Similar to my previous update, I'm not sure what people want to call it: Coast-FI. FIRE glide path or FIRE fattening. I recently turned 54, quit the "full-time" two years ago, and am otherwise enjoying FI while coasting into RE over a five-year timeline. This timeline aligns with my better-half's plan to wind down her own career.
Unlike my first year after resigning, I wasn't "half-time" remote with benefits this past year, and so I switched to my better-half's health plan through her employer. Before resigning, I was putting in 70-80hr/weeks between my consulting business and at the "dumpster fire" of a former employer. During year-one post-resignation, my goal was to stay below 40hr/week, and I finished the year averaging 35hr/week. For this past year, my goal was to get below 25hr/week with no decrease in income. From May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025, I billed almost exactly 25hr/week (1,210 hours total) and had my best consulting year yet. I had only one project that was in-person and they paid me 2.5x my normal rate plus expenses. Everything else was remote and mostly asynchronous, with few meetings. For this coming year, I'm hoping to get closer to 20hr/wk, but we'll see.
With all that extra time this past year, there has been a lot of traveling, more skiing and biking than ever, and plenty of energy to volunteer for all kinds of events and with many different organizations. Last summer we spent a few weeks in the Caribbean visiting with my family and friends. Similar to the last trip to see my family, we rented a condo on the beach rather than staying at my family's home. The separation is nice and so is the ability to roll out of bed and go for a swim in the morning. The trip ended on a sour note as a hurricane spoiled plans with friends for our final few days. So, I went back down on a solo trip for 10 days at the end of hurricane season which was great. However, our furnace broke in our home while I was away, leaving my better-half to heat our home using a wood stove for over a week.
We also went skiing in Japan for a few weeks in February, which was incredible. In addition to skiing, we spent a week in Tokyo, and were wowed by the city. My better-half was in Italy with her mother over the holidays and we'll be heading out on another extended European vacation shortly. In spite of all the travel, I managed to ski 70 days this past season, which is close to a record for me. Several ritzy ski getaways certainly helped. Also, huge accomplishments in my charitable endeavors this past year, but I'll save that for another time.
TIAAs, IRAs, other investments, and home equity all continue to grow. With steady rental income, we're still covering all housing expenses while living in a million dollar home and bringing in multiples in income of what we actually spend. Plenty of BTD this past year, and we still didn't spend even half of our income. The biggest development is my better-half coming to the realization that she doesn't need to be pension-eligible to FIRE at this point, and so our timeline to sell our current home and relocate may be as short as three more years rather than five to six more years. This is exciting news for both of us and would not have been possible had our LCOL area not been transformed into a HCOL area in just a few years.
I'm looking forward to more traveling this coming year, both with the better-half and solo. I've been putting in effort to reconnect with some of my friends from college, and plan to travel to see some more of them this coming year, along with planned trips to see family. My better-half just received a huge scholarship for a professional program in France later this summer, and so I'm excited for her to continue to grow in her career, even as she plans for her exit. Otherwise, I'm hoping for good health and more cooperative weather for our travels this year.
Year 1 update is here:
www.early-retirement.org
Unlike my first year after resigning, I wasn't "half-time" remote with benefits this past year, and so I switched to my better-half's health plan through her employer. Before resigning, I was putting in 70-80hr/weeks between my consulting business and at the "dumpster fire" of a former employer. During year-one post-resignation, my goal was to stay below 40hr/week, and I finished the year averaging 35hr/week. For this past year, my goal was to get below 25hr/week with no decrease in income. From May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025, I billed almost exactly 25hr/week (1,210 hours total) and had my best consulting year yet. I had only one project that was in-person and they paid me 2.5x my normal rate plus expenses. Everything else was remote and mostly asynchronous, with few meetings. For this coming year, I'm hoping to get closer to 20hr/wk, but we'll see.
With all that extra time this past year, there has been a lot of traveling, more skiing and biking than ever, and plenty of energy to volunteer for all kinds of events and with many different organizations. Last summer we spent a few weeks in the Caribbean visiting with my family and friends. Similar to the last trip to see my family, we rented a condo on the beach rather than staying at my family's home. The separation is nice and so is the ability to roll out of bed and go for a swim in the morning. The trip ended on a sour note as a hurricane spoiled plans with friends for our final few days. So, I went back down on a solo trip for 10 days at the end of hurricane season which was great. However, our furnace broke in our home while I was away, leaving my better-half to heat our home using a wood stove for over a week.
We also went skiing in Japan for a few weeks in February, which was incredible. In addition to skiing, we spent a week in Tokyo, and were wowed by the city. My better-half was in Italy with her mother over the holidays and we'll be heading out on another extended European vacation shortly. In spite of all the travel, I managed to ski 70 days this past season, which is close to a record for me. Several ritzy ski getaways certainly helped. Also, huge accomplishments in my charitable endeavors this past year, but I'll save that for another time.
TIAAs, IRAs, other investments, and home equity all continue to grow. With steady rental income, we're still covering all housing expenses while living in a million dollar home and bringing in multiples in income of what we actually spend. Plenty of BTD this past year, and we still didn't spend even half of our income. The biggest development is my better-half coming to the realization that she doesn't need to be pension-eligible to FIRE at this point, and so our timeline to sell our current home and relocate may be as short as three more years rather than five to six more years. This is exciting news for both of us and would not have been possible had our LCOL area not been transformed into a HCOL area in just a few years.
I'm looking forward to more traveling this coming year, both with the better-half and solo. I've been putting in effort to reconnect with some of my friends from college, and plan to travel to see some more of them this coming year, along with planned trips to see family. My better-half just received a huge scholarship for a professional program in France later this summer, and so I'm excited for her to continue to grow in her career, even as she plans for her exit. Otherwise, I'm hoping for good health and more cooperative weather for our travels this year.
Year 1 update is here:
Reflecting on the first year of my FIRE glide-path / Coast FIRE
Whatever people reading this want to call it, I recently turned 53 and this year went flying by. Some highs and a few lows, but overall wonderful! My former employer offered me a half-time remote role, which ended up being about 10/hr a week. The contract wrapped on a bit of a sour note that I...
www.early-retirement.org
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