Investor Tool

FIRE Calculator

Find your FIRE number and see when financial independence could be within reach, based on your spending, saving, and invested net worth.

FIRE Calculator

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Enter your age, invested net worth, annual spending, and annual savings to estimate your FIRE number, the age you might reach it, and which levers move that date. Everything stays in your browser.

Current Age

yrs

Invested Net Worth(investments and cash)

Annual Spending

Annual Savings(added to investments)

Return Above Inflation(real return)

Withdrawal Rate(optional, default 4)

Enter your age, invested net worth, annual spending, and annual savings to see your FIRE number and a projected timeline.

Assumptions this calculator makes

Withdrawal rate: The 4% default comes from a 1998 academic paper known as the Trinity study, which tested withdrawal rates over historical 30-year US retirements. Many early retirees plan around 3% to 3.5% instead, because a 40 or 50 year retirement is harder than a 30 year one. You can change the rate above.

Returns: Enter a real return, meaning above inflation. US stocks have averaged roughly 6% to 7% a year above inflation over the last century, with deep multi-year losses along the way. A constant return is a simplification, not how markets behave.

Spending: The model assumes you spend about the same in retirement as you do today, in today's dollars. Health care, housing changes, and family can move that number a lot, in either direction.

Not modeled: Taxes, investment fees, pensions, and Social Security are left out. Taxes alone can change the picture meaningfully, so treat the output as a starting point.

Common questions about FIRE

What is a FIRE number?

Your FIRE number is the portfolio size where investment withdrawals could cover your annual spending. At a 4% withdrawal rate it is simply your annual spending times 25, so spending $40,000 a year puts it at $1,000,000.

What is the 4% rule?

The 4% rule comes from a 1998 academic paper known as the Trinity study. It found that withdrawing 4% of a balanced portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjusting for inflation, survived most historical 30-year retirements. It is a planning guide based on US history, not a guarantee about the future.

What is Coast FIRE?

Coast FIRE means your current portfolio could grow to your FIRE number by a traditional retirement age without any new contributions. You still work to cover your bills, but you no longer need to save. You can test it here by setting annual savings to zero.

What is Barista FIRE?

Barista FIRE means covering part of your spending with part-time work so your portfolio only has to fund the rest. You can approximate it here by entering only the spending your investments would need to cover.

Is my projected FIRE age guaranteed?

No. The projection assumes a constant return above inflation and steady spending, and real life delivers neither. Market crashes, spending changes, taxes, and fees all move the date. Treat the result as a rough range, not an appointment.

These results are estimates, not predictions. They are based on the inputs you provide and assumed rates of return, which are not guaranteed. Real markets rise and fall every year. For educational purposes only, not financial advice.

From Money Masters

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