COASTFIRE- anyone?

[JGS1980]

Thank you so much for sharing the calculator!

It definitely made me feel more secure in my plans.

I also asked the question, "what would happen to my FIRE plans if I worked one more year and put X$ into my nest egg". The answer was -> almost nothing!"

[JupiterGreen]

Anyone see this calculator yet?

https://fireplace.cash/calculators/coastfire/

I ran my numbers assuming I Coast FIRE'd in 6 months. Very illuminating. Math always seems to clear things up for me...

JGS

wow, thank you so much for this calculator! It was very reassuring to run the numbers especially if growth exceeds 4% (8% seemed too high)

[vand]

Honestly, CoastFIRE makes a helluva lot of sense to me on many levels.

- First, the idea that as your stash grows, the amount of new money going in becomes less and less significant compared to the internal return it generates
- The law of diminishing returns applies to both sides of this - so while new money going in is much less important, the time you can gain back for yourself by reducing your work commitments just by 1 or 2 days is of far more marginal value than the 5th day
- Many people get something out of work that they would lose if they stopped cold turkey. A sense of routine, a camaraderie, and regular contact with other people
- Working because you want to work and not because you have to work is actually very empowering
- You are generally earning lower wage, so are taxed less on a marginal level, so you get to keep more of what you earn - you get the most out of your work in this regard

[PDXTabs]

Is anyone here currently or planning to coast fire?

Yup, I plan to coastFIRE on or about Jan 1 2030. Of course I have no idea what my stache will be like at that point. I plan to take a long (multi-year) sabbatical from my day job and slow travel for a while in inexpensive countries. Afterwards, IDK. I'll figure it out. This travel will take no more than a 2% WR and may or may not involve paid employment.

EDITed to add: I guess that depending on your definition of coast FIRE this may or may not count.

[the_hobbitish]

I'm one of those people that feels like I have very little idea how to find a job outside of my specific job title which doesn't really exist in the private sector. I need to find a completely different field that will use many of the same skills. My current plan is to downshift anyway and figure it out while using up a couple months of leave.

Do most people know what they're moving to before they leave? My work situation isn't one I want to stay in part time, so I'm taking a bit of a leap and planning to figure it out as I go. I do have the benefit of being able to go on leave without pay status which means the government will hold some type of equivalent position for a year.

[Metalcat]

I'm one of those people that feels like I have very little idea how to find a job outside of my specific job title which doesn't really exist in the private sector. I need to find a completely different field that will use many of the same skills. My current plan is to downshift anyway and figure it out while using up a couple months of leave.

Do most people know what they're moving to before they leave? My work situation isn't one I want to stay in part time, so I'm taking a bit of a leap and planning to figure it out as I go. I do have the benefit of being able to go on leave without pay status which means the government will hold some type of equivalent position for a year.

You have to just start exploring what's out there, and that doesn't mean job listings.

How are your networking skills? You can basically find work in almost any industry if you have good basic professional skills and excellent networking skills.

You won't always be able to find work at the same pay rate that you are used to if you have limited specialized skills, but once you are past the accumulation stage, that doesn't matter as much.

Also, if you want to build certain skills, you can do so in a volunteer capacity. There are volunteer organizations that will let you do just about anything with the most minimal professional skill and experience, but once you've done it for a formal organization, someone else is bound to be willing to pay you to do it.

Start looking at what might be fun to do, and explore the world of what that work looks like.

That's the benefit of having free time, you can actually invest time and energy the way you can't when you're balls deep in full time work with little to no wiggle room.

[JupiterGreen]

CoastFired in 2022 at age 33.

Investments - 750k
Income - 40k averaging 18 hours/week
Expenses - 21k (half of household expenses)

Will continue working until at the very least we get the full household expense at 3% (1.4M) and probably well beyond that.

That's pretty good pay for 18hrs, are you working/consulting part time in your field/area of expertise?

[Turtle]

Even though my job is full time, I still consider it Coast Fire territory.  I work from home full time, almost never have overtime, in a lower stress area of my job field.

Very much coasting compared with some of the jobs that I've had in the past, and continuing to work through the downturn and buy stocks on sale over the past year means that I will be in a chubbier Fire position when it comes time to pull the plug in 3-4 years.

[ca-rn]

I've been CoastFire for 2+ years working the same job at a PT basis with health benefits.

I still contribute to 401k with catch up, so I never see a big chunk of my pay.  With the turbulence in index funds, I'm glad to still be working and investing. 

