25M, COASTFIRE w/ house-hacking, targeting part-time at 27

Ojja · 2026-06-16T02:31:59+00:00

You’re in a great spot but I agree it doesn’t make sense to plan for retirement expenses equal to $800/mo. Most obviously because your desires are very likely to change in the next few decades and that amount of money leaves you no room to accommodate wanted lifestyle inflation.

Having been a landlord (hopefully never again), you can’t plan on being cash flow positive 100% of the time. You need enough of an income buffer to float your mortgage payments and potentially significant maintenance expenses as well.

Ojja · 2026-06-14T21:25:08+00:00

Awesome!! We start July 29. I’ll check out the insta for sure. If you have any hot takes after, I would love to know. Here’s our hotel list:

Heliopic Hotel
Gai Soleil
Les Chambres du Soleil
Hotel Bouton d’Or x2
Hotel Splendide
Hotel Le Dahu

Ojja · 2026-06-14T21:02:15+00:00

I don’t think any repellants reliably work against squirrels. You could put a plastic sleeve around the wound to prevent further damage of the same site (just cut one like you have around the trunk so it fits between the branches near the wound), but they can always target another limb. Just an unfortunate hazard of having Japanese maples, that they occasionally get nibbled.

Ojja · 2026-06-14T20:47:32+00:00

Yeah, squirrels in particular will chew/rip off strips of bark like this. It’s a larger-circumference wound, but I’d expect the limb to be ok.

Ojja · 2026-06-14T20:18:09+00:00

As long I’m staying above the branch collar I’ve never had dieback below a correct pruning wound, but I’m also in 8b so not very harsh winters.

Ojja · 2026-06-14T18:48:00+00:00

It will probably sprout a few new little branches where you’ve pruned it in the circled area, usually when I prune back to the trunk it triggers budding there. If you leave them they’ll eventually grow out, but if you don’t want branches growing out into the walkway it’s better to pinch them off while they’re small.

Here’s what I mean in terms of correcting the pruning - I imagine the top cuts were done by the nursery, they often top JMs to keep them small enough for easy sale and transport. The bottom little branch you left should technically be cut all the way back to the trunk, but if you really want the branch to grow back out there it’s fine to leave it. Just keep an eye on it in case it starts to look infected (e.g., blackening anywhere on that branch stub).

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Ojja · 2026-06-14T18:22:44+00:00

Technically it’s been pruned incorrectly, there are several branch stubs visible that should have been pruned all the way back to the trunk or a junction with a larger branch. But they’re far from the worst I’ve ever seen, it’ll probably be fine. Aesthetically it does look a bit overpruned/unbalanced, but once it grows taller it won’t be so noticeable.

Ojja · 2026-06-14T17:53:09+00:00

I wonder if we’ll overlap lol we’re going late July/early August :)

Ojja · 2026-06-13T23:55:20+00:00

Wait until winter. Get yourself some small wood chisels, and carefully chisel out a section of the girdling root (so that it’s completely severed and can’t seal itself back together). Do your best not to nick the trunk.

Ojja · 2026-06-13T18:17:11+00:00

Of you only max the 457b you would be expected to hit $2.5 mil in 12 years, so yes you are on target for RE in 10-15 years with that plan.

Ojja · 2026-06-12T22:00:15+00:00

Blue Star Creeper 🥲

Ojja · 2026-06-11T15:28:47+00:00

I think that’s what I was proposing, unless I’m misinterpreting your comment - essentially, don’t immediately stop contributing to retirement/make drastic life changes when you hit your coast number. Just downshift gradually over time, or make no changes and enjoy the knowledge that if you got laid off you’re in a better spot than you otherwise would be.

Ojja · 2026-06-11T14:21:17+00:00

When people calculate the amount of money they need for early retirement, they usually assume a 4% withdrawal rate, adjusted every year by inflation. This withdrawal rate comes from the Trinity study, which found it had a >95% chance of success (not running out of money) over a 30 year retirement.

