Reality check - $200k at 26
Just turned 26, paid off all my student loans (no other debt to speak of), and have exceeded $200k NW… burning out at my tech job and craving a break but anxious about the future.
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High level breakdown of the numbers:
Income:
- $130k USD(fully remote from LCOL area)
- Just started cat sitting on the side for a few hundred extra bucks a month.
Savings:
Bank: $33,000
401k: $139,000
Roth IRA: $24,000
HSA: $17,000
Expenses: $3000 / month
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My goals with Coast FIRE:
To me, reaching coast FIRE would give me the financial and psychological safety net to explore alternative career paths, maybe take a gap year to experiment and figure out what’s next. I was a hardcore student through high school and college — graduated early then immediately entered into the tech industry at a very lucky time in the market.
5 years later and I’ve reached a senior level but consider this my personal limit in terms of how far I want to climb on the corporate ladder. AI has introduced a new degree of existential dread to my day to day that I’m finding increasingly exhausting to tolerate.
However… my employer has just announced that they’ll begin offering the mega backdoor option, and with my student loans gone, I could significantly increase my savings next year.
What number is reasonable to aim for before pulling the trigger and actually taking a sabbatical? Am I being foolish for even considering this option, especially given the job prospects in tech?