FIRE Calculator (Financial Independence)
Your financial-independence number and how fast your savings rate gets you there.
Your portfolio on the way to FI
In today’s money: the real return already allows for inflation.
How your savings rate changes the time to FI
| Savings rate | Time to FI | FI number | Spend a year | Invest a year |
|---|
Year by year
How this was calculated
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the FIRE Calculator (Financial Independence)
FIRE — financial independence, retire early — means building investments large enough that you could live off them. The usual target, your FIRE number, is your yearly expenses divided by a safe withdrawal rate: at the classic 4%, that is 25 times what you spend in a year.
This calculator works out that number, how long your current portfolio and savings take to reach it at the real return you expect, and the Lean FIRE (bare-bones budget), Fat FIRE (comfortable budget) and Coast FIRE targets. A table shows how much faster a higher savings rate gets you there. Everything is in today’s money and is calculated in your browser.
How to use it
- Enter what you would spend once financially independent — a month or a year — and how much you invest.
- Enter what you have invested so far and the return you expect after inflation (the real return).
- Keep the 4% withdrawal rate or choose a lower one for more safety; add your age to see the age you reach FI and your Coast FIRE number.
- Read your FIRE number and time to FI, the Lean, Fat and Coast targets, the savings-rate table and the year-by-year projection. Copy the summary or download the CSV.
Examples
FIRE number ₹1,50,00,000, reached in 13 years 3 months (about 43) · Lean FIRE ₹1.05 crore in 9 years 7 months · Fat FIRE ₹2.25 crore in 18 years 3 months
Coast FIRE by 60 needs ₹34,70,662 invested today; saving at this pace you reach it at about 32 years 8 months.
20% saved → 29 years 4 months · 50% → 13 years 3 months · 70% → 6 years 5 months
Where the 4% rule comes from
In 1994, financial planner William Bengen tested withdrawals against US stock and bond returns and inflation since 1926 (Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data, Journal of Financial Planning). A retiree who withdrew 4% of the portfolio in the first year and then raised the amount with inflation each year never ran out of money in less than 33 years in any period he tested, and usually lasted 50 years or more; 5% left some retirees of the late 1960s with only about 20 years. He found 3–3.5% lasted at least 50 years in every case, and recommended 50–75% in stocks. Reprint of the paper.
In 1998 three Trinity University professors — Cooley, Hubbard and Walz — repeated the test for 1926–1995 (Retirement Savings: Choosing a Withdrawal Rate That Is Sustainable, AAII Journal). With inflation-adjusted withdrawals of 4% over 30 years, a portfolio succeeded in 95% of periods with all stocks or half stocks and half bonds, and 98% with 75% stocks. The study.
Using the rule outside the US, and for early retirement
Both studies used US market history and 30-year retirements. Indian returns, inflation and taxes differ, and an early retiree may need the money for 40 or 50 years — so treat 4% as a starting point, not a guarantee. A lower rate gives more margin: 3.5% means a FIRE number of about 28.6 times expenses, 3% means 33.3 times. Enter the return as a real return (after inflation): the calculator then keeps everything in today’s money, so your expenses and savings do not need to be inflated year by year.
Lean, Fat and Coast FIRE
- Lean FIRE: independence on a bare-bones budget — here a share of your expenses that you choose (70% by default).
- Fat FIRE: independence with room to spare — 150% of your expenses by default.
- Coast FIRE: the amount that, invested today and never added to, grows to your FIRE number by a target age (60 by default):
FIRE number ÷ (1 + real return)^(years left). Once you have it, you only need to earn enough to cover your expenses until then.
These are community terms with no official definitions, so the budgets are yours to set.
Why the savings rate matters most
Saving more shortens the road twice: you invest more each year, and you need a smaller portfolio because you are used to spending less. The table keeps your take-home pay fixed (your expenses plus what you invest) and changes only the split, starting from your current portfolio. The projection adds your monthly investment at the start of each month and grows it at the monthly rate (1 + real return)^(1/12) − 1.
Limitations
- Assumes a steady real return. Real markets vary, and a crash early in early retirement does the most damage.
- Taxes on withdrawals and gains, health insurance and one-off costs are not modelled.
- Your savings and expenses are assumed constant in today’s money until FI.
- The 4% rule is a historical finding from US data, not a promise. This is not financial advice.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 4% rule?
A rule of thumb from Bengen’s 1994 study: withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement and raise that amount with inflation every year. In US data since 1926 it never ran out in less than 33 years. Turned around, it means you need about 25 times your yearly expenses.
Is 4% safe in India?
Nobody can promise that: the studies behind it used US history and 30-year retirements. For a longer retirement, or if you want more margin, use 3–3.5% — the calculator shows the larger FIRE number and how much longer it takes.
What is Coast FIRE?
Having enough invested that, with no further saving, it will grow to your FIRE number by a traditional retirement age. After that you only need to earn your living costs. Enter your age to see the number and when you get there.
Why does the calculator ask for a real return?
So everything stays in today’s money. A real return is the return minus inflation, worked out exactly as (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1: an 11% return with 6% inflation is about 4.7% real.
How is the savings rate worked out?
As what you invest divided by what you spend plus what you invest — your take-home pay. Saving ₹50,000 out of ₹1,00,000 a month is a 50% savings rate.