Coast FIRE Calculator
The balance after which compounding alone reaches your target, so you can stop saving.
Coast FIRE is not retirement. It is the balance after which compounding alone reaches your target, so you can stop saving and still retire on schedule. That is the point a lower-paying job you actually enjoy becomes affordable, which is usually reached far earlier than full financial independence.
Worked example. Targeting $2,000,000 at 60, starting at 30 with 7% returns, the coast number today is about $262,000. Reach that and you never have to contribute again to hit the target on schedule. It is a far lower bar than full financial independence, and it arrives years earlier.
Frequently asked questions
How is Coast FIRE different from FIRE?
Full FIRE means your portfolio can support your spending, so work becomes optional. Coast FIRE means only that you can stop <em>saving</em>. You still need income for current expenses, but none of it has to go toward retirement.
Why does it matter?
It changes what job you can afford to take. Once you have coasted, a lower-paying role that you enjoy costs you nothing in retirement terms, which is a meaningful amount of freedom well before financial independence.
What return should I assume?
Long-run US equity returns have run around 7% real, but sequence matters enormously over a single lifetime. Run it at 5% as well, and treat a coast number computed at 10% with suspicion.
Is the target in today's dollars?
No, the target here is the balance at retirement in future dollars. If you are thinking in today's dollars, inflate your figure first or use a real return rather than a nominal one so the two are consistent.
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Calculators model hypothetical outcomes from the inputs you provide. They are informational only, not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.