Ok, I'm going to throw my hat in this ring. I'm already coast-FIRE as part of the 2021 cohort, but 2026 should be my full FIRE year. For our family, coast-FIRE involved moving to our desired retirement location, but retaining part-time remote work. We've managed to keep that situation going, and it's admittedly pretty darn good overall. My wife's work, in particular, is grating on her more and more, but we've still kept the coast-OMY going because it's been hard to justify ditching the work in our current situation, with our costs rising somewhat and upcoming college expenses for two kids.
However, I think 2026 will force us to pull the plug, one way or another. Wife's company may not survive this year (though we've thought that in the past) and/or she may just reach her limit. My company, while not part of the federal government, receives the majority of its funding from the feds. Though we've mostly escaped direct impacts from DOGE and the current administration, I'm quite sure they're coming, likely as the fiscal year turns over this fall. As a remote, part-time employee, I'd be very high on the chopping block.
Even if neither of those comes to fruition, we aim to control our college costs, which involves reducing our income (to levels commensurate with our expenses) for 2027 and beyond, since that's the first year FAFSA will consider. Thus, we need to cut the coast-FIRE cord by the end of 2026. Ideally, I'd be laid off with a sweet severance sometime that year. If that comes to pass, it'll be FIRE at age 48 after coast-FIRE at 43.
