BrainyCalculators
Login
Advertisement

🔥 Financial Independence Calculator

Find your FIRE number — the portfolio size needed to retire early and live off investment returns. Track your progress and see how many years until financial freedom.

FI Formula

FI Number = Annual Expenses ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate

The classic rule: at a 4% withdrawal rate, your FI Number = Annual Expenses × 25. Your portfolio must reach this size to sustain withdrawals indefinitely.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. 1
    Enter Annual Expenses
    How much do you spend per year in retirement? This is the foundation of your FI number.
  2. 2
    Set Withdrawal Rate
    The classic "4% rule" is the most common. More conservative investors use 3-3.5%.
  3. 3
    Enter Current Portfolio
    Total invested assets — stocks, bonds, retirement accounts, etc.
  4. 4
    Enter Annual Savings
    How much you add to investments each year. See your projected years to financial independence.

Real-World Example

Annual expenses: $50,000. 4% SWR. Current portfolio: $200,000. Annual savings: $24,000. Expected return: 7%.

FI Number = $50,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,250,000
Current progress = $200,000 ÷ $1,250,000 = 16%
Years to FI ≈ ~20 years at 7% return + $24k/yr savings

Frequently Asked Questions

The 4% rule (from the Trinity Study) states that you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually and it should last 30+ years. At a 4% SWR, your FI number is 25× your annual expenses.

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It's a movement focused on extreme savings and investing to achieve financial independence decades before traditional retirement age.

The US stock market has historically returned ~10% nominal or ~7% real (after inflation). Using 6-7% is conservative and realistic for a diversified portfolio.

If you use a real (inflation-adjusted) return rate and base expenses in today's dollars, yes. The 4% rule was designed to account for inflation adjustments.

Include all invested assets: 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, brokerage accounts, real estate equity (net). Exclude your primary home and emergency fund.

Related Calculators

🔥 Finance

FIRE Calculator

Calculate your FIRE number and years to financial independence using the 4% rule.

Calculate now
🏖️ Finance

Retirement Calculator

Plan your retirement by calculating how much you need to save each month.

Calculate now
💎 Finance

Net Worth Calculator

Calculate your total net worth by adding assets and subtracting liabilities.

Calculate now