Find out when you can stop aggressive saving and let compound interest carry you to retirement.
Calculate Your Coast FIRE →Last updated February 2026 · 2025 IRS tax data
Coast FIRE (sometimes called Coast FI) is the point where your invested assets, with no additional contributions, will grow to your target retirement number by your desired retirement age.
Once you reach Coast FIRE, you've essentially "won." You only need to earn enough to cover your current expenses. No more aggressive saving required. Compound growth does the heavy lifting.
This doesn't mean you retire today. It means the pressure is off. You can switch to a lower-paying but more enjoyable job, work part-time, take a sabbatical, or simply stress less about savings rate.
If this 35-year-old has $276,000 invested today, they can stop contributing entirely and still have $1.5M at 60.
No more obsessing over savings rate. Cover your expenses and you're on track.
Take that lower-paying dream job. Work part-time. Start a business. You have options.
Spend more on experiences now without guilt. Your future is already funded.
Know that even if you lose your job, your retirement is secure through compound growth.
Move somewhere affordable, travel, or live abroad. You only need to cover daily expenses, not save aggressively.
One number to hit, then let compound interest do the rest. No complex withdrawal strategies needed yet.
Save 25x expenses, then fully retire and live off investments forever.
Save enough that growth alone hits your number. Work just to cover current expenses.
Partially retire and work part-time (often for health insurance) while investments grow.
Fully retire on a minimal budget. Usually under $40k/year spending.
Coast FIRE relies on compound growth doing the heavy lifting. The formula is simple: Coast FIRE Number = Target Portfolio / (1 + real return)^years.
| Current Age | Target Age | Years to Grow | Coast FIRE # (for $1.5M target) | Growth Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 60 | 35 | $139,000 | 10.7x |
| 30 | 60 | 30 | $197,000 | 7.6x |
| 35 | 60 | 25 | $276,000 | 5.4x |
| 40 | 60 | 20 | $388,000 | 3.9x |
| 45 | 60 | 15 | $543,000 | 2.8x |
All figures use 7% real return (after inflation). The earlier you reach Coast FIRE, the more powerful the compounding effect. A 25-year-old needs less than $140K to coast to $1.5M, while a 45-year-old needs almost 4x that amount.
You have enough invested that compound growth alone will fund your traditional retirement. You still work, but only to cover current expenses. No more saving required. This is ideal for people who want less career pressure without fully leaving the workforce. Common approach: transition to part-time work, freelancing, or a passion project that covers monthly bills.
You have the full amount needed to stop working entirely. No income required from any source. This requires a much larger portfolio (often $1M to $3M+) and a higher savings rate over many years. The benefit: complete freedom from mandatory work. The tradeoff: it takes longer to reach and requires more aggressive saving.
Many FIRE practitioners use Coast FIRE as a milestone on the way to full FIRE. Reaching Coast FIRE provides significant psychological relief because you know your retirement is funded even if you stop saving today. BridgeToFI calculates both numbers so you can track both milestones.
Maria, age 32, has $280,000 invested. She spends $50,000/year and wants to know if she has reached Coast FIRE.
Her FIRE number: $50,000 x 25 = $1,250,000 (at 4% withdrawal rate)
Years to grow: 28 years (age 32 to 60)
Growth needed: $280,000 x (1.07)^28 = $1,876,000
Result: Maria has already passed Coast FIRE. Her $280K will grow to $1.88M by age 60 at 7% real returns, well above her $1.25M target. She could stop saving entirely and still retire comfortably.
What this means practically: Maria could take a lower-paying job she enjoys, work part-time, travel, or start a business. She only needs to earn enough to cover her $50K/year current expenses. No more saving required.
Most Coast FIRE calculations use 7% real return (after inflation) based on historical US stock market averages. Conservative planners use 5% to 6%. The higher the rate, the lower your Coast FIRE number, but also the more risk you are taking that returns may underperform. BridgeToFI lets you set your own growth rate and runs Monte Carlo simulations to show the probability range of outcomes.
Yes, when you use "real" (inflation-adjusted) returns. A 7% real return already has inflation factored out. Your Coast FIRE target of $1.25M represents $1.25M in today's purchasing power. The actual dollar balance at retirement will be higher due to inflation, but it buys the same amount of goods and services.
