He Retired Early, She Didn’t: A Coast FI Case Study

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Would this arrangement work well for you and your partner? Let us know!

[@vinc3ps]

Love this episode. Erik's experiences basically mirror my own down to a T - I've been saving & working tech for 20 years, got two young kids, wife's employed at a place that has a pension. We've been thinking about me retiring early (Stay at home dad) while my partner continues & looking at pulling the trigger over the next year or two. Would love to see where Erik's at in 6 months.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

@@vinc3ps thanks! so glad you liked it. best wishes to you on your own journey

[@michaelmartz9270]

Good episode. I see his situation as more in line with becoming a stay-at-home parent than retirement. Granted he has budgeted for this and doesn't need to work from a financial perspective given that his wife is still earning an income. I'm about your same age and when I was growing up most of my friend's mom's didn't work. They never said they were "retired" they were simply raising the kids while the dads earned the money. It would be interesting to explore what his vision of retirement looks like once his kids are older and his wife is retired.

[@papasquat355]

I FIRE'd around and found out 5 months ago at 56. So far, despite several family tragedies, it is the best decision I have ever made. I am constantly being asked to go back to work by several non-family friends, but I am enjoying my free time for the first time since I was 15. I am now teaching my child the steps needed to FIRE in the post-pension world. I am absolutely certain that we have a generation entering the workforce today that will be completely unprepared at the end of their careers to retire and survive financially.

[@DividendGrowthInvesting]

Wow..... This resonated with me so much... Like Erik, I also got laid off this year and it led me to take the leap of faith and retire. We didn't reach our goal of regular FIRE, but decided to go with Barista FIRE. lol like Erik, I'm a stay at home dad watching our 2.5 year old. lol also retired from working in tech. Like looking in a mirror.

[@davidSh96]

Thanks so much for your videos. I'm just turning 27 and your videos have inspired me and guided me to start on the FIRE path.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thank you! Best wishes to you in all things.

[@tlister67]

I just retired 3 weeks ago at 55, my wife is still working. She started her career much later going to school in her late 30s early 40s. She is not burned out yet and will stay working until she decides she is done (~3-5 years). My job had a benefit "step change" at 55 which kept me there. I did work part time remote the last 4 years, which did cost me some in the pension calculator but was very beneficial to my health. She could retire now too, but this certainly makes any thought of dealing with the gap to 401K mute. I started my job in 2000 and had built up lots of stress around that whole environment which was a feast or famine roller coaster. I had fought the battles and became jaded to the game. I am simply taking time now to decompress from that before making any future plans.

[@ahan6288]

Loved this episode. I FIREd 2m ago too, so far just like a long holiday weekend. Still have my house todo list, bucket list etc. Main difference pre/post FIRE, I’m not checking those spreadsheets as much. Previously they were always handy on my work laptop, but now I can go days without turning my personal laptop on!

[@patriciagolding7092]

I really enjoyed this. Can’t wait to see what his future holds!

[@kr9825]

Can we just pause a second to appreciate "Skankenstein" 🏁

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

as one of our own flyers boldly claimed, we were almost certainly the Mohawk Valley's #1 ska band! i mean, it's not exactly hard to do when there is no other ska band in said area...

[@jonathandaniels9910]

Love when you guys have guests...always such pertinent and interesting sub-topics within FIRE

[@jondiaz3475]

So many doctors never FIRE. Leaving college $300k in debt, then immediately ramping up lifestyle after years in poverty as a resident keeps a lot of them pinned down to the end. Glad to see Eric's doctor wife moving along with an end date in sight.

[@raddiemutto7934]

Most doctors hire a nurse practitioner to do their work for them. Then they are off to the Caribbean or who the hell knows where. Why would they ever retire from that?

[@jasonedwards2571]

I can relate to a lot of this because I also became a dad at an older age. And my wife are having these conversations now. I would like to retire and she would not. I am 50 and she is 48. Thanks for the great content.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Best wishes to you, Jason. Thanks for your support!

[@lmpreston1]

I plan to FIRE out before my husband. He works remote, likes what he does and it covers our health insurance. We do have an exit plan for him though.

[@davidfolts5893]

Great show, gents! Thanks for your commitment to top-notch content!

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thank you, David!

[@davidfolts5893]

@@TwoSidesOfFI My pleasure, indeed.

[@angelaredwine9800]

This is what my husband and I are aiming for! Me leaving the workforce in the next few years and him continuing to work. It can be hard to plan for because it doesn’t really feel like retirement since he will still be working. Fortunately he owns his company and only works about half the year. I really appreciate this episode and the perspective!

