Coast, Barista, Lean & Fat FIRE — which exit is yours?
FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early — isn't one thing. The variants are really different answers to one question: how much freedom do you want, and how much are you willing to do to get there sooner?
The one rule underneath all of them
Almost every flavor rests on the 4% rule: you're financially independent when your invested savings reach about 25× your annual spending. Spend $40k a year, and your number is roughly $1,000,000. The variants below mostly change the spending level — or let you stop early.
Lean FIRE — freedom on a tight budget
Retire early by keeping spending low — often under ~$25–30k a year. The number is smaller and you reach it sooner, but there's less margin for surprises. Best for: minimalists, geoarbitrageurs, and people who genuinely prefer simple living.
Regular FIRE — the comfortable middle
A normal middle-class retirement, fully funded by your portfolio. The default most people mean by "FIRE." Best for: people who want their current lifestyle, indefinitely, without working.
Fat FIRE — no compromises
A generous, no-budget lifestyle — think $100k+ a year in spending, so a $2.5M+ portfolio. Takes longer and usually a high income, but you never have to think about money. Best for: high earners unwilling to downshift their lifestyle.
Coast FIRE — stop saving, start living
You've invested enough that compounding alone will grow into a full retirement by your target age — so you can stop contributing and only earn enough to cover today's bills. It's not "retire now," it's "the retirement saving is done." Best for: people who want to downshift, switch to lower-paid meaningful work, or go part-time now.
Barista FIRE — savings + a little work
Your portfolio covers most of your costs, and part-time work covers the rest (and, in the US, often the health insurance). A much smaller number than full FIRE, reached years earlier. Best for: people who don't mind some work but want out of the full-time grind.
You don't have to pick one forever. A common path: Coast in your 30s, Barista in your 40s, full FIRE later — each stage buying back more of your time.
So which is yours?
- Want out fastest and happy to live lean? → Lean or Barista.
- Want to downshift now without fully retiring? → Coast.
- Want your current life, work-free? → Regular.
- Unwilling to cut spending at all? → Fat (and a longer timeline).
Whatever fits, the savings rate is the lever that sets the timeline — see how yours maps to years — and the main exit readiness calculator ties it all to a real, near-term decision.