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FIRE number

FIRE calculator

To retire early you usually need 25 to 33 times your yearly spending at the age you stop working. Enter five numbers, in any currency, to see your own FIRE number, the monthly investment that gets you there and your earliest FI age. Everything runs in your browser.

Free · any currency · no sign-up · method last reviewed

Sets typical inflation and returns
yrs
yrs
15 years from now
$
$4,000 · Everything you spend, incl. insurance. Leave out loan payments that end before then.
$
$80,000 · Index funds, stocks, bonds, pension and retirement accounts
$
$2,400 · Including workplace pension contributions
Assumptions · 3% inflation · 7% stocks · plan to 90
%
Typical for developed markets
%
Yearly, after tax
%
Yearly, after tax
%
As your income grows
%
Share of what's already invested
yrs
90+ if retiring early

Your FIRE number at 45: $1.95M. Short by $957K.

Your FIRE number at 45

Short by $957K

$1.95M

About 26× your first-year spending of $74,782 at 45 (that's $48,000 a year in today's money).

At your current investing you'd have about $996K at 45.

Invest each month to be financially independent at 45
$5,276
Rising 3% a year
At your current investing
Age 55
Earliest FI age investing $2,400/month
Coast FIRE number today
$865K
You have $80,000
Your investments vs your FIRE numberAt your current investingFIRE number
$0$488K$976K$1.46M$1.95M3133353739414345

In future money (prices rise 3% a year). Assumes steady returns; real markets go up and down.

Will the money last until 90?

What you're on course for: $996K at 45

Expected returns
Runs out at 61
Stocks earn the expected return every year
Crash in the first year
Runs out at 58
Stocks fall 35% right after you stop working

Your FIRE number: $1.95M

Expected returns
Lasts past 90
Stocks earn the expected return every year
Crash in the first year
Runs out at 79
Stocks fall 35% right after you stop working

Your FIRE number is sized to last until 90 at expected returns. Stopping work at 45 with less means it runs out sooner. Both use a bucket strategy: 10 years of spending in bonds and cash, the rest invested for later years. A crash right after you stop working is the biggest risk; the full planner shows how to prepare for it.

Make it a full plan

Add pensions, health costs, children's education and other goals, a year-by-year cash flow, and a bucket strategy for after you stop working. Your numbers from here carry over.

Quick answer: what is your FIRE number?

Your FIRE number is the amount invested that can pay your inflation-adjusted living costs from the age you stop working until your plan age. The classic rule of thumb is 25 times your yearly spending (the “4% rule”). For a long early retirement it is safer to plan for about 28 to 33 times. For example, $4,000 a month today is about $74,800 a year in 15 years at 3% inflation, so a FIRE number of roughly $1.9 to 2.5 million at that point.

How many times your spending do you need?

Divide 100 by the share of your money you plan to withdraw in the first year: at 4% that is 25 times your yearly spending. A lower withdrawal rate needs a bigger FIRE number but leaves more margin for a long retirement or a bad start.

Withdrawal rateMultiple neededOn 50,000 a year
4%25×1.25 million
3.5%28.6×1.43 million
3%33.3×1.67 million
2.5%40×2 million

4% is the classic rule for a 30-year retirement; 3 to 3.5% is common for a retirement of 40 years or more. ReadIs the 4% rule safe for early retirement? for why.

How this FIRE calculator works

  1. Your spending at FI. Today's monthly spending grows with inflation until your FI age. That gives your first-year spending after you stop working.
  2. Your FIRE number. We add up every year's spending from your FI age to your plan age, still rising with inflation. Each year's money is assumed to stay invested until it's needed: the next 10 years in bonds and cash, later years in a mix with more stocks. The total is what you need on day one.
  3. What you already have. Your current investments grow at the returns you enter. Whatever's left is the gap your monthly investing has to fill.
  4. Monthly investment. We find the first-year monthly amount that closes the gap, rising by your yearly increase, with stocks reduced gradually as FI gets closer.
  5. Will it last? We simulate the FIRE number year by year after FI, at expected returns and after a 35% stock crash in the first year.

How does your FIRE number change by country?

  • Inflation. A 3% assumption suits most developed economies; countries with higher inflation, such as India, need a bigger multiple of today’s spending. Pick your country in the calculator to start from a typical figure.
  • Health costs. Where healthcare isn’t covered publicly, medical costs often rise faster than other prices and employer cover ends when you stop working. Include insurance in your spending.
  • Locked pensions. Many countries lock retirement accounts until 55 to 60. That money can’t pay for the early years of an early retirement; the full planner handles it separately.
  • Sequence risk. A market crash in the first few years after you stop working does the most damage everywhere. Keeping several years of spending in bonds and cash (a bucket strategy) avoids selling stocks at a low.

Frequently asked questions

What is FIRE?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. You are financially independent when your investments can pay for your living costs for the rest of your life, so working becomes optional. The amount you need is called your FIRE number.

How do I calculate my FIRE number?

The quick rule is 25 times your yearly spending, which is the "4% rule". A more careful way is to take your spending at the age you stop working (today’s spending grown by inflation) and add up every year of spending until your plan age, allowing for what the money earns in the meantime. That is what this calculator does, and for a 40- to 45-year early retirement it usually lands between 25 and 35 times first-year spending.

Is the 4% rule safe for early retirement?

The 4% rule comes from US data for 30-year retirements. An early retirement can last 40 to 50 years, so many people plan for 3 to 3.5% (about 28 to 33 times spending), keep some flexibility in their spending, or both. This calculator sizes your FIRE number for your own plan age and shows what happens if markets crash in your first year.

What is Coast FIRE?

Coast FIRE is the amount you need invested today so that, with no further investing, it grows into your FIRE number by your FI age. Once you reach it you only need to earn enough to cover your current spending. The calculator shows your Coast FIRE number next to your full FIRE number.

Does this work in my currency?

Yes. Pick where you live and your currency at the top of the calculator. The country sets typical starting assumptions for inflation and returns, which you can change. Amounts are shown in your currency’s usual format, such as $1.2M, €850K, £640K or ₹4.8 Cr.

What returns and inflation should I assume?

Use long-run, after-tax returns and stay conservative. The global defaults are 7% for stocks, 4% for bonds and cash, and 3% inflation. Higher return assumptions lower the monthly amount you are shown, but if real returns turn out lower you could fall short. Try a lower stock return to see how sensitive your plan is.

Should I count my pension or retirement accounts?

Count money you can use from your FI age. Retirement accounts that you can’t touch until a set age (often 55 to 60) can’t pay for the years before that, so either leave them out here or use the full planner, which treats locked pensions separately and adds them from their access age.

Is my data stored anywhere?

No. The calculator runs in your browser and your numbers are not sent to any server. The inputs appear in the page address only so you can bookmark or share a result yourself.

Sources

Rules and rates change. Check the current figures with the official source before acting.

For education only, not financial advice. Results depend on your inputs and on assumed returns and inflation, which will differ from reality. Read the disclaimer.