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What is Coast FIRE?
And what it means for your plan
The core idea
Most FIRE planning focuses on one thing: save enough to cover all your expenses forever. Coast FIRE flips the script. Instead of saving until you can quit entirely, you save until you have enough that compounding alone finishes the job by your target retirement age.
Think of it like pushing a snowball to the top of a hill. Once it's big enough and you give it a nudge, gravity does the work. Your job shifts from “save aggressively” to “just cover your living expenses.” No more mandatory savings. The investments you already have grow on their own.
This is especially powerful for younger savers. Time is the multiplier. The earlier you reach your coast target, the less you need because there are more years for compounding to work.
The Coast FIRE number
The Coast FIRE target answers one question: how much do you need invested today so that, even if you never save another dollar, your portfolio grows to your full FIRE number by retirement?
The formula
Coast Target = FIRE Number / (1 + real return)years to retirement
Example: $253.3K = $1.4M / (1 + 7%)25
Example: the coast targetExample
$253.3K
With $253.3K invested today and not another dollar saved, compounding at 7% real returns would grow it to the $1.4M FIRE number by age 60.
This sample saver has $220K saved — $33.3K to go.
Example figures from a sample household. Build your plan →
Explore: What if...
Coast target at these settings
$253.3K
25 years of compounding at 7% real return
Growth: Continued saving vs. coasting
Based on a sample mid-career saver.
When can you coast?
A Coast FI age is when a portfolio crosses the coast target. From that point on, you can stop saving and just cover day-to-day expenses from income. Compounding takes care of the rest.
Example: the coast ageExample
Coasting at age 36, this saver would need to cover $55K/yr from earned income — no saving required. That's 24 years of coasting before the portfolio hits $1.4M.
Example figures from a sample household. Build your plan →
Coast vs. Traditional vs. Barista
Each FIRE variant trades off differently between savings intensity, timeline, and lifestyle flexibility. Here's how they compare for the sample saver.
Traditional FIRE
$1.4M
Save until your portfolio covers all expenses. Then stop working entirely.
Strategy: Save aggressively until $1.4M, then retire completely.
Coast FIRE
This article$253.3K
Save until compounding can finish the job, then just cover expenses from income.
Strategy: Save to $253.3K, then earn $55K/yr to cover expenses. No more saving.
Barista FIRE
$1.4M
Portfolio covers most spending while part-time income handles the rest.
Strategy: A post-FIRE income lowers the target — see the Barista FIRE article.
Learn about Barista FIRE →
Is Coast FIRE right for you?
You value flexibility over speed
Coast FIRE works best if you are willing to keep working in some capacity but want to drop the pressure of aggressive saving. You could switch to a lower-paying job you love, go freelance, or just slow down.
You're young with time on your side
The earlier you reach your coast target, the more years compounding has to work. A 28-year-old who hits coast needs far less than a 48-year-old because of the exponential growth curve.
You want total independence? Traditional FIRE may be a better fit
If you never want to trade hours for dollars again, Coast FIRE still requires income to cover expenses until retirement age. Full financial independence means not needing any earned income at all.
Take the quiz and Calcifir will tell you which FIRE path fits your situation best.
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