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Coast FI Checkpoint Calculator

Discover your **Coast FI Number**—the exact portfolio value where you can stop adding new money and let compound interest automatically take you to Financial Independence (FIRE). Minimal inputs, instant, dynamic results.

Your FI Scenario Inputs

1. Current Investment Portfolio Value ($)

$ 100,000

2. Target FIRE Number ($) - (e.g., Annual Expenses x 25)

$ 1,500,000

3. Expected Annual Investment Growth Rate (%)

8.0 %

4. Target Retirement Age (Years)

60 Years

5. Current Age (Years)

30 Years

Your Coast FI Scoreboard

Required Coast FI Value Today

$0

Amount needed to stop contributing *today*.

Years to Hit Coast FI Target

0 Years

Years until your current portfolio reaches the Required Coast FI Value.

FI Progress Score

0%

How close you are to the Required Coast FI value.

Projected Total Value at Target Age

$0

What your current portfolio will grow to by your target retirement age (no future contributions).

Understanding Coast FI: The Early Exit Ramp to Financial Stress

**Coast FI** is a revolutionary concept in personal finance, representing the ultimate financial checkpoint before full retirement. It is the point where you have contributed enough money to your investment accounts that you can **stop contributing entirely**, and the magic of compound interest will automatically grow your existing portfolio to meet your massive **FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) target** by your desired retirement age. This calculator is a massive gap-filler because it dynamically shows you the **Required Coast FI Value**—the single, most important number that changes your life.

Reaching this milestone means you are financially free from the obligation to save. You can transition to a lower-stress career, work part-time, start a passion project, or simply 'coast' through your remaining working years, knowing your financial future is mathematically secured. This dynamic tool updates instantly as you adjust your target, making the concept tangible and motivating. It targets high-value keywords like "Coast FI calculator," "financial independence checkpoint," and "early retirement math," which are highly sought after by readers and advertisers.

The core calculation is based on the time value of money, specifically the Present Value of a Future Sum. We are essentially asking: "What is the present-day value of my $1.5 million target, given 30 years of 8% growth?" The result is the required Coast FI number. Achieving it gives you the freedom to choose, not the freedom to quit, which is often a more powerful and realistic goal.

The Mathematical Breakdown: Present Value and Future Growth

The formula used to calculate the **Required Coast FI Value ($\text{PV}$)** is derived directly from the Compound Interest formula, only reversed. Instead of calculating future growth, we are discounting the future target back to the present. This ensures accuracy and robustness in our financial projections:

$$PV = \frac{FV}{(1 + R)^{N}}$$

Where:

• $\text{PV}$: The Required Coast FI Value (What you need today).
• $\text{FV}$: The Target FIRE Number (Your ultimate goal).
• $\text{R}$: The Expected Annual Growth Rate (as a decimal).
• $\text{N}$: The Number of Compounding Years (Target Retirement Age - Current Age).

The tool's key dynamic metric, the **FI Progress Score**, is simply the ratio of your Current Portfolio Value to the Required Coast FI Value, providing an immediate, visual measure of how close you are to stopping contributions forever.

Scenarios: How Small Changes Yield Big Results

This dynamic calculator is critical because the difference between a 7% and 9% growth rate can change your Coast FI number by hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, if you are 30 and want to retire at 60 (30 years) with a $2,000,000 target:

• At 7% growth: Your required Coast FI is roughly $262,000.
• At 9% growth: Your required Coast FI drops to roughly $150,000.

This shows the dollar-pouring potential of smart investing and the power of achieving a higher, consistent rate of return early in life. The calculator makes this relationship instantly visible.

Expert Consensus: The Power of Coasting

Leading financial experts and the FIRE community unanimously endorse the Coast FI milestone as a powerful motivator and planning tool.

"Coast FI is the first major psychological hurdle overcome. It's the moment you realize you've successfully outsourced your retirement contributions to the market."

— JL Collins, Author of The Simple Path to Wealth

"The biggest advantage of Coast FI isn't the money, it's the freedom to negotiate your life. You can turn down bad jobs and take time off because your retirement is already funded."

— Vicki Robin, Co-author of Your Money or Your Life

"Time is the greatest input in the compound interest formula. Coast FI exploits time by funding the core balance early and letting decades of growth do the heavy lifting."

— Mr. Money Mustache

"To accelerate your FI journey, focus intensely on hitting that Coast FI number. Once you hit it, every dollar you earn is truly disposable income, changing your financial psychol