| Your Finances | |
| Current Age | |
| Current Annual Income ($) | |
| Current Portfolio Value ($) | |
| Annual Savings Rate (%) | |
| Growth Assumptions | |
| Expected Annual Investment Return (%) | |
| Annual Income Growth (%) | |
| Retirement Goal | |
| Safe Withdrawal Rate (%) | |
| Results | |
| Current Annual Expenses | -- |
| Annual Savings Amount | -- |
| FIRE Number (Target Portfolio) | -- |
| Years to Reach FIRE | -- |
| Age at FIRE | -- |
| Portfolio Value at FIRE | -- |
A FIRE calculator is a financial planning tool for the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement. It helps you determine how much money you need to achieve financial independence (your FIRE number) and how many years it will take to reach that goal. The FIRE calculator uses your current savings, income, savings rate, and expected investment returns to project when you can retire early and live off your portfolio using the safe withdrawal strategy.
The FIRE calculator determines your target portfolio value using the safe withdrawal rate, then projects your portfolio growth year by year until you reach that target. The calculation accounts for your income growth, savings contributions, and compound investment returns.
The FIRE calculator runs a year-by-year simulation, growing your portfolio by the investment return and adding your annual savings. Your income grows each year, which increases your savings amount. The simulation stops when your portfolio reaches or exceeds your FIRE number, at which point you have achieved financial independence.
The savings rate is the most powerful factor in the FIRE calculator. A higher savings rate means you spend less, which lowers your FIRE number, and you save more, which accelerates portfolio growth. A 50% savings rate can lead to financial independence in about 17 years. The FIRE calculator shows how even small increases in your savings rate can dramatically shorten your timeline.
The safe withdrawal rate determines how much you can withdraw from your portfolio each year without depleting it. The 4% rule is the most common benchmark, based on the Trinity Study. Some FIRE practitioners use a more conservative 3.5% or 3% for longer retirement periods. The FIRE calculator lets you adjust this rate to see how it affects your target number.
The expected annual investment return drives the growth of your portfolio. The FIRE calculator typically uses 7% as a default, reflecting the historical average return of the U.S. stock market after inflation. A higher return reduces the time to reach FIRE, but it is important to use a realistic rate.
Income growth increases your annual savings amount over time. The FIRE calculator includes this factor to model career progression and salary increases. Even a modest 2% annual income growth can significantly reduce the time to reach financial independence because it compounds your savings contributions.
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It is a lifestyle movement focused on saving and investing aggressively, typically 50% to 70% of income, to achieve financial independence and retire decades before the traditional retirement age. The FIRE calculator helps you determine your personal path to this goal.
Your FIRE number is calculated by dividing your annual expenses by your safe withdrawal rate. For example, if you spend $40,000 per year and use a 4% withdrawal rate, your FIRE number is $40,000 / 0.04 = $1,000,000. This FIRE calculator computes your number automatically and projects when you will reach it.
The 4% rule is a guideline from the Trinity Study stating that you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, adjusted for inflation each year, with a high probability of not running out of money over a 30-year period. Many FIRE movement members use 3.5% or 4% as their safe withdrawal rate in the FIRE calculator.
The savings rate is the most important factor. A 50% savings rate can lead to financial independence in about 17 years, while a 70% rate can get you there in under 10 years. Use the FIRE calculator to experiment with different savings rates and see how they affect your timeline to financial independence.