Financial independence
When does your portfolio make work optional?
Type what you have invested, what you add each month, and what you spend in a year. The FIRE number is spending divided by a withdrawal rate. The years assume that return shows up every year, which it will not.
Four ways people name the same arithmetic
Coast FIRE
Stop contributing. See if what you have already reaches a later retirement target.
Fat FIRE
The same formula with a high spending number, and the costs people skip.
Lean FIRE
A smaller budget, a smaller portfolio, and less room for a surprise.
Barista FIRE
Part-time income covers some bills. The portfolio covers the rest.
The savings rate moves the date
Starting from zero, at a 5% real return and a 4% withdrawal rate, saving half of income is about 16 years, 3 months. Saving 10% is about 50 years, 3 months. The full chart is the Shockingly Simple Math section on the compound-interest calculator.
Workbooks
Optional worksheets if you want the same math on paper. Buy buttons appear on the workbooks page when a payment link is configured.
Coast FIRE Plan · $9
Your number, the Social Security bridge, and a one-year checklist.
Money Autopilot · $19
Savings rate, account order, and payday automation.
Both · $25
The plan and the workbook together.
Questions
What is a FIRE number?
It is the portfolio that covers your annual spending at a withdrawal rate you choose. Spending of $60,000 at 4% is $1.5 million. The rate is a research shorthand, usually associated with roughly 30-year historical tests, not a promise that the portfolio lasts.
Does the home calculator include Social Security?
No. It assumes the portfolio covers all of the spending you type. To subtract a benefit, a side income, or a partial withdrawal, use the Coast FIRE calculator and type those amounts yourself. This site does not estimate a Social Security benefit.
Are the results investment advice?
No. They are arithmetic under a constant return, with no taxes and no fees unless you lower the return yourself. Markets do not return the same percent every year. The pages are educational.