For many of us in tech, burnout feels like an occupational hazard. Between layoffs, golden handcuffs, and doing the work of three people, the question "what if I didn't have to work?" can feel either wildly unrealistic or dangerously appealing. But financial coaches Erika Ho and Alana D'Angelica recently walked our community through a middle path: Coast Fire. If you're unfamiliar with the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), here's the gist: you build enough investments so that the returns cover your living expenses, making work optional. But Coast Fire is different—it's a milestone you can hit much sooner that fundamentally changes your relationship with work without requiring you to quit entirely.
Coast Fire is when you've front-loaded enough into your retirement accounts that you can stop contributing and let compound growth do the rest. The money you've already invested will grow to cover traditional retirement by age 65 or 67—without you adding another dollar.
Erika, a former Google data scientist who hit Coast Fire in her 20s, put it simply: "Once you hit Coast Fire, you can pause retirement savings if you want to." That freed-up cash flow? You can redirect it toward building a business, taking a lower-paying role you're passionate about, or just reducing the pressure of needing that big tech salary.
Alana, who went from $100,000 in debt to over $3 million in net worth over 10 years, emphasized that this isn't about escaping to a beach forever. "It's about having the freedom to choose. Choose your day, choose what you do, how you make money, and how you work."
The math behind it
The starting point for any FIRE calculation is straightforward: your annual expenses times 25. So if you spend $80,000 a year, your full FIRE number is $2 million. That's based on the 4% rule—the idea that you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually (adjusted for inflation) without running out of money over 30 years.
But Coast Fire flips the script. Instead of needing $2 million invested today, you might only need $500,000 if you're 30 years old. That half-million will compound over time to reach $2 million by traditional retirement age. The Coast Fire calculator Erika shared shows exactly how much you need based on your age and target retirement spending.
How they got there
Alana maxed out her 401(k), utilized backdoor Roth contributions, and prioritized HSAs (which she called "triple tax advantaged"—not taxed going in, growing tax-free, and not taxed coming out for medical expenses). She was methodical but not miserable: "I traveled the world, I've got 3 kids. I didn't live eating tuna fish out of a can."
Erika's path involved keeping housing costs low—living with family her first year out of college, then sharing a San Francisco house with five other people. She also started maxing her 401(k) immediately after graduation, thanks to advice from her aunt at the IRS. "When you invest a lot early on, you're not used to having a lot in your bank account, so it creates a really good habit."
Both emphasized automation. Alana explained her strategy: "Automate your investing completely out of your checking account as soon as possible, so you don't feel like, 'I've got so much money in the bank, it's all good to just spend frivolously.'" The mental trick of keeping your checking account looking a little tight while your investment accounts grow quietly in the background turns out to be surprisingly effective.
What Coast Fire Enabled
When Erika was laid off from Google in January 2024 (her husband had been laid off from Meta a few months earlier), they had the financial cushion to take a sabbatical and rethink everything. She discovered her passion for financial coaching. Her husband started working at a coding school for kids. Neither are putting money into retirement accounts right now—and they don't have to.
Alana left corporate in 2024 to build what she calls a "portfolio career": financial coaching, fractional customer success leadership, teaching yoga, and running an economic empowerment program at a nonprofit. The pay is modest, she admitted, but it's allowed her to do work she's passionate about.
One of Alana's clients came to her feeling scattered—accounts everywhere, unsure if she had enough. After working together, they discovered she was just two years from Coast Fire. Now she's building a business plan with a defined runway to leave her job and start the company she's been dreaming about for years.
Key Takeaways You Can Apply
Start by calculating your rough fire number (annual expenses x 25), then plug it into the Coast Fire calculator to see where you stand. If the gap feels overwhelming, remember that Coast Fire is about front-loading—you don't need the full amount today.
Prioritize tax-advantaged accounts in this order: 401(k), Roth IRA (or backdoor Roth), then HSA. After maxing those, any extra goes into a taxable brokerage account.
Automate everything. If the money never hits your checking account, you won't miss it, and you won't be tempted to spend it.
Build your vision first: If work became optional tomorrow, what would your ideal weekday look like? Where would you wake up? What would you see and smell? What would you do that you've always wanted to do? That vision becomes your motivator when the math feels hard.
For Tech Ladies navigating layoffs, burnout, or golden handcuffs, Coast Fire offers something rare: optionality. Not an escape hatch, but a safety net that lets you take risks, chase meaning, and build the career—and life—you actually want.
Follow and connect with Alana D’Angelica and Erika Ho on Linkedin:
Resources for women in tech, and the companies that want to build inclusive workplaces where they can thrive.
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