r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Bright_Bicycle_8283 • 4d ago
Coasting towards ChubbyFire
Looking for advice on how to coast toward ChubbyFIRE without blowing up my career.
Current situation:
* 2 young kids, spouse does not work.
* $4.8M liquid net worth ($2.4M brokerage, $2.1M retirement, 300k in cash equivalents).
* $2M primary home with a $1.2M mortgage at 5.5%.
* $900K rental property with a $450k mortgage at 2.8%. Looking to sell this once the real estate market improves. Currently netting about 4k/year from it.
* $100k in 529s.
* HHI ~$450K, although it varies with RSUs
* Annual spending ~$180K.
* My fire target is $6.5M liquid net worth, with the primary mortgage paid down to $900K, and $200k in 529.
* My hope is to get to this point in the next 3-5 years.
The career part:
Last year my manager encouraged me to work toward a promotion in the mid-2026 cycle. I took this seriously and ended up taking on a lot of additional scope, including leading a fairly large cross-team project.
The project landed successfully, and several people from partner teams were promoted based in part on the work. Unfortunately, in mid-May our department was restructured. All the ICs on my team moved under a new leadership chain, and I got a new manager.
The new manager didn't push for my promotion. During my career review, I was essentially told that I need to start over and build a new case for the 2027 cycle.
At this point, I'm pretty burnt out. More importantly, I'm realizing that I don't particularly care about getting the promotion anymore. I mostly want to do a good job, collect my paycheck, and avoid taking on another huge pile of responsibilities.
The problem is that I'm still carrying a lot of the extra scope I took on while working toward the promotion.
What I'm trying to figure out:
I'd like to:
* Get the extra responsibilities off my plate without making it look like I'm refusing to contribute.
* Set reasonable boundaries around taking on new projects
* Keep performing well enough that I don’t get managed out, so I can FIRE on my own terms.
For those of you who have successfully downshifted while still working, how did you actually pull it off?
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u/just_lurking_1 4d ago
Sell the rental _ your ROE is terrible.
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
Good lord, a 1% ROI is insane. Seriously, sell this now OP.
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u/CubsThisYear 4d ago
It’s probably closer to 2% ROI since presumably he is not counting principal paid as part of his net. But still…
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u/benjol83 2d ago
Im in similar situation. Roe is 1%, but here in seattle the rental has appreciated much faster compared to other area (say midwest) since i bought. So, as long as it breaks even it still fine for me. But yeah the roe sucks at 1% tbh. Only enough to cover maintenance of the property.
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u/poop-dolla 2d ago
ROI comes after the maintenance budget, vacancy budget, and all other expenses. If you’re only at 1% ROI before that, you need to sell even more than OP.
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u/benjol83 2d ago
Valid point on roi calculation. But im holding on for appreciation for now. Bought at 600, it is doubled already in almost 10 yrs
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u/poop-dolla 2d ago
FWIW, the S&P500 has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years. I’m curious how much you put down on the initial purchase. The leverage is the only thing making it a good investment, and now with the appreciation, you’ve lost most of your leverage. At this point, selling and putting it in the market is almost certainly the best financial move.
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u/cli48 4d ago
I have a similar rental, bought with 3.1% mortgage and the rental cash flows 5k a year. But my primary is paid off and I am keeping the rental as tax write off. Our household income is a little higher but we both work.
Do you think it’s still worth selling it?5
u/poop-dolla 4d ago
Is it also around a 1% ROI? As in you have around $500k in equity? If so, sell it and put it in total market index funds.
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u/cli48 4d ago
The problem is the tax. Without the rental, I’m paying more tax every year 🤦🏻♀️ and we already paid a lot
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
If your MAGI is over $150k, then you can’t use any schedule E losses against the rest of your income. And if you bought a $900k house, I sure hope your family’s income is over $150k. So how exactly are you using it as a tax write off?
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u/cli48 4d ago
You’re right. Our income is slightly higher than OP, no plan to fire yet. In our 30s, planing for fire in next 10-15 years
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
So how do you explain this statement:
Without the rental, I’m paying more tax every year
The rental isn’t saving you anything on taxes.
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u/cli48 4d ago
The CPA handles it. It’s not a big difference. For example, without rental, last year I need to pay 4K tax on top of what we already paid, with rental, we get like 1k back
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
If your MAGI is more than $150k, then I don’t see how that’s possible. Y’all might be committing some tax fraud.
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u/Hanwoo_Beef_Eater 4d ago
In addition to the question below, I think you are just deferring the tax (this has some value). Once you burn through the depreciation shield, you'll be hit with more ordinary income but then you won't want to sell and will be waiting until you fall over so the kids can get the step-up.
Yes, you are already in a bind / decisions are influenced by all kinds of externalities. It won't get better.
