FIRE Calculator
Calculate your financial independence number and years to reach it, with an optional start date
Leave empty for a plain number of years. With a date, the result also shows the month you reach your FIRE number. The date only labels the timeline; the amounts do not change.
Your FIRE Number
$1,000,000
A portfolio that can cover your expenses for about 30 years at a 4% withdrawal rate (historically)
Time to Reach FIRE
24 years 7 months
Using a real (after-inflation) return of 4.39%
Assumes constant returns and savings, with your target and savings kept in today's dollars. Real markets don't guarantee this. Not investment advice.
Reading results never uses a trial use. Copying, saving or printing uses 1 per visit.
About FIRE Calculator
Calculates your FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) number from your annual expenses and a safe withdrawal rate, and how long it takes to reach it, adjusting for inflation so everything is in today's dollars. Lean, regular and fat FIRE targets are shown side by side.
Enter your annual retirement expenses, current savings, how much you save each year, your expected return and inflation. Add your age to see the age you could reach FIRE. The result is shown in years and months. Add a plan start date to also see the month you reach your FIRE number; it only labels the timeline and never changes an amount.
Cutting expenses speeds up FIRE twice: it lowers the target and raises what you can save. The 4% rule was tested on 30-year retirements, so people retiring much earlier often use 3.25%–3.5%.
Watch: FIRE Calculator in Action
- How is this different from a regular retirement calculator?
- This is the most honest, complete version of the question — what it would actually take to be fully financially independent, not just comfortably retired at a traditional age.
- How is the FIRE number calculated?
- Annual expenses divided by the withdrawal rate as a decimal. With the sample 40,000 and 4 percent that is 1,000,000. The Lean and Fat rows use 70 percent and 150 percent of your expenses with the same rate.
- Why does it use a real return?
- To keep everything in today's dollars. Return and inflation are combined as (1 + return) divided by (1 + inflation), minus 1; with 7 and 2.5 that is about 4.39 percent. Your yearly savings are also treated as a constant amount in today's money, so they do not grow with inflation.
- What does More than 100 years mean?
- The balance did not reach the target within 100 yearly steps, usually because savings and growth are small next to the target. Try lowering expenses, raising savings, or checking that the return you entered is higher than inflation.
- What is the age line under the result?
- If you enter your age, the tool adds the years to reach the target and rounds up, giving the age by which you could reach it. It appears only when a time is found. It assumes you keep the same plan from today.
- Does the 4 percent rule guarantee my money lasts?
- No. The 4 percent figure is a rule of thumb drawn from historical 30-year periods, and the tool simply divides by whatever rate you type. A longer retirement, lower returns or early losses can change the outcome, so treat the result as an estimate from your assumptions.
- What does the plan start date do in the FIRE calculator?
- It is optional. Enter the date you start saving toward the target and the result adds the month you reach it, for the main result and for the lean and fat variants. Leave it empty and you see only the number of years and months, as before.
- Is the FIRE date a prediction?
- No. It is the start date plus the years and months the calculator works out from your inputs, which assume a constant return, constant savings and a fixed withdrawal rate. Real markets vary, so treat the month as a rough guide and try a lower return to see how far it moves.
- What inputs does the FIRE calculator need?
- Annual expenses in retirement (in today's dollars), current savings or investments, the amount saved each year, return, inflation and withdrawal rate. Your age and a plan start date are optional.
- What are the default return, inflation and withdrawal rate?
- The starting values are 7% return, 2.5% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate. The 401(k) calculator starts with the same 2.5% inflation, so the two tools agree until you change it. You can edit all three.
- What withdrawal rate should I use if I retire very early?
- The 4% rule was tested on 30-year retirements, so people retiring much earlier often use 3.25% to 3.5%. A lower rate raises the target.
- Why does cutting expenses help so much?
- It speeds up FIRE twice: it lowers the target and raises what you can save each year. The tool takes the amount saved each year as its own input, so enter the higher figure to see the effect.
- What are Lean FIRE and Fat FIRE?
- Lean FIRE uses 70% of your expenses and Fat FIRE uses 150%, both with the same withdrawal rate. All three targets are shown side by side with the time to reach each.
- Does reading the result use a trial use?
- No. Reading results never uses a trial use. Copying, saving or printing uses 1 per visit. Professional tools like this one have 10 trial uses a day.
- How does this relate to a 401(k) retirement calculator?
- This calculator finds the total portfolio needed to retire early. To project how much a workplace 401(k) could contribute toward it, with employer match and IRS limits, use the 401(k) Calculator.
How to use FIRE Calculator
Fill the fields in order. Annual expenses in retirement is what you expect to spend each year, in today's dollars. Current savings / investments is what you hold now and Saved each year is what you add annually. Then enter Return (%), Inflation (%) and Withdrawal rate (%); the starting values are 7, 2.5 and 4 (the same 2.5 inflation the 401(k) calculator starts with). Your age (optional) adds an estimated age at which you reach the target.
The result shows your FIRE Number, the time to reach it in years and months, the real return used, and three rows: Lean FIRE (70% of expenses), Regular FIRE and Fat FIRE (150% of expenses). Change any field to see everything recalculate.
The Plan start date box is optional. Enter the date you start saving and the result adds the month you reach your FIRE number, next to the years and months, for the main result and for the lean and fat rows. It is the start date plus the time the calculator works out, so it carries the same assumptions of constant returns and savings. The date only labels the timeline: the target and the time to reach it do not change with it.
When to use it
Use it to see how far a savings goal is from your present position, or how changing one input moves the date. Typical questions: what happens if I save 5,000 more a year, how much does a 3.5 percent withdrawal rate raise the target compared with 4, or how big is the gap between lean and regular spending. It gives a clear first picture before a longer planning session.
When not to use it
It is a poor fit for detailed retirement planning, since it ignores taxes, healthcare costs, pensions, Social Security, one-off expenses and the order in which returns arrive. People with variable income or large future costs need a cash-flow plan. This is general information and not financial or tax advice; a qualified adviser can model your full situation. Amounts display in US dollars only.
Tips for best results
Run the numbers three ways: with your expected return, with a point or two lower, and with a higher inflation figure, then compare the years shown. Small changes in return move the date more than people expect. Enter expenses as what you would really spend in retirement, not your current salary. The starting savings figure of 20,000 a year is only a sample, so replace it before trusting the time shown.
Limitations
Returns, inflation and yearly savings are held constant, and savings are added at the end of each year, so there are no market swings, pay rises or pauses. The target is simply expenses divided by the withdrawal rate. Time is found by growing the balance at the real return, which combines return and inflation, for up to 100 years; beyond that the result reads More than 100 years.
Privacy
All figures are calculated in your browser as you type, so your expenses, savings and age are not uploaded or kept after you close the page. The site may count a use when a valid result is showing, using a device identifier but not your numbers. Nothing is saved to your device, so keep your own notes of the scenarios you want to compare.
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