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Selected option: FIRE Calculator

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

Example: Age 30 with $60,000 annual income, $36,000 annual expenses, $50,000 portfolio, 7% expected return, 4% SWR → FIRE Number: $900,000. Savings rate: 40%. Annual savings: $24,000. Years to FIRE: ~17.4 (FIRE at age 47). With Lean FIRE ($24,000 expenses), the target drops to $600,000 and you reach FI in ~12.8 years.

Tip: Your savings rate is the single most powerful lever for reaching FIRE. Going from 30% to 50% can shave 10+ years off your timeline. Use the variant comparison table to explore trade-offs: Lean FIRE gets you there fastest but requires a frugal lifestyle; Fat FIRE takes longest but provides the most comfortable retirement. Coast FIRE is ideal if you want to switch to less stressful work once your portfolio can compound to the target on its own.

FIRE Calculator OptionsCurrent AgeAnnual Income - After Tax ($)Annual Expenses ($)Current Portfolio Value ($)Expected Annual Return (%)Safe Withdrawal Rate (%)Annual Inflation Rate (%)Annual Income Growth (%)FIRE VariantCurrency

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.