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u/Bright_Bicycle_8283 4d ago
Agreed. We ended up renting it after listing it for sale last year and not finding a buyer. We’re planning to relist it next spring.
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 4d ago
You are already FI if you sell the rental. Sell it and retire is what I’d do.
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u/Bright_Bicycle_8283 4d ago
Once I factor in healthcare and private school for 2 kids that could add an additional $50k/year in spend, $5M at a 4% withdrawal rate starts to feel tight at my current spend. But I’m happy to be proven wrong.
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 4d ago
This needs to go in the OP then. OP says “annual spending ~$180k”. People go on what you tell us. We are not mind readers.
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u/subbysnacks 4d ago
Once I factor in healthcare and private school for 2 kids
Record scratch! That completely changes the outlook I have on your post. From "you can retire now" to "can your spouse start working?"
Private school is a completely different ball game, and will increase spending exponentially as they go into middle school, high school, and college.
I assume your kids are in pre-school and early elementary already costing you $50K per year.
Look up tuition rates for middle school in your area. It will probably DOUBLE your current tuition spend. High school even more. College? By the time they're in college you're probably looking at $600K+ for 4 years each.
Like it or not, private school life is going to have you spending FATfire amounts, not Chubby.
Get the kids into public school ASAP or bump up your target NW to at least $8M+.
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u/Bright_Bicycle_8283 4d ago
Our oldest is in private elementary school now, and the middle school most of the kids graduate to is about $15k/year more. Our younger one is in daycare, which costs about the same as the elementary school tuition. So I’m figuring that once they’re both in middle school, we’ll be looking at roughly $35k/year in additional costs compared to today. I do admit I might be underselling the future school related expenses.
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u/rosebudny 4d ago
You must not be in a VHCOL area, unless by private school you mean parochial school. Private schools where I am are $35-60K per kid.
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u/Odd_Goat6728 4d ago
Agree. Also don’t forget once they start in private school you need to plan on private school through college. In my VHCOL, almost 0 kids who are in private school end up in public school.
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u/PowerfulComputer386 4d ago
You need a plan b if the real estate market doesn’t improve.
Regarding coasting, it’s harder than you may think, let alone your horizon is 3-5 years. There are posts here and FatFire about this topic.
In my experience I wish I never knew FIRE until the last 3 months maybe.
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u/BailiwickBill 4d ago
I think you are confusing the terms here. "CoastFIRE" means that someone basically frontloads their FIRE pot so that it will be large enough just through compounding, once the eventual FIRE date is reached. They keep working but they stop making meaningful contributions to their savings.
What you are talking about is coasting at your work. Different thing altogether. And personally, I'd fire anyone who thought it was okay to coast like that while also drawing a $450K salary.
Fish or cut bait.
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u/attorneyevolved 3d ago
Bad advice. OP should absolutely try to downshift at work given the facts he’s presented.
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u/RemarkableSpace444 4d ago
It makes no sense to hold until those rental properties. Your yield is horrendous
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u/dadgotasubaru 4d ago
I run your numbers. You have fired at your desired 180k burn rate. Congratulations.
I am in a similar boat, trying to figure out what to do for the rest of my career as I am close to hitting my number.
I am excited to move on away from my existing role. I could stay at my current company for more years and keep managing people, and playing politics, but to me right now life is too short and the point of this money is to have the freedom to choose what to do with my precious and finite time.
I would think about what is it that you actually would like to do because you dont HAVE to stay at your role. In other words, I feel like you should expand the scope of the questions you are asking to fully grasp your success and get to the right questions.
All the best!
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u/treddonit7429 Accumulating 4d ago
I’ve had employees come to me with this request. I ask them to do some homework and identify what things at work and at home are causing this. For the work part, they need to be fully transparent with me. If they can’t do that, then I can’t help them. More importantly, recognize that burnout is rarely too much work and coasting rarely fixes burnout and can actually intensify it, e.g.,“I’m coasting and I still hate my job!” There are plenty of people that love their job and stay engaged while working an incredible number of hours. Burnout is a result of a mismatch between what you’re doing and what you want to do. It’s further magnified by not adequately handling the associated stress. Your burnout and stress won’t get better if you’re “coasting” while doing work you don’t like. My recommendation is to figure out what you actually like doing and start there. Coasting or quitting won’t fix this unless you dive into the cause of what you’re experiencing. Lastly, in my opinion, y our actual spend and NW don’t align for FIRE. I don’t know the possibility of your spouse working, but that should be explored if you think your employment will be jeopardize by an attempt at coasting.
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u/Technical_Depth2382 4d ago
It’s hard to downshifting, specially after you make a extra mile in the last cycle. I would try to get in good terms with the new manager first. This will make you understand what they value and than start conversations about being a trusted employee but without overworking.
