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Welcome to the latest episode of the Physician Cents Podcast, where we explore complex financial topics tailored specifically for physicians. Whether you're a medical student, resident, fellow, or attending physician, you're going to find valuable insights that can help you increase your financial IQ, further your financial journey, and improve your overall well-being. Hosted by Chad Chubb and Tyler Olson, let’s dive in!
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In this episode, we're digging into Coast FIRE for physicians. It's a framework for answering a question we hear constantly from mid-career doctors: "I've saved diligently for years. Can I ease up without putting retirement at risk?"
Coast FIRE is the point where your existing retirement investments are projected to grow to your retirement target on their own, without substantial new contributions. Your current earnings only need to cover today's living expenses.
FIRE stands for "Financial Independence, Retire Early." The "Coast" version is different. It isn't about leaving medicine at 45. It's about taking your foot off the savings accelerator so your portfolio does more of the future work.
The key word is could. Coast FIRE is a planning framework, not a guarantee.
Your Coast FIRE number is the invested balance that, given reasonable assumptions, is projected to reach your retirement goal by your target date.
To estimate it, you'll need:
Use consistent assumptions. If you use an inflation-adjusted return, express spending in today's dollars too. Mixing nominal returns with real spending is one of the easiest ways to produce a falsely optimistic answer.
Remember that traditional (pre-tax) retirement withdrawals are generally taxable. A $3 million pre-tax balance doesn't equal $3 million of spending power.
If you haven't put a number on your retirement target yet, start there. WealthKeel's guide on how much you need to retire as a physician walks through a simple planning framework you can use as a foundation.
Many physicians genuinely enjoy medicine. What they don't enjoy is the volume: the nights, the call, the inbox, the five-day clinic week.
Reaching your Coast FIRE milestone could support:
Your paycheck still needs to cover your household's current needs. Coast FIRE changes what you need to save, not what you need to earn.
Don't measure your timeline against an unusually high earner who saves enormous amounts every year. Your specialty, student loans, family responsibilities, and cost of living all shape your path.
Chasing the earliest possible retirement date also has costs that never show up on a spreadsheet: missed family time, burnout, and a lower quality of life today. As we talk about on the show, more choice is the goal, not a race to the finish line.
A projection can look reassuring simply because its assumptions are reassuring. Give it a tougher test before you hand in a schedule-change request.
Model versions of your plan with:
Ask yourself: Does this still work if things don't go my way?
Include irregular expenses like home repairs, car replacements, and family travel. One "good" month is not your true cost of living.
Money earmarked for college, emergencies, or a near-term home purchase can't also count toward your Coast FIRE number. The same dollars can't fund several goals at once.
Important: A Coast FIRE projection usually assumes your portfolio stays invested. Spending it to replace lost income changes the math entirely.
A reduced FTE doesn't always mean a proportional reduction in workload. Before committing, clarify:
Get the arrangement documented before you treat the lower salary as your new baseline.
Being mathematically on track and feeling secure aren't the same thing. A reasonable cash cushion can make a reduced schedule much easier to sustain when life gets expensive.
You don't have to wait for retirement to benefit from financial progress. Sometimes the next dollar buys more breathing room at home than another retirement contribution buys peace of mind.
This idea connects to what WealthKeel calls quiet wealth: using money to buy time and calm rather than status.
You generally have two levers:
How to compare them:
Before changing your schedule, answer one question: What would I do with a free afternoon?
Then test it now:
You don't need a fully funded retirement to discover that you love hiking or hate planning vacations.
Talk with your household, too. Your ideal schedule may look different from your partner's. A good change fits everyone who shares your time, responsibilities, and budget.
A large portfolio doesn't automatically give you usable cash. If reduced work means drawing on investments before traditional retirement age, your account mix matters as much as your balance.
Before you reduce work, map out:
You may need no investment withdrawals at all if part-time earnings cover your expenses. That distinction matters, because pausing contributions and taking withdrawals produce very different projections.
The right mix depends on your tax rate today, your expected income later, and when you'll need the money.
Avoid both extremes. Don't dismiss pre-tax savings because future withdrawals are taxable, and don't assume Roth is automatically better. Compare the tax cost now with the expected tax cost later.
A large pre-tax balance can create sizable required minimum distributions (RMDs) later in life. Those withdrawals can push your taxable income up even when you don't need the cash. Your birth year and account type determine when RMDs begin.
Cutting back to part-time can create lower-income years, which may be an opportunity for Roth conversions. Keep these points in mind:
Roth conversions aren't right for everyone. For a balanced look, see WealthKeel's breakdown of reasons a Roth conversion might be a bad idea and Kiplinger's overview of times you should skip a Roth conversion.
Not necessarily. Reaching the milestone doesn't require you to stop contributing. An employer match may still be well worth capturing, and continued savings give you a buffer against lower returns or changing goals. Review the full plan before redirecting money, rather than treating the milestone as an automatic stop sign.
Student loan payments belong in the budget your reduced income must support. If you're pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), confirm employment eligibility before changing hours or employers. Reducing work can affect your forgiveness timeline, not just your monthly cash flow.
You still depend on your earnings while coasting, so disability insurance often remains important. Review your individual policy and any employer coverage before changing roles or hours. Don't cancel protection just because your retirement projection looks healthy. Your current household expenses still need funding if you can't work.
Yes, but the household plan needs to support it. Include both incomes, shared expenses, benefits, and retirement goals in the calculation. Talk through how unpaid household work will shift, too, so the decision feels fair to both partners.
Coast FIRE isn't a finish line. It's a checkpoint that can give you more choice before retirement. That freedom depends on three things:
Before reducing work, confirm what the change would cost and how much time it would give back. A sustainable schedule lets your savings keep growing while you enjoy more of the life you've been working so hard to fund.
Want the full conversation between Chad and Tyler on Coast FIRE, part-time work, and buying back your time?
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The best of the best list is a paid sponsorship, but these are professionals/companies that Tyler and Chad collaborate with within their own practices or have been vetted to earn a spot on this list. By supporting our sponsors, it allows Chad & Tyler to dedicate more time to you and the Physician Cents community. If you ever have a question (or not a great experience, which we don’t expect!) about a sponsor, please let us know. We call it the “best of the best” for a reason, and we will maintain that standard for our listeners & viewers.
This information is for general purposes only. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific professional financial, tax, or legal advice, as individual circumstances vary. Please see a financial professional, CPA, and/or an attorney in regards to your own individual situation.
Wealthkeel’s Advisory Services and Financial Planning offered through Vicus Capital, Inc., a Federally Registered Investment Advisor. WealthKeel LLC, 615 Channelside Drive, Suite 207, Tampa, FL 33602 -- 267.590.9533.
Olson Consulting LLC, Offering Advisory Services and Financial Planning, is a State-Registered Investment Advisor.
A podcast designed specifically for physicians, offering a breakdown of complex financial topics to help you develop your financial IQ, further your financial journey, and improve your well-being. Whether you're a medical student, resident, fellow, or attending physician, you're sure to learn something new that will benefit your journey.
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Conversations helping graduating medical students to attending physicians build a strong financial foundation