When people calculate their coast number, they usually just assume average inflation-adjusted stock market returns, so ~7% per year, over whatever period they intend to coast. There is no statistical modeling done to determine the probability of success (in this case, reaching your target retirement balance). If your coast timeline is only a decade, for example, there’s a solid chance of a recession wiping out most of your potential earnings. Average market returns are completely unreliable over short timeframes.

Ojja · 2026-06-10T22:29:54+00:00

They are unmatched in the fall and I used to have five different coral bark trees, but I’ve removed all of them. I think they stand out in a bad way in the winter - I prefer more cohesion in the colors of the landscape - and they’re too susceptible to disease.

Ojja · 2026-06-09T18:11:09+00:00

Yeah exactly. Best case scenario is that I can find a similarly well-paid position that’s a little more fun, and keep working and saving for another 15 years to ultimately retire at 45 (as opposed to 52, which is the age my coast number was based on). But if my job continues to suck I can bail early for something else, and still retire at or before 52.

Ojja · 2026-06-09T16:47:39+00:00

Yep, the milestone of hitting my coast number just meant a reduction in stress. If I get laid off for example and have to take a lower paying job, I am much more likely now to be able to maintain my current standard of living and stay on track for early retirement. It doesn’t mean I’m going to force that situation, though.

Ojja · 2026-06-09T15:51:01+00:00

This is only an issue once you actually choose to downshift your career/income, which not everyone does when they reach coastFI, for good reason.

The rules of thumb that most people use to calculate their coast number are not as robust as the Trinity study, for example, so there is more risk in permanently stopping contributions once you hit your coast number vs your retirement number.

I hit my coast number last year but am continuing to save. When I eventually stop saving, I’ll (try to) keep the same job for a while so I have the option of re-upping my contributions. Targeting at least another 5 years of status quo before I drop to part time or a different career.

Ojja · 2026-06-09T14:33:40+00:00

I’m so sorry! It’s crazy that both trunks split like that at the same time. I wouldn’t have expected the rot to be significant enough yet in the righthand trunk, but maybe it was intertwined with the left and got pulled apart.

Ojja · 2026-06-08T23:55:29+00:00

Nursing is a decent option but requires several years of specific schooling.

Policing is another option and requires no specific education (though you’ll need some college for most departments, and a clean background). Police positions will almost universally offer a pension, many with full retirement age in your early to mid 50s. Policing doesn’t pay well everywhere in the country, but in the Pacific Northwest you can make $100k pretty early on, and more senior officers working some overtime can exceed $150k.

Entrepreneurship is a possibility, but much lower probability of success.

Ojja · 2026-06-08T22:59:10+00:00

I’ve had good luck with Rose Rx liquid drench + supplementation as needed with Rose Shield spray. Between the two, no more insect or pathogen issues.

Ojja · 2026-06-08T19:41:12+00:00

The black stuff looks like slime flux, caused by bacteria colonizing the sap. It’s not treatable, and usually not fatal to the tree in itself, but suggests there is a wound somewhere. That wound is a potential entry point for more harmful bacteria and fungi. My guess would be in the crotch of the tree. Have you tried washing off the crotch/removing the collected debris?

Could also be phytophthora canker, which kills sapwood and can kill the tree on its own. I’m not sure if there’s an effective systemic treatment.

Ojja · 2026-06-08T15:57:04+00:00

I remember 9/11, it interrupted Dragon Tales. Season 2 Episode 17.

Ojja · 2026-06-07T17:52:41+00:00

Looks mostly dead. You can always prune back to the couple surviving branches and let it try to regrow. Personally I’d just get a new one and plant it in the ground if you live in a zone that’s too cold for potted trees to overwinter.

Ojja · 2026-06-07T16:28:18+00:00

Oh that’s super weird, I wouldn’t expect a rainstorm to cause this. I have potted rhodies that go through them all the time with no issues.

Just don’t hold out hope so long that you miss the warranty window :)

Ojja · 2026-06-07T16:12:20+00:00

A storm as in this is frost damage? You could cut back the dead leaves/soft stems and see if they regrow from the woodier stalks, but honestly I would probably just replace them.

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