I Calculated My Coast FIRE Number and Quit My Job at 35

Three years ago, I had the job everyone wanted. Senior product manager at a tech company. $180,000 salary plus stock. Great benefits. Impressive title.

I was also miserable.

Every Sunday brought dread. Every Monday felt like a prison sentence. I fantasized about quitting but couldn’t see how—not with a mortgage, a family, and “only” $340,000 in retirement accounts.

Then I discovered Coast FIRE, ran the numbers, and everything changed.

The Number That Set Me Free

Coast FIRE is the point where your invested money will grow to your retirement goal through compound interest alone—without another dollar of contributions.

I’d never heard of it until a Reddit thread led me down a rabbit hole. The concept seemed too good to be true, so I ran my own numbers.

My situation at 35:

• Retirement savings: $340,000
• Target at 65: $2,000,000 (for $80,000/year at 4%)
• Expected real return: 6%

The math: $340,000 × (1.06)^30 = $1,954,000

I was already at Coast FIRE. My retirement was essentially funded.

Every hour I’d spent worrying about “saving enough” was wasted. The compound interest snowball was already big enough to finish the job on its own.

Run your own Coast FIRE calculation with our Coast FIRE Calculator.

The Shift in Thinking

This realization hit me like a truck.

For years, I’d stayed in jobs I hated because I “needed” to maximize my 401(k) contributions. I’d turned down interesting opportunities because they paid less. I’d accepted soul-crushing work because “that’s what adults do.”

All of it was unnecessary.

I didn’t need to earn $180,000. I didn’t need to climb the corporate ladder. I didn’t need to sacrifice my 30s for a retirement that was already funded.

I needed enough to cover current expenses. That’s it.

What I Did Next

I didn’t quit immediately. I’m not that impulsive. But knowing I was Coast FIRE changed every decision:

Month 1: Started saying no to projects I hated. Shocking nobody cared.

Month 3: Had an honest conversation with my manager about reducing scope. She was surprisingly supportive.

Month 6: Started exploring what I’d actually enjoy doing. Took an online course. Met people in different fields.

Month 9: Found a role at a small company that paid $95,000—almost half my previous salary. But the work was meaningful, the hours were reasonable, and I actually liked my coworkers.

Month 12: Made the leap.

The Math Still Works

My wife was skeptical. My parents thought I’d lost my mind. “You’re leaving $85,000 on the table!”

But here’s what they missed:

The extra $85,000 in salary wasn’t going to retirement—that was already funded. It would have gone to:

• Higher taxes (marginal rate ~35%)
• Lifestyle inflation (bigger house, nicer cars)
• Services to replace the time I didn’t have

After taxes and inevitable lifestyle creep, maybe $40,000 would have actually accumulated. In exchange for 50-hour weeks at a job I hated.

The trade wasn’t $85,000 for freedom. It was $40,000 for my 30s and 40s. I’ll take that deal every time.

What Coast FIRE Actually Requires

To be clear: Coast FIRE doesn’t mean not working. It means:

1. Your retirement is handled. Compound growth finishes the job.
2. You still need income. Current expenses don’t pay themselves.
3. But that income can be anything. It doesn’t need to maximize earnings.

I still work full-time. I still earn money. I just chose work I enjoy instead of work that pays the most.

The constraint changed from “maximize lifetime earnings” to “cover current expenses while being happy.” That’s a very different optimization problem.

Three Years Later

Life at 38 is unrecognizable from life at 35.

Work: I manage products at a 50-person company. The problems are interesting, my colleagues are kind, and nobody emails at midnight. I took a pay cut and got a life upgrade.

Time: I coach my kid’s soccer team. I read actual books. I have hobbies again. The Sunday dread is gone.

Money: We spend less because we’re happier. Miserable people spend money trying to feel better. Content people don’t need retail therapy.

Retirement accounts: I checked recently. $340,000 has become $462,000 in three years despite zero contributions. The snowball keeps rolling.

Would I Do It Again?

In a heartbeat.

The only regret is not running the numbers sooner. I spent years optimizing for maximum income when I should have optimized for maximum life.

Coast FIRE isn’t about being lazy or unambitious. It’s about recognizing when you’ve won the retirement game and can stop playing.

Finding Your Own Number

Your Coast FIRE number depends on:

• Current age - More time = lower number needed
• Target retirement age - Flexibility here matters
• Retirement goal - 25x annual expenses is standard
• Expected returns - 5-7% real is reasonable

Use our Coast FIRE Calculator to find your number. You might be closer than you think.

And if you’re not there yet? Use our Compound Interest Calculator to see when you’ll arrive. Having a concrete date changes how you think about every career decision between now and then.

The Question to Ask Yourself

Here’s what I wish someone had asked me at 30:

“If your retirement was already funded, what would you do with your career?”

Not “what would you do if you won the lottery?” That’s fantasy. But “what would you do if you only needed to cover current expenses?”

Would you stay in your current job? Take a pay cut for meaningful work? Start that business? Move to a cheaper city?

Coast FIRE makes these questions real. The answer might change your life.

It changed mine.

Calculate your Coast FIRE number with our Coast FIRE Calculator. The math only takes a minute. The implications might reshape the next 30 years.