FIRE Calculator — Financial Independence & Early Retirement Scenario
Enter your monthly spending, current savings and expected real return to see the wealth required for financial independence, the estimated time to reach it, and the monthly investment needed — in today's purchasing power.
Scenario result
All amounts are shown in today's purchasing power (real terms). Real return = nominal return − inflation.
This tool provides a descriptive, assumption-based scenario; it does not guarantee future returns and is not investment advice. The 4% rule is based on US market history and may not hold for every country or portfolio. Returns fluctuate, and an unfavourable sequence of market returns during accumulation can affect the outcome.
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) describes the point where your savings or passive income cover your living costs and working becomes optional. This tool answers three questions: how much you need, when you would reach it, and how much to invest each month to get there.
All amounts are shown in today's purchasing power (real terms), so inflation is neutralised inside the real-return assumption. Results are assumption-based mathematical scenarios — they do not guarantee future returns and are not investment advice.
How much do I need? (the FIRE number)
The FIRE number is your annual spending divided by a safe withdrawal rate. The common "4% rule" works out to roughly 25× annual spending (1 ÷ 0.04 = 25). For example, someone spending 480,000 a year needs 12,000,000 at a 4% rate. A lower rate (e.g. 3%) requires a larger portfolio, a higher rate (e.g. 5%) a smaller one; a lower rate reduces the risk of depleting capital.
When can I retire?
Your current savings, monthly investment and expected real return compound over time to reach the FIRE number. The tool takes these three inputs and estimates the number of years and your retirement age. The higher the real return (nominal return minus inflation), the shorter the time — but a higher assumed return implies more risk and volatility.
How much should I invest monthly?
Pick a target retirement age and the tool solves backwards for the monthly investment needed to reach the FIRE number by then, using an annuity formula. This scenario assumes a constant real return and steady contributions; in reality returns vary year to year, and a poor sequence of market returns during accumulation (sequence risk) can materially change the outcome.