42yo, coastFIRE at 46

[Patience]

Hi all!
Have spent time on bogleheads. Like it there, though RE isn't very popular. Was happy to find this forum and so many like-minded individuals

Me 42yo, DW 42yo, 4 kids still at home, elementary through highschool.
Stereotypical midlife crisis. Good income, but burned out. Missed a lot of the kids' childhoods and looking back wonder if it was worth it.
Parents both died mid to late 50s, respectively, when the kids were little bringing awareness to my own mortality. I'm not expecting to see past 60 yo, want to enjoy whats left but also want to set DW up for her long life expectancy (90 yo runs in her family).

Have about $1.5m in assetts including the house, small mortgage remaining. Hoping to continue to push for another 4 years and then scale back to part time at age 46. FIRE at 50. But Im taking health very seriously these days and already reduced my hours from 60 to 45/wk. Making time for exercise, home cooked meals and rest to keep blood pressure under control. We pay for our own insurance so that's already in the budget. Saving around 65% of our take home pay. Hopefully that's enough.

Thank you everyone who contributes! I've enjoyed reading your posts thus far and hope to get to know you.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I’m glad you’ve got the health issues on the front burner. Those are job 1.

Seems like you’re doing well. Great savings rate!

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Eastfolk]

What are your annual expenses, current income and current net worth without the house? Wondering if you can start cutting back now instead of grinding it out another four years. My guess is you probably can’t quite yet, but it’s worth consideration. Personally if I know that I’m not living past 60, I don’t know that I would wait until 50 to FIRE.

I understand the desire to set up your family, but can you perhaps just get life insurance to fill the gap rather than grinding longer?

 

[pjigar]

Your savings rate is great but the devil is in the detail. Your spending amount is the biggest variable so if you want useful advice then share details on your spending and investments.

Having said that, RE is possible in a decade with that kind of savings rate. I was in a similar spot a decade ago. I had a wake up call, ratcheted out savings rate to around 60% in a few year. I also switched job to less demanding one 6 years ago. Now we are FI but still coasting until fatFIRE. My job is not stressful and exciting so I can coast as long as I want but I will most likely call it off before 55.

 

[MarieIG]

It's smart that you're taking your health seriously. It's your most important asset. Preparing for retirement is important - but so is living your life along the way.

 

[pacergal]

It's smart that you're taking your health seriously. It's your most important asset. Preparing for retirement is important - but so is living your life along the way.

+1
Welcome to the Forum!

 

[cooch96]

We have similar metrics. I start coastFIRE in July at 46 with a similar sized nut. DF is still alive, but his cognitive skills have been slipping for years and several uncles and all my grandfathers passed in their 40's to 60's. One life, one chance. We need to make the most of it.

Welcome!

 

[Patience]

What are your annual expenses, current income and current net worth without the house? Wondering if you can start cutting back now instead of grinding it out another four years. My guess is you probably can’t quite yet, but it’s worth consideration. Personally if I know that I’m not living past 60, I don’t know that I would wait until 50 to FIRE.

I understand the desire to set up your family, but can you perhaps just get life insurance to fill the gap rather than grinding longer?

Was planning on submitting a proper planning post for evaluation elsewhere, but the spending is high. Household of 6, the kids are very active in extracurriculars and DW and I like to travel. Cut back this year though to take advantaged of some investment opportunities.


We have term (500k each) and whole life insurance (100k each)
I was warned about taking out policies for over 1m. Something about underwriting? My policies are expensive because of my parents early deaths.

 

[Patience]

Your savings rate is great but the devil is in the detail. Your spending amount is the biggest variable so if you want useful advice then share details on your spending and investments.

Having said that, RE is possible in a decade with that kind of savings rate. I was in a similar spot a decade ago. I had a wake up call, ratcheted out savings rate to around 60% in a few year. I also switched job to less demanding one 6 years ago. Now we are FI but still coasting until fatFIRE. My job is not stressful and exciting so I can coast as long as I want but I will most likely call it off before 55.

That's reassuring thank you, and wonderful about the career change. Mine is stressful, but comes with a great deal of flexibility. As long as I'm in savings mode, I'm kind of stuck where I am. Would be illogical to go elsewhere, albeit refreshing to dream.

 

[Patience]

We have similar metrics. I start coastFIRE in July at 46 with a similar sized nut. DF is still alive, but his cognitive skills have been slipping for years and several uncles and all my grandfathers passed in their 40's to 60's. One life, one chance. We need to make the most of it.

Welcome!

Congratulations on reaching coast! There are colleagues in my field still working full time in their late 70s. They tell me it's easier when the kids are out of the house and to hold on until then. Can't exactly tell anyone that I don't plan on being around that long. Would probably lose my job, or at the very least my credibility.

 

[someguy]

Welcome! If you are not paid hourly, challenge yourself to work another 25% fewer hours (call it 30/week) without anyone else noticing a change in your productivity. Obviously, there're a million variables at play here, but it has worked brilliantly for me and a number of others in my close circle. In my case, my productivity and total income went UP even though I was working significantly less. I also found this process jettisoned a lot of the crap that disproportionally made work feel like work.

 

[Patience]

Welcome! If you are not paid hourly, challenge yourself to work another 25% fewer hours (call it 30/week) without anyone else noticing a change in your productivity. Obviously, there're a million variables at play here, but it has worked brilliantly for me and a number of others in my close circle. In my case, my productivity and total income went UP even though I was working significantly less. I also found this process jettisoned a lot of the crap that disproportionally made work feel like work.

That is great advice and I hope to try that again soon. Being mostly contract work, I was able to reduce hours from 60 to 40 through a combination of raising rates and streamlining processes resulting in very little hiccup. At this time it may not be possible to reduce hours any further without loss of income.

 

[Eastfolk]

We have term (500k each) and whole life insurance (100k each)
I was warned about taking out policies for over 1m. Something about underwriting? My policies are expensive because of my parents early deaths.

Curious what the details are around the term and whole life policies (premiums, length (for the term), cash value on the whole life, etc.). Whole life policies are generally not advised but maybe it makes sense in your situation. Although at a high level, it seems redundant to have both unless your term policy is expiring soon, the premiums on the whole life is very low, or a combination of both. You may want to look into this.

 

[NgineER]

Welcome to the forum - lots of good advice to be found here. Congratulations on your nut, but as others have said, Great savings rate overall - how does that stack up against your invested assets? Is it still a high contributor towards your net worth increase? Are your annual contributions 1 or 10% of your invested assets? That will also help determine when you can start coasting.

 

[HI Bill]

Welcome! Don't assume that because your parents had short lifespans that you will. My father's dad died having open heart surgery in his 60s. My dad then had a 5-way bypass at age 58. He's 86 now, having outlived my mom who died at 81 after a fall and dementia. The actuarial tables (without considering health) gave my father number of 76. He never exercised routinely, but he did drastically cut out saturated fat and sugar in his diet. All that said, health is uncertain. Do everything you can to stay healthy, and ER at the first reasonable time. I waited till 55, and due to COVID, lost out on two years of travel, followed by 1.5 years due to health issues. Carpe diem!

 

[Koolau]

Welcome to the forums. Feel free to share whatever you are comfortable with - especially about spending. Check back often.