A market crash temporarily pushes you below your Coast number. Historically, markets recover, but recovery can take 3 to 7 years. Consider adding a 10% to 20% buffer above your Coast FIRE number before making major career changes. Also, any continued savings (even small amounts) during the coast period accelerates recovery from downturns.
Absolutely. Coast FIRE is typically reached 10 to 20 years before full FIRE, depending on your age and savings rate. A 30-year-old might reach Coast FIRE with $200K but need $1.5M for full FIRE. That difference represents years of additional saving. Coast FIRE lets you downshift your career decades earlier.
Barista FIRE is similar to Coast FIRE but with a specific twist: you work a part-time job primarily for health insurance benefits. The name comes from working at companies like Starbucks that offer healthcare to part-time employees. Coast FIRE is about covering all current expenses. Barista FIRE specifically targets healthcare coverage while investments grow. BridgeToFI can model both using Income Streams with custom date ranges.
Coast FIRE is not just a number. It represents a fundamental shift in your relationship with work and money.
Once your investments will compound to your FIRE number on their own, you can spend 100% of your income on living. This means you can accept lower-paying work that aligns with your interests, or you can maintain your career but enjoy guilt-free spending on experiences you previously sacrificed for savings rate.
Knowing retirement is funded removes the golden handcuffs. You can pursue entrepreneurship, creative work, education, or nonprofit roles without worrying about retirement savings. Many Coast FIRE practitioners report significantly lower stress and higher job satisfaction after making career changes they would not have risked before.
Some people reach Coast FIRE and discover they enjoy their reduced-pressure lifestyle enough that they never pursue full FIRE. Others use it as motivation: "If I keep saving at this rate for 5 more years, I reach full FIRE." BridgeToFI shows both milestones on your projection chart, making the path from coast to fully independent concrete and visible.
The assumed growth rate has a dramatic impact on your Coast FIRE target. A small difference in returns compounds into a large difference over decades. Here is what a $1.5M retirement target looks like at different return assumptions for a 35-year-old.
| Real Return | Coast FIRE Number | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $440,000 | Conservative |
| 6% | $349,000 | Moderate |
| 7% | $276,000 | Historical average |
| 8% | $219,000 | Optimistic |
The difference between 5% and 8% is over $220,000 in required savings. Most financial planners recommend using 5% to 6% for conservative Coast FIRE planning and treating 7% as a reasonable base case. BridgeToFI's Monte Carlo simulations show the probability distribution across return scenarios, so you do not have to guess which rate is "right."
Coast FIRE looks different for everyone. Here are common paths people take after reaching their coast number.
Stays in the same field but drops to 30 hours per week or takes a less stressful role. Income covers expenses with no saving pressure. Common among engineers, healthcare workers, and consultants who enjoy their work but not the pace.
Leaves a high-paying career to pursue something meaningful: teaching, coaching, freelance writing, or running a small business. The income is lower but covers monthly bills. Retirement savings grow untouched in the background.
Relocates to a lower cost-of-living area (or country) where part-time remote work covers all expenses. Popular destinations include Portugal, Mexico, Thailand, and lower-cost US cities. Reduced expenses mean even casual freelancing is enough.
A 10% nominal return is roughly 7% after inflation. Mixing up the two means your Coast FIRE number is 30% to 50% too low, and you may run short by hundreds of thousands of dollars at retirement age.
Your spending at 35 is not the same as your spending at 60. Healthcare costs rise significantly in your 50s and 60s. Kids may need college funding. Your Coast FIRE target should account for realistic future spending, not just today's expenses.
Having $400K in a 401(k) at age 35 is different from having $400K in a taxable brokerage. Pre-tax accounts lose 15% to 30% of their value to taxes on withdrawal. Factor in the tax haircut when calculating whether you have truly reached your coast number.
Coast FIRE assumes your investments grow uninterrupted for decades. A major market downturn, job loss during the coast period, or unexpected expense that forces you to tap investments can derail the entire plan. Keep 6 to 12 months of expenses in cash as a buffer, separate from your invested coast portfolio.
BridgeToFI shows exactly when you can coast. Enter your accounts and see the math.
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