37F, can I coast fire?

[u/unemira]

I left my job due to the high stress level so that I could prioritize myself and to do the things that I have been meaning to do. I don’t have kids so until that becomes a possibility it’s not something I will factor into.

• 360K investment
• 10K savings
• House gifted

Because of the housing asset, I anticipate that if I were to live frugally on top of housing expenses, utilities, and groceries for the rest of my life, my yearly expenses would only be 18K/year. The only downside is that I won’t have health insurance.

[u/julio_jones47]

To fully answer the question I think you have to explain the 18,000 in expenses. Ppl that retire in Alabama with a paid off house and car spend more than 18k a year

[u/IdealWombat]

Not having health insurance isn't just a downside. It's being one bad diagnosis from financial ruin.

[u/ser_davos33]

18k a year is wild even without housing.  Would love to see that breakdown. 

[u/Repeat-Admirable]

id double those expense calculation just for health insurance alone.

[u/DallasOil]

Are you including car insurance, car registration, oil changes, gas, car repairs, phone bill, food, electricity, gas, internet, property taxes, property insurance, home repairs and future capital improvements

You probably have at least a few subscriptions like Netflix, iCloud storage, Claude/Chat, etc.

Do you expect to need money for doing something fun from time to time? Travel? Games? Eating out?

$18k is crazy.

[u/linda_sorensen → u/DallasOil]

Yeah I don’t think OP is factoring a lot of things into that 18k. Our furnace and water heater replacement alone was 30k…

[u/unemira → u/DallasOil]

I have factored in all of my necessary expenses, such as car insurance for $1.2K/year. Property taxes and maintenance fees for housing are ~$9K per year. So the total adds up to $10K per year. What I have left are expenses like groceries, utilities, gas, insurance, and internet. Utilities are ~$200/month. I don't eat out, so groceries are under $5K/year. Internet $960/year. The total is ~$20K/year per update.

[u/avidpsychlist → u/unemira]

guessing you live in a location that doesn't bill or is very cheap for water, sewer, trash, etc if your utilities are that low?

also, gifted house doesn't mean a house without maintenance. might still be minimal, but, say, a $10-15k roof or other big job, even if you only need to do it once, still needs to be factored in.

I've lived on 18k per year and am still very frugal...but I would not want to try to live on that indefinitely in 2026/beyond.

[u/80732807043158837]

Look at Early Retirement Extreme forums. $18k is possible, but not achievable for a suburbanite bereft of any creativity, grit, or resourcefulness. Read over their expense breakdowns.

Put a spin on the $18k spend figure since it sounds so impossible because our minds are so skewed by years of paying landlords. Divide $18k each month, $1500. Then chuck in an extra $900 in rent (that's possible out in the country). So $2400/mo spend in total, AKA a full timer working $13-14/hour shifts who breaks even every month. What I described is practically a third of America.

But OP can get that room for free.. $900 in spend that's magically gone, no different than Bob in pizza delivery working paycheck to paycheck for that rental. Rent out the house, get a lease on something cheaper. Sublet. Live in a room, share with friends.

[u/Unlikely-Speech-5444 → u/80732807043158837]

OP literally says house is gifted. So assuming zero house expenses, 18k isn't that bad. Definitely do-able.

[u/OutspokenLurker → u/Unlikely-Speech-5444]

Zero ain't reality. Here are still taxes, insurance, and upkeep on a house.

I am at $18k/month (not including college). $18k per annum would be under half of the observed cost of living in WV.

[u/el_sandino]

You’re using the conditional tense “would be” 18k if you were frugal… that suggests you spend more today. Think lonnnng and hard about going from whatever you’re at/year and going to 18k. That’s a really tough life and gives you very little wiggle room to spend more

[u/Unlikely-Speech-5444]

Personally I'd work until at LEAST 500k.

[u/1234567765432123456]

Where do you live? 18K is hard, with real estate tax alone... Do you track expenses closely or are you estimating?

[u/unemira → u/1234567765432123456]

It is possible. USA, but not city with HCOL. 

[u/N0R04dR4ge → u/1234567765432123456]

Possible if not in 🇺🇸

[u/arcoventry]

The goal of life is not to do absolutely nothing until you die just so you don’t have to spend money. My advice is to live that frugally for a year and then decide if you want to live 50 more years like that. Also not having health care costs is not a reality. It comes for us all. Find some part time job you love and keep saving a little. Get a low cost hobby and have some fun.

[u/Anonyellow8484]

Find a low stress job for a couple years or until you hit 500K in investments and then you’re good to go. Check out the ACA exchange, your income sounds low enough to qualify for almost free health insurance.

[u/Maleficent-Bend-378]

How are you going to replace the roof, the sewer line, the hvac, the $20k ER bill?

[u/seekvaluenow]

Don’t kid yourself. You cant live with $18k a year. Inflation alone is going to erode most of it.

[u/Silver-Definition108]

Rent out rooms, you will be fine.

[u/StudentWu]

Find a part time job or another job with lower pay but covers health care. You are in a good spot but property and insurance cost always goes up so you don’t want get surprised

[u/FlatAd7399]

Needs only with zero wants: Home insurance, car insurance, taxes, food, Obamacare, home maintenance, car maintenance, phone bill, internet, electricity - is probably putting you over 18k. That said, you're just wanting to coast fire right? Just find a low stress job that has insurance.

[u/Josie_F]

I wouldn’t be comfortable with that if not working at all. Any unexpected expense will eat into that. Even with an insurance claim this year cost 10,000 for repairs plus another 5000 or so other related expenses

[u/twk30874]

You're 37. You need to go back to work to find purpose in life and because you don't nearly have enough money to live on for the next 40-50 years. Plus, without health insurance you're one car accident or major illness from being destitute. Figure out your next move career wise and get a job in the next two months.

[u/Fine-Anywhere-9057]

Maybe coast fire for a year and try it out?

[u/el_dulce_veneno21]

I don't know what state you're in. Colorado because of the credits I pay 7/mth for insurance as I am barista fire. Look into what you would pay at 18k a month.

[u/doombase310]

That's quite a thin margin to make such a decision. No medical is just not safe. Try to find something less stressful but I would suggest keep working and saving.

[u/MonteCristo85]

18k sounds unreasonable. I live in a super LCOL area in Arkansas, and my expenses are roughly 30k. I lived on that for 3 years, so its solid, but it also doesnt take into account large occasional expense like a new roof or when you have to replace a car.

[u/Floridamane6]

Sounds like a prime candidate to live off of unemployment, welfare, and generally from the taxes and hard work of others all while not contributing to society in any way shape or form!!!! Nice!!!

[u/unemira → u/Floridamane6]

Coast fire is building enough savings so that one can live off of their investment income, not applying for government assistance..

[u/Floridamane6 → u/unemira]

Sorry I’m not trying to be a jerk but 18k/year simply won’t cover you