u/Huge_Statistician441

My husband and I (both 34) are trying to figure out whether we're actually close to Coast FIRE or if we're being overly optimistic.

Our numbers:

• HHI: ~$300k (I make $190k of that)
• Annual spending: ~$120k (includes $3.5k/month daycare, which disappears in about 2 years when our son starts public school)
• Investments:
  • $500k retirement accounts
  • $750k brokerage
  • $66k company stock plan
  • ~$1.3M total invested
• Son's 529: ~$70k
• Home worth ~$1.1M with a ~$200k mortgage

Right now I max my 401(k) and Roth IRA, contribute about $5k/year to my company stock plan, and invest another ~$1k/month into our brokerage account. My husband contributes to his 401K 9% of his salary.

Based on my own calculations, it seems like we're either already at Coast FIRE or very close. But I'm struggling to trust the math.

The reason this matters is that I'm extremely burned out at work. I don't necessarily want to retire. I actually have a dream career (becoming a librarian), but it would require quitting my current job, going back to school, and accepting that we probably wouldn't be contributing anything meaningful to retirement savings for a while (or ever).

One thing that makes this decision feel especially scary is that I'm the higher earner in our household. Walking away from my salary feels like I'm putting our family's financial security at risk, even if the numbers suggest we may be okay.

Some additional context:

• We live in a VHCOL area. Moving isn't really an option because that's where my husband's industry is concentrated and he doesn't want to retire/change careers yet
• We'd also like to have a second child in the next few years.

My questions are:

1. Do these numbers actually look like Coast FIRE to you, or am I missing something?
2. If you were in this position, would you continue saving aggressively because of the uncertainty around a second child and future expenses?
3. Would leaving a high-paying job to pursue a lower-paying career at this stage seem financially reasonable, or would you keep pushing until a larger margin of safety?

I feel that we have been optimizing every dollar for so long that even thinking about not doing that gives me anxiety lol. I know nobody can tell me what to do, but I'd love a reality check from people who have been thinking about Coast FIRE longer than I have.