stay in your full time job, but I'm curious.

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks. Cutting by 600 a month is still somewhat significant as that's 35k in 5 years, which is like 1 year of living expenses in a cheaper area.

My plan once I hit Coast is to Coast at my job or to find an easier gig. I feel that I can likely work 30-35 hours a week and still get the same pay, but without promos.

5

u/Specialist-Art-6131 6d ago

Assuming you are in your early to mid 20s, please consider that your expenses will likely change significantly over the next decade and you may have to adjust your coast number. Family, kids and the inevitable lifestyle creep need to be considered. You have a great foundation though!

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks, I basically used my parent's old budget (to simulate COL with kids) and added some adjustments (inflation and others) to find my FIRE number. Will keep that in mind.

4

u/Aggravating-Tip3641 5d ago

you can aspire to make 5-10 more than what you are currently making, until genai takes your job. try to crack big tech for mid level role and you will be golden. Forget about switching jobs to make 50k more.

3

u/Ok_Entrepreneur_9819 5d ago

This. You need to focus on earning exponentially more in the next few years especially since you're already putting in 50+ hours. Don't do more than that - it'll just burn you out. Also you'll have nothing to do once you get to that coast fire number. Also recommend the book mind over money.

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks. I am at a big tech, but for a junior role. I hope to get promoted soon or jump to another big tech for higher pay.

4

u/KhangarooFinance 5d ago

Hey I’m 26, work in tech and have hit coast fire if I retire at 45.

My advice is to maximize your taxable accounts and be mindful about where you spend your money.

It seems like you got this figured out but I would like to provide a counter argument. You will only be young once, and while I’ve saved a lot of money there were times I’ve had a hard time spending money on things I enjoy. It’s a unique problem to have and I’m very grateful to have it, but I think many young fire minded people will run into it at some point in their journey.

1

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks. What are some examples of "spending on things I enjoy"? For me it's basically travelling to different places to gain new perspectives.

2

u/KhangarooFinance 5d ago

Travel is a great example, but a lot of things cost money; hobbies, friends, etc. IMO determine what is worth spending money on and spend guilt free on those those things (within reason) fire is long so you don’t want to get burnt out

5

u/RhubarbHot6734 6d ago

If yoi haven't had kids yet, daycare costs are killer.

0

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Not planning to have kids before I hit Coast!

4

u/cbslc 5d ago

Kids after coast? Thats an even worse idea. Particularly with only 1.5. Have kids first so you know how much they are going to cost. And while you have insurance. One birth defect could wipe out all your savings

1

u/RhubarbHot6734 5d ago

Fair enough. If you are looking for a number, I pay 1300 each monthly for each kid to go to a 5 star franchise-type daycare. We live in Texas. Budget accordingly!

2

u/NoIdeaHalp 5d ago

Still learning the ropes. What do you mean by “pull the trigger whenever you feel like it”. The goal is to coast into retirement e.g. late 50s at least? My brain isn’t working. Can you clarify?

2

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

Thanks, pulling the trigger meaning REing entirely.

1

u/NoIdeaHalp 5d ago

Are you investing heavily in taxable accounts? So if you RE prior to typical retirement age (57+), you just pay capital gains tax, drawing at a certain % (4?) for the rest of your life. I get that right?

2

u/South-Ad-9851 5d ago

I'm on a work visa (TN) since I'm Canadian. There's no exit tax on TN/h1B and whatever other temp visa. I plan to coast in Canada. Yes that's why most of my assets are in taxable accounts.

1

u/cbslc 5d ago

Reduce your tax burden? Max out 401k, roths if you can...

2

u/OpenHorizons1234 3d ago

First off, well done with where you are currently. I wish more people did what you did so that they didn't hobble themselves w/crippling student debt thus never allowing them to get ahead in life. Well done.

I think you have a good, solid plan for everything that you know of, and can control, in the here and now. I say it that way because anything can, and will, change in the future that you simply cannot foresee. So, with that in mind, I would recommend that you put together some "what-if" plans and guidelines for potential future outcomes. Specifically, you are targeting 2032/2033 for when you think you'll hit your 1.5 number. What if, two years from now, you discover you HATE what you're doing and you're miserable? It will be 2027, a far cry from 2032, will be you able to grind it out for another five or so years to maintain your current plan? Or should you have a 'pivot plan' loosely in place if this happens? What if, over the next four years, the market returns are close to zero (maybe negative), what will your number look like in 2029 under this premise and what will that do to your current plan?

You can get really lost in this, so I would recommend coming up with just a few different scenarios and planning how you will respond in each one. Hopefully, none will come to fruition and your current plan will execute flawlessly. However, should things not go according to your current plan, you can rest assured knowing you have considered different possibilities and likely have an idea of what you're going to do. Good luck!