⚙ Calculator coming soon — use the information below to calculate manually.
Enter values above to calculate
—
⚙ Calculator coming soon — use the information below to calculate manually.
Coast FIRE is the point at which you have invested enough that — even if you never invest another dollar — your existing portfolio will compound to your retirement number by traditional retirement age (65). You still need to cover living expenses, but you can "coast" without adding to investments. It is a milestone between broke and fully financially independent.
| Current Age | Coast Number (retire at 65, need $1.5M) | Years to Compound |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $112,000 | 40 years at 7% |
| 30 | $160,000 | 35 years |
| 35 | $227,000 | 30 years |
| 40 | $321,000 | 25 years |
| 45 | $455,000 | 20 years |
Coast FIRE Number = Target Retirement Portfolio / (1 + Annual Return)Years Until Retirement. Example: you need $1.5M at 65. You are 35. That is 30 years at 7% annual return. Coast FIRE = $1,500,000 / (1.07)30 = $1,500,000 / 7.61 = $197,000. If you have $197,000 invested today and never add another dollar, you will have $1.5M at 65.
After hitting Coast FIRE, you only need to earn enough to cover current living expenses — not to save for retirement. This opens up options: take a lower-stress job, go part-time, start a passion project, move to a lower cost-of-living city. You are not retired yet, but you have eliminated the most intense financial pressure. Many people find Coast FIRE more achievable than full FIRE and use it as a stepping stone.
Use this calculator as a starting point, not a final answer. Run three scenarios: pessimistic (lower returns, higher costs, worst-case tax rates), base case (your expected scenario), and optimistic (favorable conditions). The range between these three scenarios tells you how much uncertainty surrounds your plan and how much buffer you need.
Once you have your numbers, cross-reference them with complementary calculators. A mortgage payment should be checked against your overall budget and DTI ratio. A retirement projection should account for Social Security income, potential pension, and healthcare costs in retirement. Tax calculations should be checked against available deductions and credits you may qualify for. No single calculator captures everything.
Where you hold investments matters as much as what you hold. High-growth assets belong in Roth accounts where growth is tax-free. Income-producing assets like bonds belong in traditional 401(k) or IRA where taxes are deferred. Tax-managed index funds belong in taxable brokerage where you can harvest losses. This asset location strategy adds 0.2-0.4% annually to after-tax returns without changing your investments at all.
The lifetime value of proper tax planning for a median American household is approximately $150,000-300,000 in additional wealth at retirement — the difference between tax-smart and tax-naive investment management over 30 years. Most of this benefit comes from three decisions made once: choosing the right account types, maximizing employer match, and selecting low-cost index funds.