FIRE Calculator
Estimate your financial-independence (FIRE) number — the portfolio that could cover your yearly expenses — and project the age you could reach it at your current savings pace, for savers in the US and Canada.
Model your path to independence
Use a whole number from 16 through 80.
Total invested assets so far, up to $1 billion.
Yearly spending in retirement — this sets your FIRE number.
Amount invested each month toward independence.
Hypothetical annual rate from -20% through 30%.
Reached around age 48 — in 18 years at your current pace.
- FIRE number
- $1,000,000.00
- Years to independence
- 18
- Age reached
- 48
How your FIRE number and age are calculated
Your FIRE number is your annual expenses divided by your safe withdrawal rate. At the widely cited 4% rate, that works out to 25 times your annual expenses. The calculator then grows your current savings and monthly contributions month by month at the expected return, and reports the first age at which the balance reaches your FIRE number.
FIRE number = Annual expenses ÷ (withdrawal rate ÷ 100) = 25 × expenses at 4%- Annual expenses
- Yearly spending you want the portfolio to cover
- Withdrawal rate
- Share of the portfolio withdrawn each year (4% by default)
The 4% rule (equivalently, the 25x rule) is a general rule of thumb drawn from historical market studies, not a guarantee or personalized advice. A lower withdrawal rate produces a larger, more conservative target; a higher rate produces a smaller one. Actual sustainable withdrawal depends on markets, sequence of returns, taxes, and how long you need the money to last.
Age 30, $50,000 saved, $2,000 per month, $40,000 expenses
A 30-year-old with $50,000 invested, adding $2,000 per month at a 7% annual return, with $40,000 of annual expenses and a 4% withdrawal rate, has a FIRE number of $1,000,000 (25 × $40,000). At that pace the portfolio crosses $1,000,000 in about 18 years — around age 48.
Contributing more each month, spending less in retirement, or a higher return would pull that age earlier; the reverse would push it later. If the target is never reached within the modeling horizon, the calculator says so rather than inventing an age.
This is an educational projection. Real markets are volatile, and taxes, fees, and inflation are not modeled here.
What this calculator assumes
- Current savings and monthly contributions grow at a constant expected return, compounded monthly.
- The monthly contribution stays the same for the full projection.
- The FIRE number uses your annual expenses and withdrawal rate; it is a rule-of-thumb target, not a guarantee that money will last.
- No Social Security, CPP, pension, or other income is included.
- Taxes, fees, and inflation are excluded.
Understanding the FIRE Calculator
FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early — is the idea that once your investments are large enough to cover your yearly expenses indefinitely, paid work becomes optional. The linchpin is your FIRE number: the portfolio size at which a sustainable withdrawal rate covers your annual spending. This calculator finds that number and then projects the age at which your current savings and contributions could reach it.
What makes FIRE distinctive is the lever it emphasizes. Because your target is a multiple of your spending, cutting expenses lowers the finish line and raises your savings rate at the same time — which is why, in the FIRE framework, your savings rate matters far more than your raw income. This tool lets you test exactly that.
Who this calculator is for
- Aspiring early retireeswho want a concrete FIRE number and a realistic age they could reach financial independence.
- High-savings-rate householdsmodeling how pushing their savings rate higher pulls their independence date years closer.
- Coast and Barista FIRE plannerschecking whether their invested balance can grow to cover retirement without further contributions, or with only part-time income.
- Lean and Fat FIRE saversseeing how a leaner or more generous annual spending target reshapes the portfolio they need.
- Anyone questioning the 4% ruleadjusting the withdrawal rate to build a more conservative or aggressive target and watching the timeline respond.
Why it matters
- It quantifies the finish line — instead of a vague "enough to retire," you get a specific FIRE number tied directly to your own spending.
- It shows the savings-rate effect in action: raising your monthly contribution both fills the portfolio faster and, if it comes from spending less, lowers the target you are aiming at.
- It lets you dial the withdrawal rate to your own risk tolerance, so you can build a more conservative (larger) or more aggressive (smaller) target than the default 4%.
- It reveals whether early retirement is plausible on your current trajectory, or whether the numbers demand a higher savings rate, lower expenses, or a longer horizon.
- It supports the FIRE variants — Lean, Coast, Barista, and Fat — by letting you change expenses, contributions, and target so each strategy produces its own age and number.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your annual expenses — the yearly spending your portfolio must cover. This drives the whole target, so use a realistic figure for the life you want.
- Set your safe withdrawal rate. The 4% default implies a 25x target; a lower rate (e.g. 3.5%) builds a larger, more conservative cushion, while a higher rate builds a smaller one.
- Add your current invested savings and your monthly contribution — the two inputs that determine how fast you close the gap to your FIRE number.
- Choose an expected annual rate of return, modeled as a conservative long-run figure for a diversified portfolio and treated as hypothetical, not guaranteed.
