The FIRE community likes to prefix everything: Lean FIRE, Fat FIRE, Coast FIRE, Barista FIRE, the list grows. Underneath the labels, though, each one answers the same question differently: what does "enough" mean for you?

Lean FIRE — enough, barely

Lean FIRE targets around $25,000/year of expenses — roughly $625,000 at a 4% withdrawal rate. It is the smallest portfolio that technically qualifies as financial independence.

The trade is time. Lean FIRE lets you quit early because the target is small. The cost is a life with thin margins: a broken furnace is a budget crisis, not an inconvenience. It works best for people who genuinely enjoy low-cost living — single folks in low-cost areas, van-lifers, anyone whose ideal life does not require much money.

Fat FIRE — enough, comfortably

Fat FIRE targets $100,000+/year of expenses — a portfolio of $2.5M or more. The math is the same; the target is just bigger.

The trade is the opposite: more time working, but a retirement that looks like a continuation of a comfortable upper-middle-class life — travel, dining, a nice house. Fat FIRE is for people who already earn well and do not want their lifestyle to drop in retirement.

Coast FIRE — enough, eventually

Coast FIRE is structurally different. You do not have your full FIRE number yet — you have enough that it will grow into your FIRE number on its own by the time you actually want to retire.

The trade is freedom now, security later. You can stop contributing to your portfolio and the math still works — but you will need to cover living expenses through work or side income until retirement age. Coast FIRE is not retirement; it is permission to downshift.

Barista FIRE — the middle path

Barista FIRE sits between Coast and full FIRE. You have got enough portfolio to supplement a part-time or lower-stress job — a "coffee shop job" that covers basics, with your investments filling the gap. You are not retired, but you are also not grinding.

Think of it as Coast FIRE with a smaller gap to bridge. Coast FIRE assumes you will cover all living expenses from work; Barista FIRE assumes you will cover some and let the portfolio chip in.

Side by side

  • Lean: smallest target, hardest lifestyle, fastest exit.
  • Fat: biggest target, softest lifestyle, slowest exit.
  • Coast: portfolio on autopilot, you still work for living expenses.
  • Barista: portfolio chips in, you work less.

Which one is yours?

The honest answer: it depends on what you want retirement to feel like, not just when you want it to start. Lean is fast but fragile. Fat is sturdy but slow. Coast is freedom-now, security-later. Barista is the in-between.

Most people's actual plan is some blend — Coast to 50, Barista to 60, full FIRE after that. The calculators on this site let you stress-test each one against your real numbers. Pick a path, see the math, and adjust the target until the story feels right.

There is no leaderboard. There is just your number, your timeline, and your tolerance for risk along the way.