🔥 FIRE Number Calculator
Financial Independence, Retire Early — find your number and your timeline.
4% is the traditional "4% rule" — some choose 3-3.5% for extra safety over very long retirements.
How This Is Calculated
Your FIRE Number = Annual Expenses ÷ Withdrawal Rate (equivalent to Annual Expenses × 25 at the standard 4% rate). Years to FIRE is estimated by projecting your current investments plus monthly contributions, compounded monthly at your expected return, until the balance reaches your FIRE number.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 4% rule?
A widely-cited guideline suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then
adjust for inflation annually, with historically low risk of running out of money over 30 years.
What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE means you've saved enough that, left untouched, your investments will grow to your full FIRE
number by traditional retirement age without any further contributions.
Guide: understanding your result
- A FIRE number is annual spending divided by a withdrawal rate; at 4% that equals 25× spending.
- The 4% guideline comes from historical U.S. studies of 30-year retirements; longer retirements are often modelled with 3–3.5%.
- It is a planning estimate, not a guarantee — markets, inflation and spending can all differ from history.
Worked example
Someone who spends $50,000 a year would have a FIRE number of $1,250,000 at a 4% withdrawal rate, or $1,428,571 at a more conservative 3.5%.
FIRE number by annual spending
| Annual spending | 4% rule (25×) | 3.5% rule | 3% rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $750,000 | $857,143 | $1,000,000 |
| $40,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,142,857 | $1,333,333 |
| $50,000 | $1,250,000 | $1,428,571 | $1,666,667 |
| $60,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,714,286 | $2,000,000 |
| $80,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,285,714 | $2,666,667 |
| $100,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,857,143 | $3,333,333 |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using today's spending without allowing for health insurance before Medicare eligibility.
- Ignoring taxes on withdrawals from pre-tax accounts.
Official sources
Examples are calculated live from the same data the calculator uses and are for education only — they are not financial, tax or investment advice.
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