FIRE Number Calculator
Financial independence is a number, not a feeling: the amount invested that lets your portfolio cover your spending for good. Enter your expected spending and a safe withdrawal rate to see your FIRE number, and add your savings to estimate how many years it would take to reach it.
Fill in your numbers, results update as you type. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
What your FIRE number means
The big number is the size of portfolio that, at your chosen withdrawal rate, should fund your spending indefinitely. The breakdown shows the monthly income it would throw off and, if you entered your savings, how long it would take to get there. Reaching this number means work becomes optional: your investments, not your salary, can cover your life.
For someone planning to quit a job, the FIRE number is the far horizon. You rarely need to hit it to leave a single job, that is what runway is for, but knowing it tells you how much pressure your next job actually has to carry, and whether you are closer to optional work than you think.
Choosing your withdrawal rate and inputs
- Use realistic retirement spending. Estimate what you will actually spend each month in today's money, not your current gross income. Many costs change in retirement, so build the figure from real categories.
- Pick a withdrawal rate you can defend. Four percent is the common default, but a longer retirement or a cautious temperament argues for 3 to 3.5 percent, which raises the target. Lower is safer.
- Keep everything in today's money. Use today's spending and a real, after-inflation return so the target reflects today's purchasing power and is not inflated twice.
- Subtract guaranteed income first. If a pension or state benefit will cover part of your spending, deduct it before applying the rate, because your portfolio only has to fund the rest. The coast number calculator covers the related question of easing off saving.
A FIRE target, worked through
Priya expects to spend 3,500 a month in retirement, which is 42,000 a year, and she uses the 4 percent rule. Her FIRE number is 42,000 divided by 0.04, which is 1,050,000. That portfolio would provide about 3,500 a month at a 4 percent withdrawal, exactly her spending.
She has 250,000 invested and adds 2,000 a month, assuming a 5 percent real return. Growing the balance month by month, she reaches 1,050,000 in roughly 17 years. Lowering her withdrawal rate to 3.5 percent would raise the target to 1,200,000 and push the timeline out, the trade-off between safety and speed in one number.
How the FIRE number is calculated
The FIRE number equals your annual spending divided by your safe withdrawal rate expressed as a decimal, so at 4 percent it is your annual spending multiplied by 25. The monthly income shown is the FIRE number multiplied by the withdrawal rate, divided by twelve. The years-to-FIRE estimate grows your current investments and your monthly contributions at the real return you choose, month by month, until the balance reaches the target. The model assumes a steady average return and constant contributions, which real markets do not deliver, so treat the timeline as a guide. Full assumptions are on the methodology page. Educational estimate, not financial advice.
The assumptions that make or break a FIRE number
Underestimating retirement spending
The target is spending times 25, so every 100 a month you understate adds 30,000 to the number. Build the spending figure honestly. Budget planner
Assuming an aggressive return
A high return makes the timeline look short. Use a conservative real return, the cost of being wrong is working years longer than planned.
Trusting 4 percent for a very long retirement
The rule was studied over 30-year windows. For an early, decades-long retirement, a lower rate is safer and raises the target.
Forgetting health cover and tax
In the US especially, health insurance and taxes are real retirement costs. Include them in your spending before applying the rate. Price cover
Where to go from your FIRE number
Coast Number Calculator
The amount invested now that grows to this target without further saving.
Lean FIRE Calculator
What financial independence looks like on a frugal budget, and how much sooner it arrives.
Barista FIRE Calculator
When a part-time income covers some costs, your portfolio only has to fund the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What is a FIRE number?
Your FIRE number is the amount of invested money that makes you financially independent, the point where your portfolio can cover your annual spending indefinitely from its returns. It is usually estimated as your annual expenses divided by a safe withdrawal rate, which at the common 4 percent rule means 25 times your yearly spending.
How do I calculate my FIRE number?
Take your expected annual spending and divide it by your safe withdrawal rate expressed as a decimal. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate, that is your annual spending multiplied by 25. If you spend 40,000 a year, your FIRE number is about 1,000,000. Lower withdrawal rates give a larger, more conservative target.
Is the 4 percent rule safe?
The 4 percent rule is a useful starting point drawn from historical studies, not a guarantee. It suggests you can withdraw about 4 percent of your portfolio in the first year and adjust for inflation thereafter, with a high chance of the money lasting. Many people use a more conservative 3 to 3.5 percent for a long retirement, which raises the FIRE number.
Does the FIRE number account for inflation?
It does if you keep everything in today's money: use today's spending and a real, after-inflation return for any years-to-FIRE estimate. The withdrawal-rate method already assumes you increase withdrawals with inflation over time, so the target itself is expressed in today's purchasing power.
People also ask
How is the FIRE number different from a coast number?
The FIRE number is the full target that lets your portfolio cover your living costs forever. A coast number is smaller: it is the amount invested now that will grow to your FIRE number by retirement age without any further contributions. Reaching your coast number means retirement is on track; reaching your FIRE number means you could stop working.
What return should I assume for FIRE?
For a years-to-FIRE estimate, use a real return after inflation, commonly around 4 to 6 percent for a diversified portfolio, and lean conservative since future returns are uncertain. The FIRE number itself does not depend on the return assumption; only how long it takes you to reach it does.
Does a pension or Social Security change my FIRE number?
Yes. Guaranteed income such as a pension or state benefit covers part of your spending, so your portfolio only needs to fund the rest. Subtract that expected income from your annual spending before applying the withdrawal rate, and your FIRE number falls accordingly. The Barista FIRE calculator handles the version where part-time income covers some costs.
The gap matters more than the finish line
You rarely need your full FIRE number to leave one job. The Quit My Job Calculator turns your savings and burn into a readiness verdict for the gap ahead.
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