Plan-home will be paid off when I turn 55, will have access to 401k via Rule of 55 and then RE. 

I keep increasing my FIRE goal but should reach it by then mostly due to fear of healthcare cost.  I've always had employer covered health care and just have an irrational fear
and resentment having to pay alot for something I don't plan to use.

Having a hard time nailing down a yearly spend since IRL I don't spend much at all (diy small repairs/gardening etc) but in RE I want to be slow travelling around the world while still relatively "young" plus healthcare cost.

CoastFire is amazing!  When I started CoastFiring, I committed to doing yoga in the am (every off day- going 2 years strong!), this year added sitting meditation (10 min) and at least 10 push ups/day.  Its been a great way to start my day:)

OP, if you can, I definitely recommend CoastFire! 

[vagavince]

Is anyone here currently or planning to coast fire?  I've been reading a lot about it lately.
Since I plan on working (even in retirement) - but in more flexible and interesting roles - I feel I could be a candidate for coasting.

Work can be interesting some time. But I like money. So coast fire is attractive to me.

I think you have to answer for yourself why you like coast fire first
1. You like your job?
2. You don't have something better?
3. You like money?
etc

[Malossi792]

Is anyone here currently or planning to coast fire?  I've been reading a lot about it lately.
Since I plan on working (even in retirement) - but in more flexible and interesting roles - I feel I could be a candidate for coasting.

Work can be interesting some time. But I like money. So coast fire is attractive to me.

I think you have to answer for yourself why you like coast fire first
1. You like your job?
2. You don't have something better?
3. You like money?
etc

For me:
I'm in a career with a steeply rising income path that started very low and has the potential to go very high. Let's leave it at that for anonymity, but 15 years of work at 20 hours a week means much mo' money than 7.5 years at 40 hours.
Also, I want the market to provide its fair share, and for that to work I need compounding, for which the factor I can (hopefully) control is time in the market before I retire.
Both of which point me in the coast direction once I am at about the halfway point.

[Extramedium]

For me, another factor swinging me more into CoastFIRE is when in my life I want more time away from work.  I'm 52 now, with kids in middle and high school.  I like some outdoor athletic things.  I think I could FatFIRE in 4-6 years of full-time work, but they will be gone from our home (well, the younger one almost out), and my gradually decreasing strength/endurance potentially changing every year, too.   So, I'm considering a slow off-ramp starting with 0.9 FTE in the next few months, followed step-wise into 0.8, 0.6, etc. over 6-9 years.  Of course all of this timing depends more on Mr. Market than my contributions at this point; just making estimates.  Still trying to get more confidence in what my annual spending requirements are now.

Once the kids are away, I don't think I'll mind as much continuing on 0.6 FTE as a "retirement job", as I do like my work.  I just want it to be a smaller part of my life.

[Dicey]

For me, another factor swinging me more into CoastFIRE is when in my life I want more time away from work.  I'm 52 now, with kids in middle and high school.  I like some outdoor athletic things.  I think I could FatFIRE in 4-6 years of full-time work, but they will be gone from our home (well, the younger one almost out), and my gradually decreasing strength/endurance potentially changing every year, too.   So, I'm considering a slow off-ramp starting with 0.9 FTE in the next few months, followed step-wise into 0.8, 0.6, etc. over 6-9 years.  Of course all of this timing depends more on Mr. Market than my contributions at this point; just making estimates.  Still trying to get more confidence in what my annual spending requirements are now.

Once the kids are away, I don't think I'll mind as much continuing on 0.6 FTE as a "retirement job", as I do like my work.  I just want it to be a smaller part of my life.

Wise words.

[Ron Scott]

I have a good friend who was a full-time salesman for about 20 years, in expediting.  If you ask he’d say he retired at 40.

What he means is he stopped working as an employee but has a couple arrangements where he sells when he wants to. He seems to put in about 10 hours a week, mostly mornings, rare overnight travel, and has known the people he’s selling to for years—so there’s no cold calls. He can do 90% of the job on the phone, with a cup of coffee, in his pajamas.

Some deals are one-offs, most are recurring.  So most commissions are like annuities, for as long as the business flows.

This has gone on for almost 26 years, during which his net worth has grown significantly. He loves doing this and has no plans to stop.

[GodlessCommie]

What a great thread! Lots of things to meditate on, or at least to copy to notes.

The term I used for myself was downshifting, but it feels like it fits the definition of CoastFIRE that's used here. it's been only 4 months, though, so I'm pretty new to it.

