— Retirement & FIRE
Coast FIRE Calculator
Find your Coast FIRE number: the amount that can grow to your full FIRE target by retirement with no new contributions. Enter age, savings, target, and return to see whether you can coast and how far you still need to go.
Coast FIRE number
$222,281.37
- Progress to Coast FIRE
- 44.99%
- Still needed to coast
- $122,281.37
- Projected at retirement (coasting)
- $449,880.25
- Your FIRE number
- $1,000,000
- Lean Coast FIRE
- $155,596.96
- Fat Coast FIRE
- $333,422.06
Try: Am I Coast FIRE? ($100k at 30), Already coasting ($300k), Direct FIRE number, retire at 60, Cautious 3.5%, with a pension
— Coasting balance to retirement
| Age | Coasting balance | FIRE number |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $100,000 | $1,000,000 |
| 31 | $104,390 | $1,000,000 |
| 32 | $108,973 | $1,000,000 |
| 33 | $113,757 | $1,000,000 |
| 34 | $118,752 | $1,000,000 |
| 35 | $123,965 | $1,000,000 |
| 36 | $129,408 | $1,000,000 |
| 37 | $135,089 | $1,000,000 |
| 38 | $141,020 | $1,000,000 |
| 39 | $147,211 | $1,000,000 |
| 40 | $153,674 | $1,000,000 |
| 41 | $160,420 | $1,000,000 |
| 42 | $167,463 | $1,000,000 |
| 43 | $174,815 | $1,000,000 |
| 44 | $182,490 | $1,000,000 |
| 45 | $190,502 | $1,000,000 |
| 46 | $198,865 | $1,000,000 |
| 47 | $207,596 | $1,000,000 |
| 48 | $216,710 | $1,000,000 |
| 49 | $226,224 | $1,000,000 |
| 50 | $236,156 | $1,000,000 |
| 51 | $246,523 | $1,000,000 |
| 52 | $257,346 | $1,000,000 |
| 53 | $268,645 | $1,000,000 |
| 54 | $280,439 | $1,000,000 |
| 55 | $292,751 | $1,000,000 |
| 56 | $305,603 | $1,000,000 |
| 57 | $319,020 | $1,000,000 |
| 58 | $333,026 | $1,000,000 |
| 59 | $347,646 | $1,000,000 |
| 60 | $362,909 | $1,000,000 |
| 61 | $378,841 | $1,000,000 |
| 62 | $395,473 | $1,000,000 |
| 63 | $412,836 | $1,000,000 |
| 64 | $430,960 | $1,000,000 |
| 65 | $449,880 | $1,000,000 |
— Coast trajectory to your FIRE number
Download— How it works
Coast FIRE number = FIRE number ÷ (1 + real return)^(years to retirement) — the present value of your FIRE number. If your current savings are at least this, growth alone reaches financial independence by your retirement age. FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ safe withdrawal rate.
What Coast FIRE means
Coast FIRE is a milestone on the way to financial independence. Once your invested savings reach a certain size, compound growth alone will carry them to your full FIRE number by retirement — without another dollar of contributions. From that point you only need to earn enough to cover your current living costs; your retirement is, in effect, already funded. The coast number is simply your FIRE number discounted back to today at your expected real return.
Worked example — age 30, retiring at 65, $40,000 expenses, 7% return, 2.5% inflation: FIRE number = $40,000 ÷ 4% = $1,000,000. Discounted back 35 years at the ~4.4% real return, the Coast FIRE number is about $222,000. So $222,000 invested at 30 grows — untouched — to $1,000,000 (in today’s money) by 65.
Lean, fat, and barista coast
Because the coast number scales with your FIRE number, you can dial your target. Lean Coast FIRE assumes a leaner 70% of your expenses, so a smaller number; Fat Coast FIRE assumes a richer 150%. Barista FIRE is related: if part-time work or other income covers some of your spending, your true FIRE number — and coast number — drop, which the “other income” field captures. The earlier you hit any of these, the longer compounding works for you, which is why a 25-year-old needs far less than a 45-year-old for the same goal.
If you’re not there yet
Most people reach Coast FIRE part-way through their career. Enter your current monthly contribution and the calculator finds the age your balance will cross the coast line if you keep saving — after which you could ease off. The chart shows your savings growing untouched toward the FIRE-number line. As with all these tools it uses a steady real return and ignores sequence-of-returns risk, so leave yourself a margin rather than stopping contributions the instant you nominally hit the number.
— Reader questions
What is Coast FIRE?
The point where your invested savings are large enough to grow — with no further contributions — to your full FIRE number by retirement. Once you’re Coast FIRE, you only need to earn enough to cover current spending; retirement is already funded.
How is the Coast FIRE number calculated?
It’s your FIRE number divided by (1 + your real return) raised to the years until retirement — the present value of the target. For example, a $1,000,000 FIRE number 35 years out at a 4.4% real return needs about $222,000 today.
What’s the difference between Coast FIRE and regular FIRE?
FIRE means you have enough to retire now and live off withdrawals. Coast FIRE means you have enough that you can stop saving and let it grow to your FIRE number by a later, traditional retirement age — you still need income to cover today’s costs in between.
What are Lean and Fat Coast FIRE?
They scale the target: Lean assumes 70% of your expenses (a smaller number), Fat assumes 150% (a larger one). Barista FIRE is similar — part-time income covers part of your spending, lowering the number you actually need.
When will I reach Coast FIRE?
Enter your current monthly contribution and the calculator shows the age your balance crosses the coast line. After that point you could stop contributing and still reach financial independence by your retirement age.