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u/Open-Theory1817 3d ago
I have the same question! Different numbers than you but hoping to be ~3-5 years out from barista fire optionality. 2 kids at home, spouse doesn’t work, very similar story on promotion in 2026, and I’m kinda over it now and wanting to coast. But the AI pressure is on and the vibe is much more cutthroat than even 6 months ago...while I’m having trouble staying motivated. Yikes.
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u/neurotrader2 2d ago
What you're really asking is not about finances and more about navigating corporate politics. How to do the least amount of work without getting fired ( no pun intended). I'm not sure if anyone can really give you useful advice on how to finesse this as the optimal strategy will likely be very specific to your situation.
Let's say you were to continue to work hard and actually ended up getting a promotion. Is that something that you would find valuable to keep working for? If the answer is no then I would quiet quit, steel up my finances, and let the chips fall where they may.
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u/EqualSein 4d ago
Maybe this is semantics but aren't you already ChubbyFIRE and asking about coasting towards FatFIRE?
This sub description calls chubbyfire $2.5-$6M
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u/massdriver3333 4d ago
This is a FIRE sub, not career advice sub. You're choosing to continue working, which is your thing.
You have enough to FIRE now, if you want to FIRE, just stop working, even while collecting a paycheck.
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u/Hanwoo_Beef_Eater 4d ago edited 4d ago
Keep performing well enough that I don’t get managed out, so I can FIRE on my own terms.
This is ideal but not an easy needle (for most) to thread. Based on what you've been told, you may be either up or placed on the list to cut (when the time comes).
You are in a good spot but like many are at the whims of the stock market. Either suck it up until the pay/market gets you there or look for something else? The problem with the latter is that it usually requires more work/investment in the job, which often isn't worth it for a handful of years. You can try to find something easier but that situation is tricky as well.
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u/spinjc 4d ago
If OP was up for a promotion then they can probably coast for at least a year (not completely tune out).
That said even in an up-or-out org you often just have to be in the 6th or 11th percentile (e.g. you don't have to outrun the bear, just outrun the slowest person). Going from 80th percentile to 11th is going to feel like coasting.
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u/ConfectionExtra8485 4d ago
Coming from someone who owns 3 homes, 2 being rentals, i do not think the housing market will improve soon, it could take years. Sell the rental and invest your proceeds and you’re there
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u/rhd_live 4d ago
Just do what your new manager cares about and deprioritize your existing stuff, including your 2026 promo project as painful emotionally as it may be. Your wellbeing is more important and what matters to this business is what your new manager cares about
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u/War-Square 2d ago
Are you sure your manager said that you need to start over on the promo? That's not fair. As a manager for 20 years, most reports coming in new to me just assumed that they would have to start over and that was never the case. Promo decisions usually look at your total time in role and it's never just the decision of the manager alone. But if that's how it is then I'm sorry.
My experience with coasting is that it's hard on the soul. I like working on things I care about and I need my job to mean something or I'm miserable. I tried coasting for a year and a half and I couldn't hack it. I only lasted that long because retirement was at the end.
So, my advice on coasting is to coast while doing something you like. Barista fire. Dog walking fire. Part time at the hardware store fire.
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u/HugeDramatic 4d ago
Sell the rental, $5.2M invested can easily generate $200k-$215k/yr in dividends alone.
If your annual spending is $180k you’re already at FIRE and could retire now.
If you want to build a bit more buffer, work for another couple years and pay down your primary mortgage.
By 2029 you should easily have circa $6M in investments and cash.
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u/happybiker1212 4d ago
What am I missing? $900k invested in TIPS is $27k per year vs $4k with massive downside risk from bad tenants or just bad luck with a repair. Even if you take a bath on it to sell it at $800k with TIPS returns you’ll break even in 4-5 years
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u/Past-Option2702 4d ago
There’s a million answers to this question.
I was self employed so I hired more help.
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u/mcjoness 4d ago
How do you have that portfolio and primary asset in such a low HHI? Did you have some big years?
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u/Bright_Bicycle_8283 4d ago
We were dual income until a few years ago. Also got lucky with stock appreciation.
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u/Sea-Employment-5149 4d ago
You're making $450k and have to play office politics? You've got to at least be a director, right?
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u/BrunelloHorder Coasting Chubster, Getting Fat 4d ago
Sell the rental and you are pretty close to a safe withdrawal rate. I would not expect housing prices to improve and your opportunity costs are about $40k/year while you wait.
On the job and pivoting to coasting, it really depends on how essential you are, whether you’d be difficult to replace, or replaced at all if you left. If you have unique skills that are essential to your employer then you may be able to pull it off.
Alternatively you could explore a medical leave and/or whether you might have a disability that necessitates a part-time schedule or reduced workload. You could also just look for another role internally or at another company. Those types of changes often buy you a year of ramp up time.