BiggerPockets Money Podcast · Wednesday, September 16, 2026
The podcast episode "Is Coast FI Riskier Than Traditional FI?" discusses the concept of Coast FI, a retirement strategy where individuals save enough for their investments to grow to a desired amount by traditional retirement age without further contributions. Host Mindy Jensen and co-host Evan Lawler explore the potential risks and benefits of this approach.
“Coast FI is a little bit different. It's building a portfolio that is large enough such that it's projected to grow to when you reach traditional retirement age to sustain you in retirement. So you essentially coast to retirement once you reach your Coast FI number.”
“But Coast Fire, imagine if that situation had happened with Coast Fire. At age 30, you had $250,000, maybe you're banking on a million dollars, I'm making the numbers up on the fly here, but you get my point. That it's projected to grow to $1 million to when you reach traditional retirement age. And then you get to traditional retirement age and realize it's not enough. It's difficult in Coast Fire to be able to go back or continue. And now you're doing it without the decades of growth that really give Coast Fire its muscle, its power.”
“I'm wondering if people who are pursuing Coast FI, who are in the habit now of putting money away for retirement, when they hit their Coast FI number, do you really think it's realistic that they will never save another dime ever?”