Coast FIRE

Coast FIRE is the point at which you have invested enough money that, even without making any additional contributions, your portfolio will grow to your full FIRE number by traditional retirement age through compound returns alone. At Coast FIRE, you only need to earn enough to cover current living expenses — you no longer need to save for retirement.

The Coast FIRE number is calculated as: Coast Number = Full FIRE Target ÷ (1 + annual return)^years to retirement. For example, if your full FIRE number is $1,250,000 and you are 30 years old with 35 years to grow at 7% annual returns: Coast Number = $1,250,000 ÷ (1.07)^35 = approximately $130,000.

Coast FIRE is popular because the number is often far more achievable than the full FIRE number, yet it provides significant financial security and freedom. Once you hit Coast FIRE, career risk tolerance dramatically increases.