Latest / The Financial Freedom Podcast with Fexingo: Quitting Your Job, Living Off Investments, Independence / How Two Couples Coasted to Early Retirement With Part-Time Work
Transcript
- Lucas: A lot of the early retirement conversation online assumes you quit working completely — cold turkey, never earn another dollar. But I think the more realistic path for many people is what's called Coast FIRE, where you keep working but at a much lower intensity. Luna: We've touched on Coast FIRE before in episode 127, but I want to go deeper today — specifically, what does the actual day-to-day look like for someone who coasts? And how do you know you've saved enough to pull the trigger? Lucas: Right. So let's anchor this with two case studies. The first is a friend of mine, Sarah. She was a senior marketing manager at a mid-size software company in Austin. At age 40, she had about $800,000 in her 401k and a paid-off condo worth $350,000. Luna: Eight hundred thousand at 40 — that's serious saving. What was her target? Lucas: She ran the numbers assuming a 5 percent real return — conservative, but she wanted a buffer. She figured if she stopped contributing entirely, that $800,000 would grow to about $2.1 million by age 62. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate, that's $84,000 a year in today's dollars. Luna: So she wasn't ready to retire at 40, but she was ready to stop saving aggressively. Lucas: Exactly. She quit her full-time job and found a part-time marketing gig at a nonprofit for $35,000 a year. That covered her property taxes, HOA, utilities, groceries, health insurance — she's on a high-deductible plan with an HSA — and she still has money left over for travel. Luna: So her part-time income covers all her living expenses, and her nest egg just sits and compounds. That's the classic Coast FIRE model. Lucas: Right. She doesn't touch the $800,000 until she fully retires. And she's happy because her part-time role is 20 hours a week, mostly remote, and she actually enjoys the work more without the pressure of a full-time career ladder. Luna: I think a lot of listeners might be surprised that $800,000 is enough to coast on. But the key is her expenses are low — she owns her home, she's in a moderate cost of living city. Lucas: Exactly. The second case is a couple, Mark and Jen, both former teachers in Ohio. They saved $500,000 by their mid-40s. Their plan was similar — Mark now works as a substitute teacher three days a week, earning about $18,000 a year. Jen runs a small Etsy shop for about $12,000. Luna: So combined, $30,000 a year from these part-time gigs. Are they covering all their expenses? Lucas: Pretty close. Their expenses are about $34,000 a year. They have a $4,000 gap, which they cover by withdrawing a small amount from their portfolio — about 0.8 percent. So their $500,000 is still growing faster than it's shrinking. Luna: That's a really important nuance. Coast FIRE doesn't mean you never touch your savings. It means your savings are growing enough that small withdrawals don't derail the long-term plan. Lucas: Right. And in their case, they're essentially at a 0.8 percent withdrawal rate right now, but they're still earning income. As they age, they might increase the withdrawal, but the portfolio has decades to compound. Luna: What about health insurance? That's often the biggest obstacle for early retirees. How are these two cases handling it? Lucas: Sarah uses a high-deductible plan through the ACA marketplace with a subsidy. Her part-time income of $35,000 keeps her in a bracket where she gets a decent premium tax credit. Mark and Jen are on a similar ACA plan — their $30,000 income qualifies them for subsidies too. Luna: So the part-time income actually helps with healthcare costs, because it keeps them above the Medicaid threshold in their states. Lucas: Exactly. If they had zero income, they'd have to navigate Medicaid, which can be tricky depending on the state. Having some earned income makes the ACA math work better. Luna: One thing I want to highlight: both of these cases involve people who genuinely enjoy at least some work. Coast FIRE isn't for someone who hates their job and wants out completely. Lucas: Great point. Sarah actually told me she enjoys her nonprofit work more than her corporate job because she has more autonomy and less stress. And Mark says substitute teaching is fun — he gets to work with kids without the grading and parent meetings. Luna: So the mindset shift is from 'I need to maximize income' to 'I need to find work that covers my expenses and gives me time.' Lucas: Exactly. And the numbers are surprisingly achievable for many people. If you're 35 with $300,000 saved and you assume a 5 percent real return, you'd have about $1.3 million at 65. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate, that's $52,000 a year. So if you can cover your expenses with a part-time job until then, you're coasting. Luna: That's a powerful realization. And it's not just for people in tech or high-paying fields. Teachers, nurses, retail managers — anyone with a decent savings rate can make it work. Lucas: One more thing I want to mention: the job market in 2026 is actually pretty friendly to part-time work. Wage growth in sectors like healthcare, education, and hospitality has been running above pre-pandemic trends. So the $30,000 or $35,000 these people are earning has more purchasing power. Luna: And remote work options have opened up a lot of part-time opportunities that didn't exist five years ago. Sarah's nonprofit job is fully remote. Lucas: Right. So if you're considering Coast FIRE, the first step is to figure out your 'coast number' — the amount you need invested today to reach your full retirement goal without any further contributions. There are calculators online, but the basic formula is just future value math. Luna: And once you have that number, you can start looking for part-time work that covers your expenses. The bar is lower than you think. Lucas: Exactly. And if today's episode helped you think about that math a little differently — maybe you've been running the numbers yourself — honestly, if it was worth a coffee to you, that's the link. buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's the smallest ask I can make, and it genuinely keeps this show ad-free. Luna: Yeah, I think that's fair. We put a lot of research into each episode, and listener support is what lets us keep doing it without sponsors. Lucas: So back to the cases — the other thing I'd note is that both Sarah and Mark and Jen have a 'stop gap' plan if their part-time income dries up. Sarah has a freelance marketing side hustle she can tap into. Mark could pick up an extra day of substituting. Luna: Flexibility is built into the model. You're not locked into one job because you're not dependent on a high salary. Lucas: Right. And that's the real freedom of Coast FIRE — it's not about never working again. It's about having the choice to work on your own terms. Luna: I think a lot of listeners could aim for that kind of life. It's less extreme than full FIRE, but it's still a huge step up from the traditional retire-at-65 path. Lucas: Absolutely. So if you're in your 30s or 40s with a solid nest egg and a job that's burning you out, consider whether Coast FIRE could be your off-ramp. Run the numbers, look for a lower-stress gig, and give yourself permission to slow down.