Basically, several things hit me at the same time. Realization that good time ahead was not assured. Even time ahead was not assured. Realization that I was planning for someone else's dream with 'classic' FIRE. Realization that I did have options as to how to earn money, and essentially only had to ask. Realization that there were parts of my job that I loved doing.

So I went to work half time for the same company. It went very seamlessly. My boss and the whole team were very supportive. Unfortunately, my job is partially tied to support, so I work all 5 workdays. Not ideal, but much better than full time. I also started doing more things that I wanted to be doing, regardless of them costing money or not. It only required a permission from myself, but somehow I wasn't giving it for literally decades.

[Extramedium]

Basically, several things hit me at the same time. Realization that good time ahead was not assured. Even time ahead was not assured. Realization that I was planning for someone else's dream with 'classic' FIRE. Realization that I did have options as to how to earn money, and essentially only had to ask. Realization that there were parts of my job that I loved doing.

So I went to work half time for the same company. It went very seamlessly. My boss and the whole team were very supportive. Unfortunately, my job is partially tied to support, so I work all 5 workdays. Not ideal, but much better than full time. I also started doing more things that I wanted to be doing, regardless of them costing money or not. It only required a permission from myself, but somehow I wasn't giving it for literally decades.

Congrats!  Sounds great to me.

[mistymoney]

Thank you so much for sharing the calculator!

It definitely made me feel more secure in my plans.

I also asked the question, "what would happen to my FIRE plans if I worked one more year and put X$ into my nest egg". The answer was -> almost nothing!"

but did you include the expected growth of your current stache? Once you have a nice pot perdulating, the additional inputs are just a fraction of the growth. Which is why coast fire works.

[Extramedium]

Thank you so much for sharing the calculator!

It definitely made me feel more secure in my plans.

I also asked the question, "what would happen to my FIRE plans if I worked one more year and put X$ into my nest egg". The answer was -> almost nothing!"

but did you include the expected growth of your current stache? Once you have a nice pot perdulating, the additional inputs are just a fraction of the growth. Which is why coast fire works.

Right on.  That's what I'm talking about!

I've been making spreadsheets (I know, cliche) modeling out different contribution levels for me, dwindling over the next few year.  The difference between the amount I'm doing now on full time work and no contribution is only a few years.  Most of the work is being done by dollars multiplying while I sleep, in compound interest.

[SnipTheDog]

Here's another coast fire calculator:  https://walletburst.com/tools/coast-fire-calc/

[SnipTheDog]

I had some family that paid exorbitant amounts of health insurance premiums ($2k/mo) before they were able to turn 65 and go on medicare.  With ObamaCare, is this  still a problem?  They were in a state with only 2 providers and neither felt the need to compete.

[FIRE 20/20]

I had some family that paid exorbitant amounts of health insurance premiums ($2k/mo) before they were able to turn 65 and go on medicare.  With ObamaCare, is this  still a problem?  They were in a state with only 2 providers and neither felt the need to compete.

It totally depends on income as well as the state and county in which you live.  Lots of FIRE people (me included) optimize things to keep their income just below the cliffs.  I don't know my exact health care costs, but I think I pay roughly $50/mo. in premiums with a deductible of about $200 and an annual out of pocket max of around $700 or $1,000 or so. 

I have a friend who FIREd recently who is similar in most ways, but isn't able to optimize his income.  I think his payments are closer to $500/mo. with a deductible of $6k and an out of pocket max around $9k.  That's just for one person who has an income above the point where he can get ACA financial help. 

He's a few years older than I am, but other than that we're pretty similar except he has significant FIRE income while mine is generated via a Roth ladder so I can find the right income to generate each year to keep health care costs low. 

There are a bazillion calculators for ACA costs.  Find one, preferably the one for your state of residence and plug in your numbers.  Also do a little research on the cliffs, which are income levels relative to the Federal Poverty level (like 138%, 150%, 200%, 250%) for your tax situation (single, married, etc.) and find out if you can generate the right level of income to optimize your situation. 

[OurTown]

So I think we are going to do COASTFIRE in a couple of years.  I am going to keep my side gig, which I dearly love and which will bring in about $20-24k, all the way through electing SS benefits at age 70.  We also will still have a mortgage for about the first 5 years, so the withdrawal rate is about 6% at the beginning, then about 4.5% when the mortgage sunsets, then almost nothing when SS kicks in.  When I run this scenario through the Fidelity retirement-planning tool, I can't make it give me a "failure" even with "significantly below average" market conditions.   

