FIRE Calculator

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It is a movement focused on extreme savings and investment to achieve financial freedom much earlier than traditional retirement age. The goal is to accumulate enough wealth that your investment returns can cover your living expenses indefinitely.

The 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually (adjusted for inflation) with a high probability of not running out of money over a 30-year retirement. This means you need 25x your annual expenses to reach FIRE (1/0.04 = 25). Some researchers suggest a 3.5% SWR may be safer for early retirees with 40-50+ year horizons.

Lean FIRE: Achieving FIRE with minimal expenses and a frugal lifestyle (typically under $40K/year). Traditional FIRE: Standard FIRE with comfortable but modest spending. Fat FIRE: FIRE with a higher spending level and more luxurious lifestyle ($80K+/year). Coast FIRE: Having enough invested that compound growth alone will fund retirement at 65, allowing you to work just to cover current expenses without saving more.

Your FIRE number is typically 25x your annual expenses (based on the 4% rule). For example, if you spend $50,000/year, your FIRE number is $1,250,000. Your savings rate is the most important factor: a 50% savings rate means approximately 17 years to FIRE, while a 75% rate can get you there in about 7 years.

A commonly used assumption is 7% nominal return (roughly 4-5% after inflation), based on the historical performance of the S&P 500. Conservative planners use 5-6%, while aggressive ones might use 8-10%. The key is to use a real (inflation-adjusted) return rather than nominal, and to stress-test your plan with different scenarios.

This calculator accounts for inflation by adjusting your withdrawal amount each year after reaching FIRE. Your annual expenses grow with inflation (default 2.5%), meaning you withdraw more each year in nominal terms to maintain the same purchasing power. The real return (nominal return minus inflation) determines your actual portfolio growth rate.