FIRE Calculator

Calculate your path to Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE).

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Recommended Tools

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The Simple Path to Wealth (Collins) - A clear plan for investing, financial independence and early retirement.
Your Money or Your Life - The original FIRE book on spending, saving and enough.

What This Calculator Does

Estimate your timeline to financial independence by linking savings rate, portfolio growth assumptions, and spending needs.

It combines Annual Expenses, Current Savings, Annual Savings, Expected Annual Return to estimate Years to FIRE, FIRE Number, Remaining to Save.

Formula & Method

Core equations: FIRE number based on the safe withdrawal rate:

F = \frac{E}{SWR}

where

E

is annual expenses and

SWR

is the safe withdrawal rate (commonly 4%). Years to FIRE are found by iterating:

B_{t+1} = (B_t + S) \times (1 + r)

until

B_t \geq F

, where

S

is annual savings and

r

is the expected return. Inputs are applied in base units, then derived metrics are computed from the same equations and rounded for display.

Notation used in the formulas: $R$ = Years to FIRE; $x_{1}$ = Annual Expenses; $x_{2}$ = Current Savings; $x_{3}$ = Annual Savings; $x_{4}$ = Expected Annual Return; $x_{5}$ = Safe Withdrawal Rate; $x_{6}$ = Annual Income.

Method summary: inputs are normalized to consistent units, core equations are evaluated, then secondary values are derived and rounded for display.

Use this to compare lifestyle and savings-rate scenarios when targeting early retirement milestones.

Reference Book

Mathematics of Investment and Credit

Samuel A. Broverman · ACTEX Learning

A widely used text for time-value-of-money, annuity, loan, amortization, and bond calculations.

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Inputs Used

Annual Expenses: Your expected annual expenses in retirement
Current Savings: Current total invested savings
Annual Savings: Amount you save and invest per year
Expected Annual Return: Expected annual investment return
Safe Withdrawal Rate: Annual withdrawal rate in retirement (4% is traditional)
Annual Income: Gross annual income (for savings rate calculation)

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