CalcToolVault

FIRE Calculator

Find your financial independence number and the year you can retire early, based on savings rate and spending.

Your details

yrs
$
$
$

Assumptions

%

After inflation. 5% is a common conservative choice.

%
%

This calculator runs entirely on your device. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or sold. How this works

Your FIRE number

$1,550,000

25× annual spending at a 4.0% withdrawal rate

Save these results

Includes your inputs, the full breakdown, and every row of the table.

Years to financial independence

16

You reach it at age 48

Savings rate

48.3%

$58,000 saved per year

Coast FIRE number

$309,802

Enough today to coast to $1,550,000 by 65

Progress to FIRE

7.7%

$0$409k$817k$1.2M$1.6M0369121516
PortfolioFIRE number
Portfolio
Breakdown
Lean FIRE (75% of spending)
$1,162,500
FIRE (current spending)
$1,550,000
Fat FIRE (150% of spending)
$2,325,000
Monthly income at FIRE
$5,166.67

What this means

  • At a 48.3% savings rate, every year of work funds roughly 0.94 years of retirement spending.
  • The savings rate matters far more than the return. Someone saving 50% of income reaches independence in roughly 17 years regardless of starting balance; someone saving 10% needs about 50.
  • The 4% rule comes from the Trinity study of 30-year retirements. For a retirement lasting 45+ years, 3.25-3.5% is the more defensible number.

How the fire calculation works

FIRE — financial independence, retire early — reduces to one ratio: your savings rate. Because the money you do not spend both increases what you invest and lowers the portfolio you need, cutting spending is doubly effective. That is why the years-to-independence table depends almost entirely on savings rate and barely on income.

Your FIRE number is annual spending divided by a safe withdrawal rate. At 4% that is 25× spending; at 3.5% it becomes roughly 29×. The withdrawal rate you choose should reflect how long the money must last — a 30-year retirement and a 50-year retirement are genuinely different problems.

Frequently asked questions

What is Coast FIRE?

The point where your existing investments will grow to your FIRE number by traditional retirement age without any further contributions. After that you only need to cover current spending, which opens the door to lower-paying but better work.

Is the 4% rule safe?

It survived every historical 30-year US period in the Trinity study, but it assumes a stock-heavy portfolio, constant inflation-adjusted spending, and no fees. Longer retirements, higher fees, or poor early returns all argue for something closer to 3.5%.

Should I use nominal or real returns?

Real, as this calculator does. If your spending target is in today's dollars, your return must be net of inflation or the projection will be badly optimistic.

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Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the assumptions described above. Confirm any figure with a qualified professional before acting on it.