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BiggerPockets Money Podcast · Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Defining Coast FI: A Hybrid Approach to Financial Independence

Evan Lawler defines Coast Financial Independence (FI) as a hybrid approach where individuals front-load their retirement investing to a point where investments are projected to grow sufficiently by retirement age. This strategy allows them to 'coast' in their later years, covering day-to-day expenses without further investment.

The tape

3 quotes
Yeah, coastfire, I like to think of it kind of a hybrid form of financial independence, because it's really FI, not RE. So financial independence but not retiring early.
Evan Lawler
It's front-loading your retirement investing such that you reach a point that your investments are projected to grow, such that when you reach retirement age, your portfolio should be able to sustain you in retirement.
Evan Lawler
So you actually spend a lot of your time coasting to retirement where you just cover your day-to-day expenses, but no longer need to invest towards retirement.
Evan Lawler
Heard on BiggerPockets Money Podcast — “Should You Choose Coast FI or Go All In on FIRE?, published Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
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Defining Coast FI: A Hybrid Approach to Financial Independence — Heardvine