FIRE Calculator
Find your FIRE number and Barista FIRE number from spending and an entered withdrawal rate, and the years to reach each at an entered real return.
Interactive calculator · Method FIRE-NUMBER-1.0 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-04
Calculate your scenario
FIRE number = annual spending ÷ withdrawal rate.
Your inputs
Default worked example. Edit the inputs to calculate your scenario.
Default worked example
FIRE number = $40,000.00 ÷ 4% = $1,000,000.00; Barista FIRE number = ($40,000.00 − $15,000.00) ÷ 4% = $625,000.00, reached from $100,000.00 at 5% real return plus $20,000.00 a year.
How to use the calculator
Enter your expected annual spending, current invested assets, yearly contributions, your real-return and withdrawal-rate assumptions, and any part-time income you expect to earn after reaching financial independence.
What the result means
Spending $40,000 at an assumed 4% withdrawal rate gives a FIRE number of $1,000,000; with $15,000 of part-time income the Barista FIRE number is $625,000. From $100,000 adding $20,000 a year at a 5% real return, these are reached in 22 and 15 whole years.
Formula and units
FIRE number = annual spending ÷ withdrawal rate. Barista FIRE number = (annual spending − part-time income) ÷ withdrawal rate, floored at $0. Years to reach a number: start from current assets, then each year balance = balance × (1 + real return) + annual contributions, counting whole years until the balance reaches the number (up to 100 years).
Worked examples
$40,000 spending, 4% withdrawal rate, $15,000 barista income: Annual spending in retirement (today's dollars): 40000 USD per year; Current invested assets: 100000 USD; Annual contributions (added at year end): 20000 USD per year; Real (after-inflation) annual return (entered assumption): 5 % per year; Withdrawal rate assumption (example 4): 4 % per year; Part-time (barista) income after FI: 15000 USD per year.
Example result: FIRE number: $1,000,000.00; Years to FIRE number: 22 years; Barista FIRE number: $625,000.00; Years to Barista FIRE number: 15 years; Spending the portfolio covers at Barista FI: $25,000.00 per year.
$60,000 spending, 3.5% rate, $30,000 barista income: Annual spending in retirement (today's dollars): 60000 USD per year; Current invested assets: 250000 USD; Annual contributions (added at year end): 30000 USD per year; Real (after-inflation) annual return (entered assumption): 4 % per year; Withdrawal rate assumption (example 4): 3.5 % per year; Part-time (barista) income after FI: 30000 USD per year.
Example result: FIRE number: $1,714,285.71; Years to FIRE number: 23 years; Barista FIRE number: $857,142.86; Years to Barista FIRE number: 13 years; Spending the portfolio covers at Barista FI: $30,000.00 per year.
Limitations and common mistakes
The withdrawal rate is an assumption you choose, not a safe or guaranteed rate, and a portfolio sized this way can still run short. Returns are an entered constant real (after-inflation) rate; real returns vary and are not guaranteed. Spending and income are in today's dollars. Taxes, fees, health costs, Social Security and pensions are not modeled. Years are whole years with contributions added at each year end.
Mixing nominal and real figures: if the return is after inflation, keep spending and contributions in today's dollars rather than inflating them.
Sources and assumptions
Method FIRE-NUMBER-1.0; last formula review 2026-11-04. Sources and their supported claims. Calculation methodology.