Find Your Coast FIRE Number and Retire on Your Terms
Use our free Coast FIRE Calculator to instantly find your coast number, track progress, and stop over-saving. Fast, accurate, built for real planners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Discover your Coast FIRE number with our free calculator. Input your age, savings rate, and spending goal — and see a smarter path to financial independence.
A: Your Coast FIRE number is the lump sum you need invested right now — at your current age — so that compound growth alone carries it to your full FIRE target by retirement. Once you hit it, you never need to invest another dollar. You just let time do the work.
A: Enter your current age, retirement age, annual spending, current invested assets, and expected growth rate. The calculator applies an inflation-adjusted real return to project whether your portfolio will reach your FIRE number without further contributions. Results update instantly.
A: Significantly. A 1% increase in your annual growth rate can reduce your required Coast number by tens of thousands of dollars — because compounding magnifies over decades. Try shifting from 7% to 9% in the calculator: the difference in your required number today is immediate and striking.
A: It depends on your target spending and retirement age, but as a rough benchmark:
- Age 30 → ~$150K–$250K (retiring at 65, $50K/year spend, 4% SWR)
- Age 35 → ~$250K–$400K
- Age 40 → ~$400K–$600K
The earlier you start, the smaller the number. Use the calculator to get your exact figure based on your inputs.
A: To Coast FIRE by 40 targeting $1.5M at age 65, you'd need roughly $225K–$275K invested today — assuming a 9% nominal growth rate and 3% inflation. Hit that number at 40, and you never need to contribute again. The calculator gives you a precise answer based on your spending goal and SWR.
A: Most FIRE planners use 4% (the classic Trinity Study rate). Conservative planners use 3.5% for longer retirements (40+ years). A 4.5% SWR suits shorter retirements or those with Social Security income. The calculator lets you toggle between all three to see how your target FIRE number shifts with each assumption.
A: Yes. Enter your monthly contributions to see how ongoing savings accelerate your path to Coast FIRE status. If contributions are set to $0, the calculator shows your current trajectory on compounding alone — useful for modeling the "coast" scenario where you've already stopped contributing.
A: Three distinct strategies:
- Coast FIRE — You've invested enough that compound growth reaches your FIRE number by retirement. You still work, but only to cover current expenses.
- Lean FIRE — You retire early on a reduced spending budget (typically under $40K/year).
- Barista FIRE — You semi-retire with part-time work covering basic expenses while your portfolio grows.
Coast FIRE is the least disruptive: you keep working, just remove the pressure of aggressive saving.