FIRE calculator: when can you stop working?
FIRE means financial independence, retire early: saving and investing until your investments can cover your spending. Put in your numbers and see the year you could be free, and what an extra few hundred a month does to it.
How the FIRE number works
The FIRE number is 25 times what you spend in a year. It comes from the 4% guideline, based on research into how long retirement savings lasted through past markets: withdrawing about 4% in the first year, then adjusting for inflation, held up over 30 year periods in most historical cases.
It is a planning rule, and markets do not promise to repeat the past. Many people aiming for a long early retirement use a lower withdrawal rate, 3% to 3.5%, which means a bigger number.
Why a side income changes the date so much
Your timeline depends far more on how much you add each month than on chasing a higher return. Every dollar a side hustle brings in can go straight to investments, because your salary already covers your life.
Run the calculator with your real numbers, then look at the gap between your current pace and the pace with $500 more a month. That gap is what a side income is worth to you in years.
Questions people ask
How much do I need to retire early?
A common starting point is 25 times your yearly spending. If you spend $40,000 a year, that is $1,000,000. Spending less shrinks the number fast.
What is the 4% rule?
A guideline that withdrawing about 4% of your investments in the first year of retirement, then adjusting for inflation, has historically lasted 30 years. Early retirees often plan more cautiously.
What return should I use?
Use a real return, meaning after inflation. Many planners use 4% to 6% for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio. Lower is more cautious.
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