FIRE / Financial Independence Calculator
Estimate how many years it could take to reach financial independence based on your income, expenses, savings rate, investment growth, and FIRE target. Model both accumulation and post-FIRE sustainability using a withdrawal-rate framework.
Burrow Tip: FIRE is fundamentally driven by the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Return assumptions matter, but savings rate usually matters first.
Use this calculator to test what happens if you spend less, save more, or earn more rather than only tweaking investment return assumptions.
Income, spending, and portfolio assumptions
FIRE target assumptions
Scenario comparison
Burrow Tip: A smart FIRE comparison is often “current spending vs leaner spending” or “current savings rate vs higher savings rate,” not just “assume higher returns.”
Results
Portfolio vs FIRE target
FIRE number breakdown
FIRE summary
Projection table
| Year | Date | Income | Expenses | Savings added | Portfolio | FIRE target | Gap / surplus |
|---|
FIRE timeline (Mermaid code)
If your site supports Mermaid elsewhere, you can paste this snippet into a Mermaid block. This tool does not load Mermaid.
How to use these results
FIRE planning gets clearer when you reduce it to three moving parts: how much you spend, how much you save each year, and what return your invested assets may generate.
- Lower spending moves both sides: it reduces the FIRE target and increases your annual savings at the same time.
- Higher savings rate shortens the timeline: this is usually more powerful than chasing slightly higher returns.
- Other income matters: even modest recurring passive income can meaningfully reduce the size of portfolio you need.
- Use scenarios honestly: test leaner, moderate, and current-lifestyle assumptions rather than only optimistic market returns.
This tool is best used for planning ranges and strategic tradeoffs, not for forecasting an exact retirement date.