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TheCalcuLab

FIRE calculatorFIRE calculator: estimate your financial independence timeline

Estimate a financial independence target of 25 times annual spending and the first whole year your projected investments reach it. Contributions are added at year-end. Starting with $100,000 and saving $30,000 annually at 7% reaches a $1,000,000 target in year 15; saving $40,000 reaches it in year 13. The target is a planning convention based on a 4% initial withdrawal, not a promise that a portfolio will last. Use consistent money units: for spending and savings in today's purchasing power, enter an inflation-adjusted return.

Your FI number

$1,000,000

25 × $40,000 annual spending

Years to financial independence

15 years

at $30,000 saved per year

How to use

  1. 1

    Enter your annual spending — the FI number is simply 25× this, the 4% rule inverted.

  2. 2

    Add your current net worth and how much you save each year.

  3. 3

    Set an expected annual return, then read your FI number and years to financial independence.

  4. 4

    Compare spending and savings scenarios while keeping real or nominal money units consistent.

  5. 5

    Copy the link to bookmark your FI plan and revisit it every year.

Benefits

A concrete FI number

Turns the vague dream of early retirement into one number and a year count.

Compare assumptions

See how spending, savings, and the annual return assumption affect the projected timeline.

Year-by-year trajectory

Watch your net worth climb toward the FI line instead of guessing.

No account required

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How this FIRE estimate is built

The target equals 25 times the annual spending entered. The projection grows the current balance at the assumed annual return, adds the entered savings at year-end, and reports the first modeled year the fixed target is reached. It does not calculate a personal retirement date.

Choose consistent dollar units

If annual spending and savings are in today?s purchasing power, use an inflation-adjusted return. If using nominal dollars, keep the return and future spending assumptions nominal and account for changing costs separately.

A target is not a withdrawal test

The 25? target corresponds arithmetically to a 4% initial withdrawal, but this tool does not simulate withdrawals, taxes, fees, variable returns, or retirement duration. Reaching the target does not establish that a plan is sustainable.

How it works

FI=25×SNW(t)=PV(1+r)t+PMT×(1+r)t−1r\mathrm{FI} = 25 \times S \qquad NW(t) = PV(1+r)^t + \mathrm{PMT} \times \frac{(1+r)^t - 1}{r}
FI
Financial independence number — the portfolio that covers your spending at a 4% withdrawal rate
PV
Current net worth — your starting point
PMT
Annual savings — added at the end of each year
r
Expected annual return, as a decimal (7% = 0.07)
t
Years — solved by iterating until NW(t) reaches the FI number

The target stays fixed at 25 times annual spending. The model adds annual savings after each year of growth and stops after 100 years. It does not simulate retirement withdrawals, taxes, investment volatility, or a growing spending target. If using real (inflation-adjusted) returns, keep spending and contributions in today's money too. A zero-year result means the modeled target is already met, not that retirement is necessarily affordable.

Worked example

Spending $40,000 a year means an FI number of $1,000,000. Starting from $100,000 and saving $30,000 a year at 7%, the projection crosses $1,000,000 in year 15 — at 5% instead of 7%, the same plan takes 17 years.

Understanding your results

The FIRE target is 25 times the annual spending you enter, and the timeline is the first modeled year your balance reaches that fixed target. It does not test withdrawals after that date. Keep spending, savings, and returns in consistent nominal or inflation-adjusted units.

✓

Sources and methodology

These resources explain related concepts. They do not certify or endorse this calculator. See the assumptions and worked example above.

Frequently asked questions

One divided by 4% is 25. A $40,000 first-year withdrawal is 4% of $1,000,000. Whether withdrawals can continue depends on investment returns, inflation, fees, taxes, and retirement length; this calculator does not test that sustainability.

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Figures are estimates for education only — not financial advice. Results depend on the assumptions you enter. Read the full disclaimer.