[@Kim60610]

Three sides of FI ... love it!

[@mark-old-man-golf]

Great discussion. I retired last year from IT and my wife works 1 day a week. My summer job was working at a golf course 1-2 days a week.

[@KG-oe8oo]

Yay! A new episode!

[@gillianrivers9053]

Very good. I can relate, thank you for sharing.❤

[@401KDexters]

I just FIRE'd last Friday. I've had one dream about filling out my timesheet, but no "void" exists. I've made a list of large and small projects for me to accomplish on my schedule. My wife and I have walked 2+ miles each morning and another mile each afternoon. Retirement feels great!! I have documented my retirement journey and show our homestead that we will move to next year on our KZbin channel....having fun with it all!!!

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Congrats! Sounds like you’re off to a great start. Do be sure to keep us posted on how you’re doing. Best wishes to you in all things.

[@401KDexters]

I am interested in the "feelings" that Eric eludes to frequently. I think that aspect is what many people are interested in, so will concentrate on that in my videos.

[@kay203]

I'll be in a very similar situation in future. My wife's pension (nurse) difference at 59 vs 60 is crazy, so she'll at least work part time until 60 while I'm targeting to retire at around 50~55

[@EBsDenStudio]

Great episode/case, thanks for sharing... It is interesting to see a case like this, another example for Eric 😆👍🏻

[@slrobertson]

I really enjoyed this episode. Like Erik, my wife and I waited a little longer than most to have kids. I’m 53, my wife is 50 and we have two girls aged 11 and 6. I try to find and embrace the opportunities that being older parents can afford us: my wife stopped working just before our first daughter was born and has been a stay-at-home mom ever since. I have worked as a university research scientist my entire career since grad school - nearly 30 years now. We learned about FIRE only a few years ago, and like Jason and Eric, I’m glad I didn’t latch onto this idea too early. We have so many wonderful memories of travel and adventure from before and with our kids. We could have reached financial independence a little faster by spending less on these experiences, and we might have done so if we had learned about FIRE earlier, but I’m glad we heavily invested in these memories instead. I’m planning to retire in 2024, taking advantage of the IRS’ “rule of 55”. I had to laugh hearing Erik mention retiring early to Portugal since we had the exact same thoughts a couple years ago - geo-arbitrage in Portugal or Italy. Our current plans include switching from public school to homeschooling our kids while doing months-long stints of slow world travel, so-called “world-schooling”. We figure that another benefit of being FI parents of young children is that we have a rare opportunity to spend most of our time traveling the world with them and teaching them before they decide they might want to go back to traditional school as teenagers, and before they’re out of our house on their own. We have been trialing extended travel with them the past three summers with two to three month road trips in Europe and at the end of each of these trips, no one was really ready to come back home 😄. We’re looking forward to being more free to travel outside school holidays for the next few years.

[@iken5057]

Great show as always! Jason and Eric, curious about your take on international index funds and asset allocation in the decades to come. I’m 27, so likely with a long time horizon ahead of me. The US has of course historically been the safest bet in terms of investments, but I can’t help thinking about the rest of the world developing economically and the fact that “empires” never last. On top of the US’s outsized CAPE ratio in recent years and studies from groups like Schwab showing international funds being projected to slightly outpace the U.S. in the next 10 years... Curious to hear your thoughts on this since I think it isn’t discussed much in the FIRE community. Thanks!

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thanks! Both of us hold international index funds and have for a very long time. It's common to find people holding 10-30% of their equity allocation in these kinds of funds. I don't know Eric's current allocation (see earlier eps for historical details) but for myself, about 20% of my equity allocation (and 15% of total AA) is in VXUS. History demonstrates that no one fixed AA will continue to outperform all others over time. Diversification is the key.

[@EricZedalis-bs2gn]

Love the show! I found it on Spotify about 2 months ago, and I went back to the beginning and have consumed all of your content (minus a few eps that didn't seem relevant to me) thus far in just that short time. (BINGING for me, esp. considering I took no road trips in that time) Even though a lot of your content is seemingly more fit for those closer to FI than me (I'm 37 with a goal to FIRE by 55), I still find your conversations very interesting as they help me clarify my "why?" and think aspirational - not just in terms of the numbers but what I want for my life in the present and the future. A lot of your conversations focus on asset allocation...and Eric, in particular, was worried about his abundance of equities/lack of bonds. My question is: Do either of you, with the benefit of hindsight, wish you'd invested in Target Index funds to make your glide path easier? Or do you think said funds would not have invested aggressively enough to get you to your goals?

