etworthcalculatorWhat is Coast FIRE?
FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early. Your FIRE number is the amount you need invested to live off your savings for good.
You reach Coast FIRE when you have enough invested that growth alone would carry it to your FIRE number by the age you want to retire, even if you never added another dollar.
You still work, because you still have bills today. Your paycheck only has to cover this year’s life, and you can stop saving for retirement. That frees you to take a lower-paid job, work part time, or put your savings toward a house or kids instead.
How to calculate Coast FIRE
Work out your FIRE number first, then how much you need today for growth to reach it.
FIRE number = yearly spending ÷ withdrawal rate
Coast FIRE number = FIRE number ÷ (1 + real return)^yearsYears is the number of years until you retire. Real return is growth after inflation. This calculator uses the exact version, (1 + growth) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1, instead of subtracting inflation from growth. At 7% growth and 3% inflation that comes to 3.9% a year. Using it keeps every number in today’s dollars.
The calculator opens with this example. You’re 30, you want to retire at 65, and you plan to spend $60,000 a year. At a 4% withdrawal rate, your FIRE number is $60,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,500,000.
You have 35 years to get there. Money growing 3.9% a year for 35 years multiplies by about 3.8. Divide $1,500,000 by that and your Coast FIRE number is about $395,000.
With $100,000 invested, you’re about $295,000 short. Left alone, that $100,000 grows to about $379,000 by 65. Adding $1,500 a month gets you to Coast FIRE at 57. After that, growth alone covers the rest, and you could stop saving for retirement.
What is a good Coast FIRE number?
It depends on what you’ll spend and how many years your money has to grow. This table shows the Coast FIRE number for retiring at 65, at 7% growth, 3% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate. All figures are in today’s dollars.
| Your age | $40,000 a year | $60,000 a year | $80,000 a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | $218,000 | $327,000 | $436,000 |
| 30 | $264,000 | $395,000 | $527,000 |
| 35 | $319,000 | $478,000 | $638,000 |
| 40 | $386,000 | $579,000 | $772,000 |
| 45 | $467,000 | $700,000 | $933,000 |
| 50 | $565,000 | $847,000 | $1,129,000 |
The younger you are, the less you need, because the money has more years to grow. A 25-year-old planning on $60,000 a year needs about $327,000. At 50, the same plan needs about $847,000.
Asking about a specific amount? See whether $500k is enough to Coast FIRE and how much you need to Coast FIRE at 40.
Coast FIRE number vs FIRE number
Your FIRE number is what you need on the day you retire: yearly spending divided by your withdrawal rate. At 4%, that’s 25 times what you spend. Your Coast FIRE number is the same target, pulled back to today by the growth you expect between now and then.
Reach your FIRE number and you can stop working. Reach your Coast FIRE number and you can stop saving for retirement, but you keep working to pay today’s bills while growth does the rest.
For someone spending $60,000 a year, the FIRE number is $1,500,000 at any age. Retiring at 65, the Coast FIRE number is about $395,000 at 30 and about $579,000 at 40.
The assumptions, and where they come from
- 7% growth. The S&P 500 averaged 10.49% a year from 1926 to 2025, using Morningstar data published by Hartford Funds. 7% leaves room for bonds, fees and bad decades.
- 3% inflation. U.S. consumer prices have risen a little over 3% a year on average since 1913, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
- 4% withdrawals. The Trinity Study (Cooley, Hubbard and Walz, 1998) found that taking out 3% to 4% a year, raised each year for inflation, held up for stock-heavy portfolios in nearly every 15- to 30-year period from 1926 to 1995. AAII has the study.
All three describe the past, and the next 30 years could be worse. If you plan to retire early and need your money to last 40 years or more, the calculator lets you test 3.5% in the withdrawal box. At $60,000 a year, that raises the FIRE number to about $1,714,000.
Coast FIRE and your net worth
Your Coast FIRE number is a target for the invested part of your net worth. Count retirement accounts, like a 401(k) or IRA, and regular brokerage accounts. Leave out your home, unless you plan to sell it to pay for retirement, and leave out your emergency fund, which is there for surprises.
To see the whole picture, add everything up in the net worth calculator. The liquid net worth calculator shows how much of it you could reach within a few days, and net worth by age shows how you compare with families your age.
Your balances move every month, so your Coast FIRE progress does too. To watch your net worth climb toward the target, see our net worth tracker app, or join the launch list.
Coast FIRE questions
How do you calculate Coast FIRE?
Divide your yearly retirement spending by your withdrawal rate to get your FIRE number, then divide that by (1 + real return) raised to the number of years until you retire.
What is a good Coast FIRE number?
It depends on your age and spending. Retiring at 65 on $60,000 a year, it’s about $395,000 at 30 and about $579,000 at 40. The table above has other ages and spending levels.
How do I calculate my FIRE number?
Multiply your yearly spending by 25 if you plan to withdraw 4% a year, or by about 28.6 at 3.5%. $60,000 a year gives $1,500,000 at 4% and about $1,714,000 at 3.5%.
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