Personal finance · FIRE
FIRE calculator, how long until I’m rich?
Financial independence is a number, not an age: the nest egg whose safe withdrawal covers your spending. Here’s how long your savings rate takes to get there.
FIRE, financial independence, retire early, turns "am I rich yet?" into arithmetic. Pick the spending you want to sustain, apply a safe withdrawal rate (the 4% rule is the usual starting point), and that is your target. Then it is just how fast your savings and contributions compound toward it.
After-inflation returns run lower, set this to taste.
The 4% rule is the common default.
Enter your savings and target.
Worked example
A 30-year-old with $50,000 saved, adding $1,500/month, wanting $50,000/year in retirement at a 7% return and the 4% rule:
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| FIRE number (4% of $50,000 spending) | $1,250,000 |
| Years to reach it | 23 |
| Age at independence | 53 |
| Portfolio at that point | $1,260,317 |
A $50,000 lifestyle needs a $1,250,000 portfolio under the 4% rule. On these assumptions that arrives in 23 years, at age 53. Raise the contribution or lower the spending and the years fall fast; the two levers matter far more than shaving the return.
Questions
What is the 4% rule?
A rule of thumb that a portfolio can sustainably fund about 4% of its starting value each year, adjusted for inflation, over a long retirement. So your target nest egg is roughly 25× your annual spending. It is a guide from historical data, not a guarantee; some plan on 3.5% to be safe.
Why does spending matter more than income?
Your FIRE number is driven entirely by what you spend, not what you earn, lower spending both shrinks the target and frees up more to invest. Cutting $5,000 of annual spending lowers the target by $125,000 under the 4% rule.
Is a 7% return realistic?
It is a common long-run stock-market assumption before inflation; after inflation, closer to 4 to 5% is prudent. The calculator lets you set it, lower it and the timeline stretches, which is the honest picture.
Related tools
- When can I retire? the same math, framed by age
- Cost of waiting to invest why starting now matters
- Net worth where you stand today
Projections assume a steady return every year, which markets do not deliver. An illustration, not a promise. Not financial advice.