What is Coast FIRE? The Complete Beginner’s Guide

Coast FIRE is a milestone in the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement where you have accumulated enough money in retirement investments that compound growth alone will fund your retirement nest egg.

The Core Concept

Unlike Traditional FIRE where you need 25x–30x your annual expenses saved to quit working forever, Coast FIRE allows you to:

1. Stop saving additional dollars for traditional retirement age (e.g., 65 or 67).
2. Continue working to earn only enough to cover your current living expenses.
3. Enjoy greater flexibility right now—take lower-stress jobs, take sabbaticals, or work part-time.

Coast Number = (Annual Expenses / SWR) / (1 + Real Return) ^ Years to Retirement

By achieving Coast FIRE early, the heavy lifting of compound interest does the work for you over decades!