Coast FIRE means you have saved enough that your existing investments - left untouched and growing at your expected return rate - will reach your full FIRE number by your target retirement age. Once you hit your Coast FIRE number, you no longer need to save for retirement. You only need to earn enough to cover current living expenses.

Coast FIRE Number = (Annual Spending / Withdrawal Rate) / (1 + Return Rate)^Years to Retirement. First calculate your FIRE number (annual spending / withdrawal rate), then discount it back to today's value using your expected annual return and the number of years until retirement.

The 4% rule is the most widely referenced guideline, based on the Trinity Study. It suggests withdrawing 4% of your portfolio annually carries a low risk of running out of money over a 30-year retirement. For longer retirements or more conservative planning, 3.5% or 3% is sometimes used.

7% is a commonly used real (inflation-adjusted) annual return for diversified stock market index funds, based on long-term historical averages. You can lower this to 5-6% for a more conservative estimate or raise it slightly for an optimistic scenario.

Regular FIRE means you have already reached your full FIRE number and can retire completely. Coast FIRE means you have saved enough that you no longer need to invest more - but you still work to cover current expenses until retirement.

Yes - you just no longer need to. Any additional contributions beyond Coast FIRE will either let you retire earlier, retire on a larger income, or provide a buffer against poor market returns.

The calculator uses standard financial formulas and produces a mathematically correct result for the inputs you provide. Actual outcomes depend on real investment returns, actual expenses in retirement, tax treatment of withdrawals, inflation, and other factors not modeled here.

Yes - completely free with no sign-up required. All calculations run in your browser.

Both involve working part-time after partially retiring, but the distinction is in the savings status. With Coast FIRE, you have saved enough that your investments will grow to your FIRE number on their own - you work only to cover current expenses. Barista FIRE is less well-defined and often means working a part-time or flexible job to cover expenses plus some benefits (like health insurance), while investments continue to grow toward your FIRE number.

Only if you use a real (inflation-adjusted) return rate. The most common approach is to use 5-7% as a real return rate (already subtracting expected inflation from the nominal return). If you use a nominal return rate like 9-10%, your Coast FIRE number will appear smaller than it really needs to be in today's purchasing power. For conservative and inflation-safe planning, use a real return rate of 5-6%.