#646: What if you didn’t have to choose between grinding full-time until retirement or quitting work altogether?

By 40, Andy Hill and his wife had built a $500,000 portfolio and paid off their home. Instead of racing toward early retirement, they chose a third way: scaling back to part-time work, becoming equal partners in parenting, and reclaiming their time.

In this episode, recorded live at FinCon, Andy shares his 10-step framework for building a “Coast FIRE” lifestyle — where your investments can coast toward retirement while you focus on living today.

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The Middle Path Beyond FIRE

Most of us think of retirement as a cliff: one day you’re working, the next day you’re not. Andy challenges that binary. He and his wife structured their careers to work 20–25 hours per week each, creating a rhythm that gave them more time with their children, each other, and their health.

He breaks down the mindset shifts and tactical steps — from eliminating debt and protecting your family with insurance to stockpiling FU money and designing a three-day workweek. Along the way, he explains how Coast FIRE frees you from mandatory retirement contributions and opens doors to a flexible, meaningful life.

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Key Takeaways:

Balance beats extremes. Neither full-time grind nor full-time stay-at-home felt right; designing a flexible, part-time work life created the equilibrium their family needed.

Cash buffers change behavior. A 3–6 month emergency fund reduces stress and scarcity thinking, making it easier to parent calmly and make better money decisions.

Choose time over trappings. Fancy upgrades aren’t worth trading away presence; prioritizing family time beats lifestyle escalation.

Resources mentioned:

Andy Hill's book on Amazon: Own Your Time
Marriage, Kids, and Money Podcast

(4:01) Why the shift

(5:35) What their life looks like now

(9:08) Why extremes didn’t work for Andy and Nicole

(14:45) Step 1 Dream and define your ideal life

(18:21) Step 2 Commit to living without high-interest debt

(20:38) Step 3 Protect your family (insurance, estate plan, emergency fund)

(27:04) Step 4 Invest to reach Coast FIRE

(30:29) Step 5 Pay off your home (or optimize if renting

(36:21) Step 6 Stockpile FU money

(47:53) Step 7 Design a three-day workweek

(57:02) Step 8 Plan your intentional four-day weekend

(1:02:39) Step 9 Simplify to avoid lifestyle creep

(1:08:56) Step 10 Teach your kids the path to time freedom

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