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FIRE Calculator
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Enter what you expect to spend each year, what you have invested, what you add monthly and your return assumptions. The calculator gives your FIRE number — the portfolio that can fund your spending — and how many years until you reach it.
- Years to financial independence
- 21.9 years
- Age when you get there
- 51.9
- Progress so far
- 8%
- Real return used
- 3.88%
Portfolio in today’s dollars
| Year | Portfolio | Of FIRE number |
|---|
Saved setups
Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.
Your recent calculations
Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.
Formula
How to use it
- Enter your expected yearly spending in today’s dollars.
- Enter what you have invested and what you add each month.
- Set return, inflation and withdrawal rate assumptions.
- Read the FIRE number and the age you reach it; the table tracks progress year by year.
Worked examples
$40,000 of yearly spending, starting from zero, investing $2,000 a month at a 5% return with no inflation
- FIRE number
- $1,000,000
- Years to financial independence
- 22.8 years
- Age when you get there
- 52.8
- Progress so far
- 0%
- Real return used
- 5%
$50,000 of spending with $100,000 invested, adding $2,500 a month at 7% with 3% inflation
- FIRE number
- $1,250,000
- Years to financial independence
- 21.9 years
- Age when you get there
- 51.9
- Progress so far
- 8%
- Real return used
- 3.88%
How the model treats inflation
Everything is kept in today’s dollars. The portfolio grows at the real (after-inflation) return, and your monthly investment is assumed to rise with inflation, so the FIRE number does not have to be inflated. A 7% return with 3% inflation is a 3.88% real return.
Choosing a withdrawal rate
The 4% rule was tested on 30-year retirements. Someone retiring at 40 may need the money to last 50 years or more, so many early retirees plan on 3.25–3.5%, which raises the target: $60,000 of spending needs $1,500,000 at 4% but $1,714,286 at 3.5%.
Common variants: Lean FIRE covers a bare-bones budget, Fat FIRE a generous one, and Coast FIRE means having enough invested that it will grow to your number by normal retirement age with no further contributions. This is an estimate, not financial advice.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate my FIRE number?
Multiply yearly spending by 25, or divide it by your withdrawal rate. $40,000 a year needs $1,000,000 at 4%; $50,000 needs $1,250,000.
How long will it take to reach financial independence?
With $100,000 invested, $2,500 a month added, a 7% return and 3% inflation, reaching $1,250,000 in today’s dollars takes about 21.9 years.
How much do I need to invest each month to retire early?
It depends on your target. Investing $2,000 a month from zero at a 5% real return reaches $1,000,000 in about 22.8 years; raising your savings rate shortens that more than chasing a higher return.