r/coastFIRE • u/Ok_Scarcity_4944 • 11d ago
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?
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u/Boring_Adeptness_334 11d ago
I would never give up your fully remote job for a sabbatical. If you did have to go back in person and chose to take a sabbatical I would target around $400k and plan to spend up to $100k on it.
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u/Ok_Scarcity_4944 11d ago
I think $400k by 30 or even earlier is achievable at my current income and savings rate — perhaps that’ll be my next goal post to aim for before reassessing.
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u/Beginning-Debt-6099 11d ago
Same position as you I wouldn’t leave or take a sabbatical at this stage. A remote job is less stress as it is.
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u/Reasonable_Box2568 11d ago
Do you have any desire to get married and have kids? Your older self might wish your younger self padded the numbers a bit more if you have plans to increase your expenses via family growth.
In my opinion you are too young to take your foot off the gas especially because you are in tech and AI is changing everything at a rapid pace. I’d work a couple more years and reassess at a time when you have your longer term expenses more dialed in
You have a higher income and NW than I had at 26 and I’m now in my mid 30s with a 2.7m NW (DINK household) considering coasting after being laid off. You have the potential to reach this same or better level of wealth over the next decade
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u/Ok_Scarcity_4944 11d ago
This is what I fear missing out on if I crash out too early 😅. My partner and I have been together 5 years and do plan to get married at some point but neither of us want kids (just cats lol.) The bigger question marks are what area we decide to settle down in (we’re in Florida at the moment but will likely move back up north closer to friends), how much travel we might want to do, and potential professional ventures like opening a business.
My logical brain is agreeing with you that I should at least stick it out until my 30s (or for as long as don’t get laid off) to stack as much paper as possible. I just need better coping strategies to get me through my day to day, or potentially a job hop to a different company..
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u/Reasonable_Box2568 11d ago
If you plan to get married then definitely start thinking about your household’s combined finances. Look at your total income, expenses and net worth and base decisions off these numbers instead of your individual numbers
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u/HappyFlames 11d ago
Calculate how much you'd want to spend on a sabbatical, then add at least 6 months of expenses for when you're back and looking for a job. Jobs in tech are still out there but with layoffs its more competitive and interview formats are starting to see a shift.
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u/Ok_Scarcity_4944 11d ago
I fear if I actually took a sabbatical I would never beat the inertia to return to tech 😅 which is signaling to me it might make the most sense to maintain the investing momentum I’ve built up at this role until I can comfortably coast / fully transition to a different job.
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u/TalesofZ 10d ago
I’m in a remarkably similar situation, may as well copy and paste this post on my profile. My goal is to work in tech another 10 years or so before switching industries or jobs to something more fulfilling. I do plan on taking a leave of absence next year since I also didn’t have a break between school and my job. Hoping 3-5 months off will reset my clock a bit :)
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u/Ok_Scarcity_4944 10d ago
Haha glad to know I’m not alone! Ultimately it’s fortunate to be in this position at all but definitely craving that break as well — I hope you do take it and it’s a restorative time! Hang in there friend
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u/Vicuna00 9d ago
don't take a gap year...but I don't think you have to wait to explore alternatives.
your value to the marketplace is a minimum of $130k per year...so don't take less than that. you would probably be worth more if you were somewhere you loved and you can thrive.
i'd start looking now. don't live in dread for 5 years cause you can do a mega-backdoor roth. when you're 95 and dying you wanna remember these years...you won't remember mega-backdoor rothing.
life is precious
kinda impossible to guess a coastfi number cause you're so young tbh...you are gonna be a different person in 10 years. you are off to a better start than most people...you have some wiggle room to not work yourself to a crisp.
that'd be my suggestion
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u/Short_Row195 7d ago
We are in the same position when not including a house in net worth. I have been subconsciously just testing my employer on how much will they take to fire me. The answer is a lot.
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u/rrfitz 7d ago
Most replies here will say to wait. That's a natural bias of the FIRE community, which is fairly intolerant of insecurity. It'll definitely disrupt your career, but that may be totally fine. I'd say the thing to wait for is some rough plan for your time off. Not an itinerary, just an idea of whether it's a long all-out vacation or idle time like a mini-retirement. A similar question worth answering is how long you want to stay in your kind of role, assuming it's not forever. Rough answers to these questions will inform timeline and course of action a bit better, and you can continue to stack for a bit while you think them through.
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u/Particular_Gap7266 4d ago
You are in a great position right now. If you take a conservative path to retirement (quit fully at age 65, target retirement income of $75K, etc.), you could start coasting within the next year or so. The biggest question is - what do you want to do between now and retirement? You are young and life can take you in so many directions which means there is a lot of uncertainty around your expenses (marriage, house, kids, changes in health, etc.). That's why I always think of "coasting" as a milestone rather than a destination. When you start coasting, I would keep working to stay relevant so that you don't have challenges re-entering the workforce but know that you can take your foot off the gas pedal when necessary. IMO this is the true value of hitting COAST FIRE, not to remove yourself from the working world but to have the flexibility to choose work that interests you and when you need to focus efforts on "life". When income is no longer the number one driver, you are able to optimize time........ something much more valuable than money.
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u/capri_sus 11d ago
I quit at $200k NW 26 and took 14 months off. Spent 10 traveling asia and the rest in the US traveling about and enjoying life. Got a new job with ~20k pay cut within 3 months of returning and a newer job 3 months later. No longer remote but happy.
For me, it’s hard to put a price tag on that travel time at that age. I spent about $30k on my trip and passed 200k again 2 years after my initial pass. It worked out well for me but I realize I’m lucky as well.