[JupiterGreen]

So I think we are going to do COASTFIRE in a couple of years.  I am going to keep my side gig, which I dearly love and which will bring in about $20-24k, all the way through electing SS benefits at age 70.  We also will still have a mortgage for about the first 5 years, so the withdrawal rate is about 6% at the beginning, then about 4.5% when the mortgage sunsets, then almost nothing when SS kicks in.  When I run this scenario through the Fidelity retirement-planning tool, I can't make it give me a "failure" even with "significantly below average" market conditions.

well that's an amazing situation to be, congrats.

[Scandium]

It is, but with the very specific implication that you will pick up lower-pay, lower-skill work as needed. I'm personally not a fan of the label BaristaFIRE because I think it was created by the same folks who are weirdly convinced that if they leave their careers, the only options available to them to make money will be low-skill, entry level jobs.

I've lost count how many times I've seen people utterly convinced that their professional value will basically evaporate forever in a puff of smoke just because they wouldn't have the option to go back to their specific, highly compensated career.

It drives me batty how limiting so many people's thinking is. Meanwhile, the world of casual/part time/flexible paid work is absolutely, astronomically massive to the point of being essentially limitless.

This is me. I work in consulting/civil engineering, and I haven't asked, but I'm fairly certain that no company would hire me at any type of part/half time basis. The work require you to put in a full week (or more) to meet the client demands, and respond to things regularly. You can't really be out 2-3 workdays a week if that's when they expect an email back. Or they want the "3 weeks to create" report in 2 weeks. The value of 20 hrs/week of my work would be vastly less than the 50% savings in my salary (so then just hire someone else full time anyway).

I'm certainly willing to do some research and maybe ask around when I get closer to my FIRE number, but I'm not hopeful. I know some people who work as a 1099 contractor where they get their own work, or not. But then you're not really "part time", you're just a business owner who can choose to not take work for a few months of the year. Could be an option. But also how many times can you turn down work before clients stop calling you..?

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

[Turtle]

It is, but with the very specific implication that you will pick up lower-pay, lower-skill work as needed. I'm personally not a fan of the label BaristaFIRE because I think it was created by the same folks who are weirdly convinced that if they leave their careers, the only options available to them to make money will be low-skill, entry level jobs.

I've lost count how many times I've seen people utterly convinced that their professional value will basically evaporate forever in a puff of smoke just because they wouldn't have the option to go back to their specific, highly compensated career.

It drives me batty how limiting so many people's thinking is. Meanwhile, the world of casual/part time/flexible paid work is absolutely, astronomically massive to the point of being essentially limitless.

This is me. I work in consulting/civil engineering, and I haven't asked, but I'm fairly certain that no company would hire me at any type of part/half time basis. The work require you to put in a full week (or more) to meet the client demands, and respond to things regularly. You can't really be out 2-3 workdays a week if that's when they expect an email back. Or they want the "3 weeks to create" report in 2 weeks. The value of 20 hrs/week of my work would be vastly less than the 50% savings in my salary (so then just hire someone else full time anyway).

I'm certainly willing to do some research and maybe ask around when I get closer to my FIRE number, but I'm not hopeful. I know some people who work as a 1099 contractor where they get their own work, or not. But then you're not really "part time", you're just a business owner who can choose to not take work for a few months of the year. Could be an option. But also how many times can you turn down work before clients stop calling you..?

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

Perhaps if there is another Civil Engineer whose work you respect, you could do subcontract help to them when they are swamped, without having to worry about clients calling you directly during times you don't want to be working?  Like when they could use an extra set of hands/eyes on a specific project, perhaps?

[Extramedium]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

[Scandium]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

Yeah, maybe? Certainly not the worst jobs. I like beer, but think I prefer to drinking it to serving it to other people..
Friend who works in a fancy beer store was complaining they can't get people to work there for even $20/hr. Ok that sounds good for "minimum wage jobs". But, then I thought about it, and call me snobbish, but the idea of spending "half" my week, dealing with bosses, customers, to make $400 (before taxes!) is not extremally appealing either. I guess I'm one of those lazy entitled millennials (and certainly also because I make 3x that hourly now..)

