[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":243},["ShallowReactive",2],{"content:\u002Fcoast-fire-number-by-age\u002Fat-25":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"dateModified":231,"datePublished":232,"description":233,"extension":234,"lede":235,"meta":236,"navigation":237,"overline":238,"path":239,"seo":240,"stem":241,"__hash__":242},"content\u002Fcoast-fire-number-by-age\u002Fat-25.md","Coast FIRE Number at 25: The Smallest Target You Will Ever Have","coastfire.info",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":221},"minimark",[10,19,27,32,104,107,111,118,125,129,140,147,150,154,169,176,180,183,189,195,201,205,213],[11,12,13,14,18],"p",{},"A twenty-five-year-old looking at FIRE forums sees the same big-sounding numbers — $1 million, $2.5 million — that everyone else does. What gets lost is that the ",[15,16,17],"em",{},"Coast FIRE"," version of those numbers, at 25, is dramatically smaller than at any other age in this series.",[11,20,21,22,26],{},"At 25, with retirement at 65 and a $40,000 annual spending target, the Coast FIRE number is roughly ",[23,24,25],"strong",{},"$223,000",". That is the portfolio that, even if you stopped contributing today and never restarted, would grow into a full $1 million in today's dollars by the time you turned 65.",[28,29,31],"h2",{"id":30},"your-numbers-at-25","Your numbers at 25",[33,34,35,57],"table",{},[36,37,38],"thead",{},[39,40,41,47,52],"tr",{},[42,43,44],"th",{},[23,45,46],{},"Spending target",[42,48,49],{},[23,50,51],{},"FIRE number",[42,53,54],{},[23,55,56],{},"Coast FIRE at 25",[58,59,60,71,82,93],"tbody",{},[39,61,62,66,69],{},[63,64,65],"td",{},"$40,000\u002Fyear",[63,67,68],{},"$1,000,000",[63,70,25],{},[39,72,73,76,79],{},[63,74,75],{},"$60,000\u002Fyear",[63,77,78],{},"$1,500,000",[63,80,81],{},"$335,000",[39,83,84,87,90],{},[63,85,86],{},"$80,000\u002Fyear",[63,88,89],{},"$2,000,000",[63,91,92],{},"$447,000",[39,94,95,98,101],{},[63,96,97],{},"$100,000\u002Fyear",[63,99,100],{},"$2,500,000",[63,102,103],{},"$558,000",[11,105,106],{},"Numbers use the 4% rule for the FIRE target and roughly 3.8% real return for compounding from age 25 to 65.",[28,108,110],{"id":109},"what-this-looks-like-in-practice","What this looks like in practice",[11,112,113,114,117],{},"For most people leaving school in their early twenties, the Coast FIRE number for a $40,000 retirement is ",[15,115,116],{},"somewhere between five and eight years of focused saving",". That is not \"save for forty years and then retire.\" That is \"save for five to eight years in your twenties and then stop, if you want to.\"",[11,119,120,121,124],{},"A 25-year-old saving $2,000 a month into a low-cost index fund will hit roughly $223,000 by age 32, before any growth at all. Add typical market returns and the timeline compresses further. The math at this age is overpowered specifically because ",[15,122,123],{},"time",", not contribution size, is doing the heavy lifting.",[28,126,128],{"id":127},"late-start-at-25","Late start at 25",[11,130,131,132,135,136,139],{},"A 25-year-old with $0 invested today, contributing ",[23,133,134],{},"$500\u002Fmonth"," to a Roth IRA, lands at about ",[23,137,138],{},"$870,000"," in today's dollars by 65 — well past the $1M FIRE target. Coast FIRE is hit somewhere around age 37: roughly $223,000 in the portfolio at that point, after twelve years of contributions.",[11,141,142,143,146],{},"Push the contribution to ",[23,144,145],{},"$1,000\u002Fmonth"," and the trajectory accelerates dramatically. Coast FIRE arrives around age 31. From 31 onward, growth alone takes care of the rest.",[11,148,149],{},"Late start at 25 is almost an oxymoron. There is no genuinely late start at 25 — there is only \"I have not started yet.\" The remediation is the same as for anyone else: open an account, automate a contribution, and let time do its work.",[28,151,153],{"id":152},"early-start-at-25","Early start at 25",[11,155,156,157,160,161,164,165,168],{},"The early-start version of 25 is the most powerful position in this entire series. A 25-year-old who already has ",[23,158,159],{},"$50,000 invested"," (perhaps from a graduation gift, a frugal stretch in early career, or an inheritance) plus ",[23,162,163],{},"$500\u002Fmonth in ongoing contributions"," crosses the Coast FIRE line for a $40k retirement around ",[23,166,167],{},"age 28",".",[11,170,171,172,175],{},"From 28 to 65, this person could literally stop contributing and arrive at retirement with a fully-funded $1M portfolio in today's dollars. Most do not stop, of course — they just stop ",[15,173,174],{},"needing"," to save, which changes their relationship to work and money in a way that older starters cannot replicate.",[28,177,179],{"id":178},"what-to-do-with-this-information","What to do with this information",[11,181,182],{},"Three practical implications.",[11,184,185,188],{},[23,186,187],{},"A 25-year-old who hits $50,000–$75,000 of net worth is already on the Coast FIRE trajectory"," for a modest retirement, even before realizing it. The action item is to keep contributing — not because the math demands it, but because optionality at this age is unusually cheap to buy.",[11,190,191,194],{},[23,192,193],{},"The choice to load up tax-advantaged accounts early matters a lot."," Roth contributions made at 25, especially in low-tax-bracket years, compound for forty years tax-free. Even a few maxed-out years in your mid-twenties produce a disproportionate share of your eventual retirement balance.",[11,196,197,200],{},[23,198,199],{},"The Coast FIRE math gets harder every year you wait."," At 25, hitting Coast FIRE requires $223,000. At 30, it requires $269,000. At 35, $324,000. The numbers do not increase linearly — they accelerate. Each year of delay costs more than the year before it.",[28,202,204],{"id":203},"run-your-numbers-at-25","Run your numbers at 25",[11,206,207,212],{},[208,209,211],"a",{"href":210},"\u002F?currentAge=25","Open the calculator with currentAge=25 prefilled"," to see the projection for your specific contributions, spending target, and assumptions. The chart will show the exact year you cross your personal Coast FIRE line — which, at this age, is usually closer than you expect.",[11,214,215,216,220],{},"For the broader context and the full age table, see the ",[208,217,219],{"href":218},"\u002Fcoast-fire-number-by-age","Coast FIRE Number by Age"," overview.",{"title":222,"searchDepth":223,"depth":223,"links":224},"",2,[225,226,227,228,229,230],{"id":30,"depth":223,"text":31},{"id":109,"depth":223,"text":110},{"id":127,"depth":223,"text":128},{"id":152,"depth":223,"text":153},{"id":178,"depth":223,"text":179},{"id":203,"depth":223,"text":204},null,"2026-05-13","Coast FIRE at 25 needs roughly $223,000 for a $40,000 retirement. The math, the worked examples, and what it looks like to be a late or early starter at this age.","md","Twenty-five is the cheat code. Forty years of compounding turns small amounts of capital into something that funds a real retirement — and almost no one running the numbers at this age realizes it.",{},true,"Reference · Nº 04 · at 25","\u002Fcoast-fire-number-by-age\u002Fat-25",{"title":5,"description":233},"coast-fire-number-by-age\u002Fat-25","y0-6wnrOHAuDXSNOoosXbsUXHbx4xwKVpiPe8pCBQiM",1778462728918]