FIRE Calculator: Financial Independence
Calculate your path to Financial Independence, Retire Early. Discover your FIRE number and when you can achieve financial freedom.
Master the FIRE Movement
What is FIRE?
FIRE = Financial Independence, Retire Early
A lifestyle movement focused on extreme savings and investment to achieve financial independence and retire far earlier than traditional retirement ages (typically in your 30s or 40s).
The Core Principle: Save 50-70% of your income, invest aggressively, and live off 4% of your portfolio indefinitely.
The FIRE Formula
Your FIRE Number = Annual Expenses x 25
This is based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate (the "Trinity Study")
Example: $50,000/year expenses = $1,250,000 FIRE number
Savings Rate = (Income - Expenses) / Income
The most powerful lever in your FIRE journey
50% savings rate = ~17 years to FIRE | 70% = ~8.5 years
The Power of Savings Rate
- • 10% savings rate: 51 years to FIRE
- • 25% savings rate: 32 years to FIRE
- • 50% savings rate: 17 years to FIRE
- • 75% savings rate: 7 years to FIRE
Types of FIRE
Lean FIRE
- • Minimalist lifestyle
- • $25,000-$40,000/year spending
- • FIRE number: $625K-$1M
- • Achieve faster, less flexibility
Regular FIRE
- • Moderate lifestyle
- • $40,000-$60,000/year spending
- • FIRE number: $1M-$1.5M
- • Balanced approach
Fat FIRE
- • Comfortable/luxurious lifestyle
- • $80,000-$150,000+/year spending
- • FIRE number: $2M-$4M+
- • More flexibility, takes longer
Coast FIRE
- • Enough saved to coast to 65
- • Can stop aggressive saving
- • Work part-time or passion job
- • Less stress, more flexibility
Barista FIRE
Work a low-stress part-time job for healthcare benefits while investments grow. Named after people who work at Starbucks for insurance.
FIRE Acceleration Strategies
Reduce Expenses
- • House hack (rent out rooms)
- • Drive used cars (or no car)
- • Cook at home 90%+ of meals
- • Cancel subscriptions ruthlessly
- • Geo-arbitrage (move to LCOL area)
Increase Income
- • Negotiate salary aggressively
- • Job hop every 2-3 years
- • Build side income streams
- • Develop high-income skills
- • Start a business
FIRE Pitfalls to Avoid
- Underestimating healthcare costs (can be $15,000-$25,000/year pre-Medicare)
- Ignoring sequence of returns risk (early bad years devastate portfolios)
- Not planning for lifestyle inflation or children
- Sacrificing health/relationships for higher savings rate
- Not having a plan for purpose/meaning after FIRE
- Using too aggressive withdrawal rate (3.5% is safer for early retirees)
Your FIRE Action Plan
- Calculate your FIRE number using the calculator
- Track every expense for 3 months to understand spending
- Maximize tax-advantaged accounts (401k, IRA, HSA)
- Invest in low-cost index funds (VTSAX, VTI)
- Build multiple income streams
- Review and optimize monthly - treat savings like a game
Learn more: Read our comprehensive guide on
The Complete Guide to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)Everything you need to know about achieving financial freedom. Calculate your FIRE number, learn different FIRE types, and create your path.
Frequently Asked Questions
THE BASIC FORMULA:
FIRE Number = Annual Expenses x 25
This is based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate from the Trinity Study, which found that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio annually (adjusted for inflation) has a 95%+ success rate over 30 years.
EXAMPLES:
• $30,000/year expenses = $750,000 FIRE number
• $50,000/year expenses = $1,250,000 FIRE number
• $80,000/year expenses = $2,000,000 FIRE number
• $100,000/year expenses = $2,500,000 FIRE number
ADJUSTING FOR EARLY RETIREMENT:
If retiring before 50, consider using 3.5% or even 3% withdrawal rate:
• 4% rule: Expenses x 25
• 3.5% rule: Expenses x 28.6
• 3% rule: Expenses x 33.3
For early retirees (40+ year retirement):
$50,000 expenses at 3.5% = $1,428,571 needed (vs $1.25M at 4%)
KEY INSIGHT: Reducing expenses by $10,000/year reduces your FIRE number by $250,000. Cutting expenses is often faster than earning more!