[Weisass]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

Yeah, maybe? Certainly not the worst jobs. I like beer, but think I prefer to drinking it to serving it to other people..
Friend who works in a fancy beer store was complaining they can't get people to work there for even $20/hr. Ok that sounds good for "minimum wage jobs". But, then I thought about it, and call me snobbish, but the idea of spending "half" my week, dealing with bosses, customers, to make $400 (before taxes!) is not extremally appealing either. I guess I'm one of those lazy entitled millennials (and certainly also because I make 3x that hourly now..)

Is there anywhere you could work that connects to a hobby? A place where a discount might be worth the employment? If you are a sewer, maybe Joanns? IF you enjoy working on bikes, a bike shop? I worked at Trader Joes in high school and college, and it was awesome because I got discounts on food and made a bunch of friends. That seems like the ideal sort of COASTFire situation to me.

[mspym]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

Yeah, maybe? Certainly not the worst jobs. I like beer, but think I prefer to drinking it to serving it to other people..
Friend who works in a fancy beer store was complaining they can't get people to work there for even $20/hr. Ok that sounds good for "minimum wage jobs". But, then I thought about it, and call me snobbish, but the idea of spending "half" my week, dealing with bosses, customers, to make $400 (before taxes!) is not extremally appealing either. I guess I'm one of those lazy entitled millennials (and certainly also because I make 3x that hourly now..)

Is there anywhere you could work that connects to a hobby? A place where a discount might be worth the employment? If you are a sewer, maybe Joanns? IF you enjoy working on bikes, a bike shop? I worked at Trader Joes in high school and college, and it was awesome because I got discounts on food and made a bunch of friends. That seems like the ideal sort of COASTFire situation to me.

I like reading and picked up a proofreading gig in FIRE, which has played to my skills and interests.

[JupiterGreen]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

Yeah, maybe? Certainly not the worst jobs. I like beer, but think I prefer to drinking it to serving it to other people..
Friend who works in a fancy beer store was complaining they can't get people to work there for even $20/hr. Ok that sounds good for "minimum wage jobs". But, then I thought about it, and call me snobbish, but the idea of spending "half" my week, dealing with bosses, customers, to make $400 (before taxes!) is not extremally appealing either. I guess I'm one of those lazy entitled millennials (and certainly also because I make 3x that hourly now..)

Is there anywhere you could work that connects to a hobby? A place where a discount might be worth the employment? If you are a sewer, maybe Joanns? IF you enjoy working on bikes, a bike shop? I worked at Trader Joes in high school and college, and it was awesome because I got discounts on food and made a bunch of friends. That seems like the ideal sort of COASTFire situation to me.

This is a great idea. @Weisass also a good option. My partner and I are sort of in similar positions. We are high level in our specialized fields. We haven't quite figured out how we are going to pull the trigger, but these are two good options for part time work I hadn't thought of. The biggest obstacle we have right now is housing. Whatever we get for selling our current home will be 1/2 (if we are lucky) of what home prices are where we are moving too. So we have to evaluate our COAST FIRE plans carefully to cover housing. Wish we could take our sweet jobs with us, but alas.

[Scandium]

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

I think Bartender and barista sound like fun jobs.   I like cocktails, beer, etc., and I love coffee, and they're both environments of people enjoying themselves.  It would depend on the particular place, of course.  I also think about working in a bookstore, bike shop, record shop, anything involving an interest of my own.  The ability to accept (a certain amount of) lower pay rate because of your previous financial planning has great potential for a fun next life.

Yeah, maybe? Certainly not the worst jobs. I like beer, but think I prefer to drinking it to serving it to other people..
Friend who works in a fancy beer store was complaining they can't get people to work there for even $20/hr. Ok that sounds good for "minimum wage jobs". But, then I thought about it, and call me snobbish, but the idea of spending "half" my week, dealing with bosses, customers, to make $400 (before taxes!) is not extremally appealing either. I guess I'm one of those lazy entitled millennials (and certainly also because I make 3x that hourly now..)

Is there anywhere you could work that connects to a hobby? A place where a discount might be worth the employment? If you are a sewer, maybe Joanns? IF you enjoy working on bikes, a bike shop? I worked at Trader Joes in high school and college, and it was awesome because I got discounts on food and made a bunch of friends. That seems like the ideal sort of COASTFire situation to me.

