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FIRE calculator: when can you stop having to work?

Enter what you spend, what you have and what you invest each month. You get your FIRE number, the age when work becomes optional, and the levers that move that date the most.

After inflation. Broad world stock funds have historically returned roughly 4–6 % a year above inflation over long periods.
4 % is the classic rule for a 30-year retirement. Retiring early? 3.25–3.5 % is safer.
Work optional at
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Your FIRE number
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Progress today
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of your FIRE number

Your path, in today's money

Portfolio value each year versus your FIRE number.

What moves your date the most

    Cover of FIRE: How to Start in Your 30s

    Want the full plan behind these numbers?

    In FIRE: How to Start in Your 30s I share my own plan: real numbers, a 19-year timeline, a three-layer strategy for retiring before pension age, and every mistake I made on the way.

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    How this FIRE calculator works

    Your FIRE number

    FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early. Your FIRE number is the amount you need invested so that your portfolio can pay for your life. It is your yearly spending divided by your withdrawal rate. At 4 %, that is 25 times what you spend in a year.

    The 4 % rule

    It comes from research in the 1990s, mainly William Bengen's 1994 study and the later Trinity study. Historically, withdrawing 4 % of a stock and bond portfolio in the first year, then adjusting for inflation, lasted at least 30 years in most periods. If you plan to stop working at 50, your money may need to last 40 years or more, so many people plan with 3.25–3.5 %.

    Why "real" return?

    The calculator works in today's money. It uses returns after inflation, so every number you see is in today's purchasing power. That keeps the result honest: a number that looks big in 2045 is worth less in 2045 prices.

    What it does not know

    Markets do not grow in a straight line, taxes and fees differ by country, and pension accounts unlock at different ages. Treat the result as a compass, not a promise. It is not financial advice.