FIRE Calculator
How many years until financial independence? Calculate your FIRE number using the 25x rule and see exactly how long it'll take at your current savings rate.
Your total monthly spending in retirement
Historical S&P 500 avg ~7% real
FIRE number
$1,200,000
Time to FIRE
18y 7m
4% annual withdrawal
$48,000
What you can spend per year
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What is FIRE and how does the 25x rule work?
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The core idea: accumulate enough invested assets that your portfolio's returns can cover your living expenses indefinitely — and you never need to work again unless you choose to.
The 25x rule comes from the Trinity Study (1998), which found that a portfolio could sustainably withdraw 4% annually with a very high success rate across 30-year periods. Working backwards: if you need $50,000/year, you need $50,000 × 25 = $1,250,000 invested. That's your FIRE number.
The 4% rule caveats
The 4% rule was designed for 30-year retirements. If you're retiring at 40 with a 50-year horizon, many FIRE followers use 3–3.5% to be safer. Fat FIRE (higher expenses), Lean FIRE (frugal), and Coast FIRE (stop contributing and let it grow) are common variations.
The fastest lever to pull
Your savings rate is the biggest variable. Someone saving 10% of income may take 40+ years to reach FIRE. Someone saving 50% can often reach it in 15–17 years. Reducing expenses does double duty: it lowers your FIRE number AND increases your savings rate simultaneously.