Calculator
FIRE calculator
The number your spending implies, and how long it takes at what you are putting in.
What you expect a year to cost once you stop working. This is the figure the whole calculation rests on.
The balance you are starting from.
What you expect to invest annually from here.
5 to 7 is a common long-run estimate for a diversified portfolio. Real means after inflation.
4% is the common shorthand, and it is the same thing as 25 times your annual spending.
Used to work out the age you reach the number.
Used for the coast figure only.
At $22,000 a year and a 6% real return, $1,050,000 arrives in 19 years 3 mo, at age 53.
Free, no sign-up, and nothing you type here leaves your browser. This site runs no analytics.
What this model does not include
This is a straight-line model at a constant real return. Real returns arrive unevenly, and the order they arrive in matters as much as the average. It also ignores tax, and it assumes your spending stays where you set it. Treat the number as a direction rather than a date.
Common questions
What is a FIRE number?
The balance at which your investments could cover your annual spending indefinitely at a chosen withdrawal rate. At 4%, that is 25 times what you spend in a year. It is arithmetic, not a promise.
What withdrawal rate should I use?
The 4% figure is the common shorthand and is what this page defaults to. Lower rates give a larger, more cautious number and higher rates a smaller one, which is why the field is editable rather than fixed.
What is the coast figure?
The balance that would grow to your FIRE number by your target retirement age with no further contributions. Passing it means the compounding does the rest, provided the return holds.
How accurate is this?
It is a straight-line model at a constant real return, so it is precise arithmetic on an assumption that never holds exactly. It ignores sequence-of-returns risk, tax, and any change in your spending. The figure is a direction, not a date.
Does the app do any of this?
TLDR Money records what you spend, which is the figure this calculator starts from. It has no investment tracking, no net worth feature and no retirement projections — the projection on this page is the calculator’s, not the app’s.
Does anything I enter here leave my browser?
No. The whole projection is computed locally. Your balance, your contributions and your age are never transmitted, and this site runs no analytics.