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Jason here - Thank you! We truly appreciate your support. That's a lot of binging! At times I did have target index funds. I do like them particularly for folks earlier in their journey when they can make a whole lot of sense when simplicity is the primary goal. That said, they can be a bit conservative in their approach i.e. holding a pretty high bond allocation early on. It's a personal question of course, but it's important to model the impact of having a higher % bonds when considering what growth will look like over time. Best wishes to you!

[@anniealexander9616]

Great video! I guess I'm opposite of everything. Me and my ex husband were completely incompatible in finances. He lives paycheck to paycheck and eyeballs deep in debt. He walked away to go live with his parents and sit at the bar everynight when our daughter was 6 years old. I stayed at home with her and got by on rental income. When she got older, i went back to work. I enjoy working, learning, and making new friends. All my children are grown and i feel like by working, i can improve their lives. I gave my oldest children free homes. So, I'm focused on rebuilding my retirement. The way i see it, the homes gave me time to be home with my daughter. Now they are keeping my kids from crazy rent or a mortgage. I'm 51 and my kids are 32, 30, 19.

[@donaldlee6760]

You have an interesting story. I'm curious what triggered you to build a mini real estate empire?

[@joemyers]

I did the same. Wife needed another 2 years for that good pension. I'm 2 years older. I was 55. She will be too with full pension. If it works, it works!

[@LoriLWorden]

My husband is 50 and in Tech. Tough field to be in as you get older. I am a few years younger and work in HR in local government (good medical benefits & promised pension). I can definitely foresee working longer than my husband. I would like to try to stick it out until 60. My job is not too stressful and I can work from home 3-days/week. We still have the big financial milestones to hit = mortgage & college. Plus, my desired retirement lifestyle includes an expensive purchase (Boat!) :)

[@BruceXuHasADream]

Wait, what’s the FI number? How do I find that out lol

[@lilsaint91]

Sirs what age do you think is the best to retire at? Assuming one is fairly confident he has enough money since his mid 40s

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Jason here - 1) The age at which you have sufficient means to fund your lifestyle for your (and any dependents) lifespan without requiring additional employment-based income. This part is pretty easy to figure out. When you've achieved it, you're financially independent (FI) AND 2) When you're certain you're no longer interested in working. This is rather individual and therefore can't be defined for others. Many in the FIRE community elect to retire immediately upon achieving FI. They no longer wish to work for others in a full-time capacity, under someone else's priorities, and under their timelines. Some still work but only part time, as consultants, or otherwise "for themselves". Some retire completely. You've got to work out what feels best for you. To be sure, stepping away from one's chosen career is not a trivial decision nor one without consequences. Good luck

[@mark-old-man-golf]

How old is Erik’s wife if she has to work to 60?

[@noraz12]

She's 48. To be clear, she does NOT NEED to work until 60. We're close to our FI number. However, she wants to work until 60. Just 11.5 years to go!

[@mark-old-man-golf]

@@noraz12 Thanks.

[@christinab9133]

❤❤❤

[@nata3467]

I must have missed this how old is his wife?

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

just a few years younger

[@JeremyGo-GoYears]

This episode was interesting but a bit cringey. If a woman left her job to care for children while her spouse still worked full time we would not use the word "retirement." In fact, we would find it offensive to say that. We would say she is working full time, but just not for pay. What your guest describes may very well turn out to require him to work just as hard as when he was employed for pay, and not at all retirement. Thanks for the interesting discussion in any case.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

You're cringing at his own personal definition of 'retirement'? It's his choice and his journey to define.

[@OhyeahImFine]

They Came From Space?

[@Crazyreseller]

Other than a high income job, I can’t see why anyone would want to live in Cali.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Guess you've never visited...

[@tylercampbell6058]

The weather and geography are nice too. But lots of downsides.

[@patriciagolding7092]

And….He probably needs to watch the old movie ‘Mr. Mom’ .

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

a classic! north to drop off, south to pick up. you're doing it wrong.

[@AwedOne]

She's trading the precious. limited time with her kids to work long hours and weekends - just to get more money at age 60. What a shame.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Everyone's priorities are different. If she finds fulfillment in her career and believes it's worth the sacrifice, then that's her choice to make. We all have our unique paths to happiness.