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When can you stop saving for retirement?

Coast FIRE is the point where compounding takes over: enough invested today that growth alone reaches your number by retirement. See your coast number, the age you could stop contributing, and the odds it lasts — updating as you type.

Your Coast FIRE number today

$117,079

grows to $1,250,000 by 65 untouched

You could stop saving at

Age 37

≈ 2032 · ~6 more yrs of saving

Money lasts to 95

74%

of 1,000 simulations

Keep contributing past 37 instead (the dashed line) and you'd reach 65 with ≈$1,579,975 more.

$0$1M$2M$3M$4Mage 30age 40age 50age 60age 70age 80age 90FIRE · $1.3Mretire 65coast 36worst 10% runs dry ~77

1,000 simulated futures · contributions stop at the green dot · drawn down from age 65 to 95 · dashed: if you kept contributing

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Not financial advice — a projection from your own assumptions.

What is Coast FIRE?

Coast FIRE (sometimes CoastFI) is the milestone where your portfolio no longer needs you. Once your invested balance clears the coast number, compound growth alone carries it to your full FIRE number by your chosen retirement age — every dollar you save past that point is optional. You still work to pay today's bills, but the “save hard for retirement” phase is over, which is why many people treat Coast FIRE as the first finish line worth celebrating: it usually arrives decades before full financial independence.

The Coast FIRE formula

The coast number is your FIRE number discounted back to today at your expected real return:

coast number = FIRE number ÷ (1 + real return)years until retirement

Worked example: spending $50,000 a year at a 4% withdrawal rate means a $1,250,000 FIRE number. A 30-year-old retiring at 65 with a 7% real return needs $1,250,000 ÷ 1.07³⁵ ≈ $117,079 invested today to coast the whole way. The calculator compounds monthly (a geometric monthly rate, so 12 months equals the annual rate exactly) and additionally solves the earliest month you could stop contributing given what you actually save — every formula is on the methodology page.

Coast FIRE vs. Barista FIRE

Both are ways to downshift before full financial independence, and they cut different things. Coast FIRE cuts the saving: you keep your full income and stop contributing. Barista FIRE cuts the job: part-time income covers part of your spending while the portfolio funds the gap — which shrinks the number you need. If you're weighing the part-time route, the Barista FIRE calculator computes that smaller number, and the full FIRE calculator answers the classic “when can I retire outright” question.

Beyond a one-time estimate

Coasting only works if the number stays true.

Save the plan and your coast status re-checks itself against your real accounts as markets move — free.

Runs on your real money

Link a brokerage with Plaid or drop in a CSV, and this exact chart tracks your actual balances — updating as markets move and you invest. No more re-typing estimates.

Tells you if you’re on track

Your Readiness score re-runs this Monte Carlo on your real net worth and answers what matters: on track for your age, will it last, is your emergency fund covered.

Your whole net worth, in one place

Investments, cash, property and debts together — with a savings rate pulled from your real deposits and your dividend income counted. All free.

Same math here and inside — every formula is hand-checkable on the methodology page.

Coast FIRE calculator questions

What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE means having enough invested that compound growth alone will carry your portfolio to your full FIRE number by your retirement age — with zero further contributions. You still work to cover today’s bills, but you can stop saving for retirement entirely.
How is the Coast FIRE number calculated?
Your coast number is your FIRE number discounted by your expected real return over the years until retirement: FIRE number ÷ (1 + return)^years. Retiring at 65 on $50,000 a year at a 7% real return, a 30-year-old needs $1,250,000 ÷ 1.07³⁵ ≈ $117,000 invested today. This calculator also solves the earliest month YOU could stop contributing, given your actual savings and contributions.
What’s the difference between Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE?
Coast FIRE stops the saving: you keep your full-time income but no longer contribute, and compounding finishes the job by your retirement age. Barista FIRE stops the full-time job: part-time income covers part of your spending and the portfolio funds the gap, which shrinks the number you need.
If I stop saving at 40, when can I retire?
Flip the calculator to "When can I retire?" mode: it contributes until your chosen stop age, then compounds untouched until the balance reaches your FIRE number — that crossing is your retirement age. The dashed line shows the keep-contributing alternative so you can see exactly what coasting trades away.
Do I have to stop investing once I reach Coast FIRE?
No — the coast number marks where saving becomes optional, not forbidden. Most people keep contributing something, which either retires them earlier or adds margin for bad markets.
What return should I assume?
A real (after-inflation) return, so every figure stays in today’s dollars. 7% roughly matches the long-run US stock market; try 5% to be conservative — the coast number rises quickly as the assumed return falls, because there are decades of compounding between you and retirement.

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Your coast number moves with the market.

Link your brokerage or drop in a CSV, and Fire Horizon re-checks whether you're still coasting on your real balances — every day, for free.

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