Finance Tools
What It Does
Calculates when you can achieve financial independence — the point where your investment portfolio can sustain your living expenses indefinitely through a safe withdrawal rate (like the popular “4% rule”). Unlike a traditional retirement calculator that targets a fixed age, the FIRE calculator shows how your savings rate, expenses, and investment returns determine when you can stop working. Compare five FIRE variants side by side: Regular, Lean, Fat, Coast, and Barista. Export the year-by-year projection and variant comparison to CSV or Excel for detailed planning.
How to Use It
- Enter your current age, annual after-tax income, and annual expenses.
- Enter your current portfolio value (total invested savings).
- Set the expected annual real return (after inflation, typically 5–7% for diversified portfolios).
- Set the safe withdrawal rate (4% is the classic rule; lower rates provide more safety margin).
- Set the expected inflation rate (affects Coast FIRE only).
- Set the annual income growth rate — your expected annual raise above inflation (0% means constant income; positive values make FIRE faster).
- Select a FIRE variant and fill in any variant-specific fields.
- Select your currency from the dropdown (defaults to USD).
- Click “Calculate” to see your FIRE projection and variant comparison, or “Clear” to reset all fields.
- Use “Copy Results”, “Export CSV”, or “Export Excel” to save or share the analysis.
Options Explained
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Current age | Your age today — determines FIRE age and Coast FIRE horizon |
| Annual income (after tax) | Your net take-home pay per year — used with expenses to compute your savings rate and annual savings |
| Annual expenses | Your total yearly spending — this drives the FIRE Number (lower expenses = smaller target portfolio) |
| Current portfolio | Your existing invested savings — the starting point for the year-by-year projection |
| Expected annual return | The average real (after-inflation) annual return you expect from your investments. Historical stock market average is ~7% |
| Safe withdrawal rate | The percentage of your portfolio you plan to withdraw annually in retirement. The “4% rule” suggests a 4% rate sustains a portfolio for 30+ years |
| Annual inflation rate | Expected average annual inflation — affects the Coast FIRE calculation |
| Annual income growth | The expected annual percentage increase in your take-home income (in real terms, above inflation). Models salary raises over time. When > 0, annual savings increase each year, shortening the path to FIRE |
| FIRE variant | Choose from Regular, Lean, Fat, Coast, or Barista to model different financial independence strategies |
| Lean FIRE expenses | Your planned reduced annual spending for a frugal lifestyle — produces a smaller FIRE Number and faster path to independence |
| Fat FIRE expenses | Your desired comfortable annual spending — produces a larger FIRE Number for a more generous retirement lifestyle |
| Coast target age | The age at which you would traditionally retire — Coast FIRE calculates the portfolio needed today to compound to your FIRE Number by this age |
| Barista income | Annual income from part-time work that supplements your expenses, reducing the portfolio needed for financial independence |
| Currency | The currency for all monetary values — affects the symbol shown on amounts. Does not perform any conversion |
| Export CSV | Downloads a .csv file with the summary, year-by-year projection, and variant comparison — ideal for spreadsheets or data analysis |
| Export Excel | Downloads an .xlsx file with the same data formatted for Microsoft Excel or compatible applications |
About FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
FIRE is a movement focused on aggressive saving and investing so you can stop relying on employment income well before the traditional retirement age. The core idea is simple: accumulate a portfolio large enough that its annual returns cover your living expenses — your FIRE Number. With the classic 4 % safe withdrawal rate, that target is 25× your annual expenses.
Your savings rate is the single most powerful lever. Going from 20 % to 50 % can cut your timeline by more than a decade because every extra dollar saved both grows your portfolio faster and proves you can live on less — which lowers the FIRE Number itself.
This calculator models five popular FIRE variants. Lean FIRE targets a frugal lifestyle with reduced expenses; Fat FIRE aims for a more comfortable retirement with higher spending. Coast FIRE calculates the portfolio you need today so that compound growth alone reaches your target by a traditional retirement age — after that point you only need to cover current expenses with work income. Barista FIRE is similar but assumes part-time income will cover some expenses indefinitely, reducing the required portfolio. Compare all five side by side in the variant comparison table and export the year-by-year projection to CSV or Excel for deeper analysis.
Common Use Cases
- Calculating your FIRE Number based on annual expenses
- Projecting how many years until financial independence at your current savings rate
- Comparing Lean, Fat, Coast, and Barista FIRE strategies
- Modeling the impact of increasing your savings rate by 5–10%
- Determining your Coast FIRE number at different target retirement ages
- Evaluating whether part-time income can bridge the gap to full FIRE
What Is FIRE?
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is a financial strategy centered on maximizing your savings rate to build a portfolio that generates enough passive income to cover living expenses indefinitely. The target portfolio size — your FIRE Number — is typically calculated as 25 times your annual expenses, based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate derived from the Trinity Study. The movement emphasizes that the savings rate, not income alone, is the primary driver of timeline: someone saving 50% of their income can reach financial independence in roughly 17 years regardless of salary level. FIRE has evolved into several variants (Lean, Fat, Coast, Barista) that accommodate different lifestyles and risk tolerances, making the concept accessible to a wide range of financial situations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 4% rule?
The 4% rule, from the 1998 Trinity Study, suggests that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement (adjusting for inflation thereafter) has a high probability of lasting 30+ years. It is a guideline, not a guarantee, and depends on asset allocation and market conditions.
What is the difference between Lean and Fat FIRE?
Lean FIRE targets a frugal lifestyle with minimal annual expenses (typically under $40,000). Fat FIRE aims for a more comfortable retirement with higher spending. The FIRE Number scales accordingly — lower expenses mean a smaller required portfolio.
What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE is the point at which your invested portfolio is large enough that compound growth alone will reach your full FIRE Number by a traditional retirement age, even with no further contributions. After reaching Coast FIRE, you only need to earn enough to cover current expenses.