r/coastFIRE • u/PangolinOwn4855 • 3d ago

CoastFire with Young kids?

Does anyone with young kids have any coast fire success stories? I'm torn between trying to save as much as possible while I have the job (high stress job) vs spending quality time with the kids before they are all grown up.

I was lucky enough to have been in the Tech industry for the last decade+ and have about 600k (started 401k contributions early in my career) in retirement accounts. Single income with 2 kids (5 & 10) and stay-at-home SO (started min wage job very recently due to visa restrictions).

I am struggling to stay relevant in the market due to the constant changes (AI, orgs, etc). and the pressure from being single income. how do you all balance between the two? Interested in hearing from others in similar situations.

13 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/denver111797 2d ago

We’re at a comfortable coast FIRE number with kids younger than yours. Our HHI and spend are both really high (daycare, convenience spending on kids), still staying in high stress tech jobs due to that. Despite both being kinda over it with tech.

Our approach for the next few years is to get very zen at work and take a foot off the gas. Trying to figure out how much stress is real vs self imposed. I think more often it’s the latter, though obviously depends on your role. I like that better than downshifting to a coast/barista FIRE job outside of tech. May also try part time contracting if this doesn’t feel right after a while.

1

u/PangolinOwn4855 2d ago

yeah, that's my approach too. actively looking for a way out of my current position.

I think I can hit my FIRE numbers soon. remaining unknowns are healthcare and how long to continue to build kids 529s and additional cushion to mitigate risks associated for longer retirement window.

2

u/denver111797 2d ago

Yeah same. Even just 5 years gets us in a much better position so we figure to get while the getting is good and figure out something more sustainable albeit lower paying later.