Coast FIRE Number at 35

Retiring at 65 with a 7% return, 3% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate, in today's dollars.

How fast you get there from $120,000

Starting at 35 with $120,000 invested and planning to spend $60,000 a year, here's when you'd cross the line at different monthly contributions.

At 35, the Coast FIRE number is bigger than it was at 30, but you’ve also got a decade of income growth behind you. The real test at this age is whether your contributions survive the most expensive years of raising kids.

Why 35 is often the tightest year

Daycare is brutal. The Department of Labor found that center-based care for one infant costs more than rent in some US counties, and two kids in care often overlaps with a new mortgage. Something gives, and retirement contributions are the easiest thing to cut because nobody sends you a bill for them.

Two things help. First, use a dependent care FSA if your employer offers one. The limit went up from $5,000 to $7,500 starting in 2026, which is real money if you’re paying for care anyway. Second, don’t cut contributions to zero. A smaller amount you keep going protects more of your date than you’d guess.

It also helps to remember that childcare is temporary. Don’t let this year’s budget inflate the retirement spending you plan for. At 65 your kids will be adults, and that cost will be gone.

Nicole at 35

Nicole and her partner are 35, have $160,000 invested between them and have two kids in daycare. They expect to spend $70,000 a year in retirement, which puts their Coast FIRE number at $558,009. Right now they can manage $1,000 a month. When their youngest starts kindergarten at 40, they plan to move the daycare money into their 401(k)s and contribute $3,000 a month.

By 40 their balance should be about $260,000. From there, at $3,000 a month, they reach Coast FIRE at 55. If they had stopped contributing entirely for those five years, they'd reach Coast FIRE at 58. The $1,000 a month felt small while they were paying it, and it’s worth years at the other end.

What to prioritize from 35 to 45

Plan the step-up before the daycare years end. The month the last daycare bill stops is the easiest moment you’ll ever have to raise contributions, because you’re already living without that money. Wait a few months and it’ll get absorbed into everyday spending.

Keep your own retirement ahead of college savings. I’d rather see parents fully funding a 401(k) and putting a modest amount into a 529 than the other way around.

If one of you earns most of the household income, look at term life and disability insurance before you fine-tune your funds. Every Coast FIRE number assumes the money stays invested until 65. Losing an income with small kids at home is exactly the kind of event that breaks it, and a cheap term policy keeps the plan intact.

Other ages: 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 40, 45, 50, 55. Or see every age on one table.