FIRE calculator for financial independence
How much wealth it takes for your investments to pay your expenses, and how many years are left at the pace you save. With the year-by-year table and the assumptions in plain sight.
The starting values are an example and are deliberately invented, with round figures so the arithmetic can be redone by hand. They are not data from any real company.
Year by year
Wealth at the end of each year and what share of the FIRE number it represents.
Wealth grows at the chosen real return and receives the savings at the end of each year. No taxes.
This calculator runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, no sign-up is needed and nothing is stored.
The formula
FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ withdrawal rate · Wealth(t) = Wealth(t−1) × (1 + real return) + annual savings
How it is calculated
The FIRE number is the wealth from which you can withdraw your expenses every year without running it down: annual expenses divided by the withdrawal rate. With €24,000 of expenses and 4%, €600,000. That is the "4% rule", which comes from studies of US stock-and-bond portfolios over 30 years and is not a guarantee: at 3.5% the number rises to €685,714 and at 3% to €800,000.
The years left come from simulating the wealth: each year it grows at the real return and receives the savings. With €50,000 today, €12,000 of savings a year and a 5% real return, the €600,000 is reached in 22 years. Saving €18,000, in 18. At a 3% real return instead of 5%, in 28. And starting from zero, in 26.
The savings rate is what matters
Expenses count twice: they raise the FIRE number and lower what you save. That is why the variable that moves the years most is the savings rate, savings divided by income. In the example, €12,000 saved out of €36,000 of income is 33%. Cutting expenses to €20,000 lowers the number to €500,000 and raises savings to €16,000: the horizon drops from 22 to 17 years without earning one euro more.
The return matters less than it seems and you do not control it. Going from a 5% to a 3% real return adds six years; going from €12,000 to €18,000 of savings takes four off. The second is up to you.
What the calculator leaves out
It works in today’s euros: that is why it asks for the real return, after inflation (7% nominal with 2% inflation is roughly 5% real). It does not include taxes on withdrawals or capital gains, state or private pensions, or changes in expenses (children, housing, health). And it assumes a constant return: in reality the order of good and bad years changes the outcome, especially in the first years of withdrawal.
A FIRE number is not a recommendation to stop working or to invest in any particular way. It is arithmetic to see how much each decision weighs: spend less, save more or wait longer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FIRE number?
The invested wealth that lets you cover your annual expenses by withdrawing a fixed percentage each year. It is annual expenses divided by the withdrawal rate: with €24,000 a year and 4%, €600,000. FIRE stands for "financial independence, retire early".
What is the 4% rule?
The idea that withdrawing 4% of the starting wealth each year, adjusted for inflation, has survived 30 years in most historical periods for a US stock-and-bond portfolio. It is a starting point, not a guarantee: many planners now use 3% or 3.5% for longer horizons or different portfolios.
Why does it ask for the real return and not the nominal one?
Because expenses are entered in today’s euros. If wealth grew at the nominal rate, the FIRE number would also have to rise with inflation every year. Using the real return (nominal minus inflation) keeps everything in constant euros and the arithmetic holds. 7% nominal with 2% inflation is roughly 5% real.
How many years will it take me to reach financial independence?
It depends above all on the savings rate. With €50,000 today, €12,000 a year and a 5% real return, 22 years for €24,000 of expenses. With €18,000 a year, 18. Cutting expenses to €20,000, 17. The calculator recomputes as you move each slider.
Does it account for a pension or taxes?
No. Neither state or private pensions, nor taxes on withdrawals, nor changes in expenses. If you expect a pension, subtract from expenses the part it will cover from that age and recompute; if withdrawals are taxed, raise expenses by that proportion.
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Do it on a real company
Celsmar computes this from the accounts companies file with their regulator, and shows which line every figure comes from. Free to start, no card.
A calculation tool for informational purposes. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell, and its result depends entirely on the assumptions you enter.