Question 1

What is Coast FIRE?

Accepted Answer

Coast FIRE is a financial independence strategy where you invest enough money early so that compound growth alone will reach your full FIRE number by retirement — without any additional contributions. Once you hit your Coast FIRE number, you only need to earn enough to cover living expenses.

Question 2

How do you calculate your Coast FIRE number?

Accepted Answer

Your Coast FIRE number = FIRE Target ÷ (1 + annual growth rate)^years until retirement. For example, if your FIRE target is $1M, you have 25 years to retirement, and you expect 7% annual returns: Coast number = $1,000,000 ÷ (1.07)^25 = $184,249. If you have that amount invested today, you can stop contributing and still retire on time.

Question 3

What is the difference between Coast FIRE and regular FIRE?

Accepted Answer

Regular FIRE requires you to save aggressively until you accumulate your full FIRE number (typically 25× annual expenses). Coast FIRE lets you stop saving once your invested portfolio will grow to the full FIRE target on its own. This means you can switch to a lower-stress, lower-paying job while your investments do the heavy lifting.

Question 4

What is a good Coast FIRE number?

Accepted Answer

Your Coast FIRE number depends on your age, target retirement age, expected annual expenses in retirement, and investment return assumptions. A 30-year-old planning to retire at 60 with $50,000/year in expenses (4% rule = $1.25M FIRE target) needs approximately $230,000 invested today at 7% returns to coast to retirement.

Question 5

How to calculate Coast FIRE number if I have multiple accounts?

Accepted Answer

Add together all your investable assets: 401(k), Roth IRA, traditional IRA, taxable brokerage accounts. Do not include home equity or cash savings unless they are invested. Enter this total as your current savings in the Coast FIRE calculator above.

Coast FIRE Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

More FIRE Calculators