- Read your FIRE number and the projected age you reach it, then adjust expenses, contributions, or the withdrawal rate to see the date move.
How to read your result
Two figures matter. The FIRE number is your annual expenses divided by your withdrawal rate — at 4%, simply 25 times your spending. The projected age is the first point at which your growing balance crosses that number. If that age is acceptable, your current pace works; if not, the calculator shows which lever closes the gap fastest, and for most people that lever is the savings rate rather than a higher assumed return.
Read the age as a planning estimate, not a countdown. It rests on a steady return every year, whereas real markets are volatile and their order matters. Sequence-of-returns risk — a stretch of poor returns in the first years after you stop working — is the single biggest threat to an early-retirement plan, precisely because an early retiree needs the money to last much longer than a traditional 30-year retirement. Building in a lower withdrawal rate or a cash buffer is how many FIRE planners hedge that risk.
- The 4% rule was studied largely on roughly 30-year retirements. Early retirees may need their portfolio to last 40, 50, or more years, so a lower withdrawal rate (often 3.25-3.5%) is a common, more conservative choice — and it raises your FIRE number.
- Sequence-of-returns risk is acute in early retirement. A bad run of returns just after you quit, combined with ongoing withdrawals, can permanently damage a portfolio even if long-run average returns are fine.
- Healthcare is a real gap, especially in the US, where retiring before Medicare eligibility means covering insurance yourself — a cost that can dwarf other early-retirement expenses and belongs in your annual-expenses figure.
- The projection excludes taxes and inflation. Withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) or RRSP are taxable, and decades of inflation erode purchasing power, so both your expenses and your target may need to rise over time.
- The plan assumes contributions continue at the modeled rate until you hit the number. A job loss, income drop, or lifestyle creep that shrinks your savings rate pushes the date back.
- Focus on your savings rate first. Because it both accelerates the portfolio and, when driven by lower spending, shrinks the target, it moves your FIRE date far more than chasing a higher return.
- Explore the variants: Coast FIRE checks whether your current balance can grow to the target with no further contributions; Barista FIRE assumes part-time income covers some expenses; Lean and Fat FIRE simply use lower or higher annual-expense figures.
- Stress-test with a lower withdrawal rate and a lower return than you expect — if the plan still works, you have a genuine margin of safety against a rough sequence of early-retirement returns.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 4% rule, and where does it come from?
The 4% rule is a rule of thumb suggesting you can withdraw about 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjust that amount for inflation, and historically have had a good chance of the money lasting roughly 30 years. It implies a target of about 25 times your annual spending. It is a general heuristic drawn from historical US market data, not a guarantee, and it was not designed for the very long retirements FIRE often involves.
Why does my savings rate matter more than my income?
Your FIRE number is a multiple of your spending, not your income. A higher savings rate means you both invest more each month and live on less — which lowers the target itself. Two people earning very different salaries but saving the same percentage of their income reach financial independence in a similar number of years; the one who saves a larger share gets there faster, regardless of headline pay.
What are Lean, Coast, Barista, and Fat FIRE?
They are variants of the same idea. Lean FIRE targets a frugal lifestyle with lower annual expenses; Fat FIRE targets a more comfortable one with higher expenses and a larger number. Coast FIRE means you have invested enough that, without adding another dollar, growth alone should reach your target by traditional retirement age. Barista FIRE means part-time work (often for benefits like health insurance) covers part of your expenses, so your portfolio does not have to cover everything.
Is a 4% withdrawal rate safe for early retirement?
It is more debated for early retirees than for traditional ones, because a longer retirement gives markets more time to deliver a damaging sequence of returns. Many in the FIRE community adopt a more conservative rate, around 3.25% to 3.5%, which raises the FIRE number but improves the odds of the portfolio lasting. You can enter whatever rate matches your own risk tolerance.
How do I handle healthcare and taxes before traditional retirement age?
Both are real costs the projection does not model. In the US, retiring before Medicare eligibility at 65 means buying your own health insurance, which can be a major expense to fold into your annual-expenses figure. Withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts like a traditional 401(k) or RRSP are taxable, so your gross withdrawals may need to exceed your spending to cover the tax. Roth IRA and TFSA withdrawals are treated more favorably.
Why might the calculator say I never reach FIRE?
If your contributions and expected return are too low relative to your expenses-driven target, the balance may not reach the FIRE number within the modeled horizon. Rather than invent an age, the calculator says so. Raising your monthly contribution, lowering your annual expenses (which also lowers the target), or accepting a longer timeline are the ways to bring the number into reach.
Sources and review notes
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor.gov) — Compound Interest Calculator
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Planning for Retirement
Methodology last checked Jul 14, 2026. Formula implementation is covered by deterministic unit tests. No financial professional review is claimed yet.