Sure, good ideas. Maybe work at REI? But then I'd probably be net negative by buying too much lol:D
Think I'm just too spoiled from well-paid WFH office work to working retail; dealing with customers, nights and weekends/holidays. For $1500 a month? And if <30 hrs no benefits. Ehh, not very appealing to me. I'll calculate how much longer I'd need to stay in my current job to give me that income..
Search continue for something. Maybe it'll be different when/if I have lots of free time and I won't mind. And when kids are out of the house.

edit, some quick math;
Working to make an extra $10k per year
Would be about 6 months of part time ($20* 20 hrs * 6 months)
Obviously require $250,000 more saved

At my stache growth rate before retire this equate to about an extra year of working +- few months depending on assumptions.
I can go either way; one the one hand that's not a lot of hours to work to "save" quarter mill! But also an extra 12 months of work to never have to work retail ever? Also tempting!

[BicycleB]

At my stache growth rate before retire this equate to about an extra year of working +- few months depending on assumptions.
I can go either way; one the one hand that's not a lot of hours to work to "save" quarter mill! But also an extra 12 months of work to never have to work retail ever? Also tempting!

What a position of strength! Keep up the good work (whatever that turns out to be, haha).

[Villanelle]

It is, but with the very specific implication that you will pick up lower-pay, lower-skill work as needed. I'm personally not a fan of the label BaristaFIRE because I think it was created by the same folks who are weirdly convinced that if they leave their careers, the only options available to them to make money will be low-skill, entry level jobs.

I've lost count how many times I've seen people utterly convinced that their professional value will basically evaporate forever in a puff of smoke just because they wouldn't have the option to go back to their specific, highly compensated career.

It drives me batty how limiting so many people's thinking is. Meanwhile, the world of casual/part time/flexible paid work is absolutely, astronomically massive to the point of being essentially limitless.

This is me. I work in consulting/civil engineering, and I haven't asked, but I'm fairly certain that no company would hire me at any type of part/half time basis. The work require you to put in a full week (or more) to meet the client demands, and respond to things regularly. You can't really be out 2-3 workdays a week if that's when they expect an email back. Or they want the "3 weeks to create" report in 2 weeks. The value of 20 hrs/week of my work would be vastly less than the 50% savings in my salary (so then just hire someone else full time anyway).

I'm certainly willing to do some research and maybe ask around when I get closer to my FIRE number, but I'm not hopeful. I know some people who work as a 1099 contractor where they get their own work, or not. But then you're not really "part time", you're just a business owner who can choose to not take work for a few months of the year. Could be an option. But also how many times can you turn down work before clients stop calling you..?

Besides that I have no marketable skills. I can't "make" anything that isn't already on 100s of etsy stores for less money and better quality. The myriad of online freelance jobs, realtor, etc are equally saturated (and frankly soul-sucking). So yes that leave entry-level service jobs. Which I've never actually done, and don't feel a strong desire to enter in my 40s..

Bartender, barista, incompetent handyman? These are the options I guess..? I'd be happy to hear any suggestions that are not retail/service, or require unique talent in something

Is there some kind of civil engineering certification test?  Could you help people prepare for that? 

Unless DH is able to get some sort of cushy and appealing consulting type set-up, one of our plans is for both of us to sign up to be substitute teachers.  It's really the most flexible option I can think of.  If you have a regular tennis game on Tuesdays, you just mark yourself permanently unavailable on Tuesday.  If you will be traveling the first 2 weeks of Feb, not available.  If you get a phone call on a random Thursday and you are just feeling sleepy and want to go back to bed, you say no. 

You can generally choose the grades you want to be considered for, as well as which specific schools.  If you are decent, teachers will begin to request you specifically.  You can sign up with more than 1 district if that's a reasonable commute time for you (remembering that you can choose only the nearest schools) and also sign up with private schools. 

Mostly, I love the idea of never having to say no to anything because of your schedule.  Pay is pretty mediocre-low, but that's fine.

I'd also love to pick up some virtual ESL tutoring.  I did think in-person when I lived in Japan and it was a fantastic experience and it's truly the best I've ever felt about how good I was at a job.  I'm not sure how to get started, but I doubt it would be that hard to find at least 1-2 clients to meet with on a weekly Zoom. 

I also have a part-time, super flexible, remote copywriting gig.  Pay is low, but it's so flexible that I don't mind, and the work is usually semi-interesting because it forces me to research random topics, which I enjoy. I plan to keep that going long-term. Even if I only bring in a few thousand dollars a year, that's meaningful when you look at how much stache it replaced.  $5000=$125k you don't have to have saved, which is probably a year+ for nearly everyone, even looking at how much a large-ish stache would grow in that year. 

None of these are huge money, but they are probably all more than an actual newbie barista makes.