How to think about Coast/Barista FIRE and when to take action
30M/F, married by EOY 2026
NW: ~1.3M
- 500k taxable brokerage
- 500k 401k (~50/50 trad/Roth)
- 100k Rollover IRA (taxable?)
- 100k Roth IRA
- 100k HSA
Partner essentially at 0 NW. Will complete school for nursing end of 2027.
Historical and expected income
- 2025: 225k
- 2026: 230k
- 2027: 240k
- 2028: 300k (partner begins work)
- 2029: 325k
- 2030: 350k
We are currently undecided about trying to have kids. We don't have specific retirement goals, especially given the impact of choosing to have kids, or other major life decisions down the line. Obviously the sooner we retire the more we need to cover until age 60. We live fairly frugally but don't hesitate to travel or make purchases we want (annual expenses ~65-75k)
I am interested in moving out of tech and into a social impact industry but I have fantastic WLB and great compensation. Hard to say goodbye to. I also want my partner to begin building their own net worth for financial security and general comfort.
Some scenarios/decisions include (not necessarily mutually exclusive):
- A: Stick with my job but coast until I'm not seen as a strong performer. Then either pull my act together or continue to quiet quit.
- B: Stick with my job until my partner is settled in their career. Then I could move into a more fulfilling position with a much lower salary and we could still bring in 150k+
- C: Look for a new role sooner since we have a solid nest egg already
- D: More a nuance of B, but partner has option for travel nursing and I am currently remote - feels like a unique opportunity to take advantage of before I look for change
Incredibly fortunate to be where we are at but having trouble feeling fulfilled at work; and deciding what is enough before taking a hit to our income; and will a different job even feel more fulfilling or should i just focus on building the fulfilling hobbies while continuing as is: or do I really just need to switch from remote to in person/hybrid to feel more fulfilled at work? And so on. How do y'all think about these questions?