FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
The core idea
Spend less than you earn, invest the difference into broadly diversified index funds, and stop working when your investments can cover your expenses indefinitely. The math says: when your invested assets are about 25 times your annual spending, you can sustainably withdraw about 4% per year — your "FIRE number".
The 4% rule
Based on the Trinity Study, a portfolio of roughly 60% stocks and 40% bonds historically survives a 4% annual withdrawal for 30+ years. So if your annual spending is $40,000, your FIRE number is roughly $1,000,000. Spend $60,000, you need $1,500,000.
leanFIRE, fatFIRE, baristaFIRE
leanFIRE: retire on a frugal budget (~$30-50K/year). fatFIRE: retire with room to spend ($100K+/year). baristaFIRE: cover essential expenses from investments, top up the rest with part-time work — usually for healthcare in the US.
Your FIRE number by annual spending
FIRE number = annual spending × 25, based on the 4% safe-withdrawal rule from the Trinity Study.
| Annual spending | FIRE number |
|---|---|
| $30,000 | $750,000 |
| $50,000 | $1,250,000 |
| $75,000 | $1,875,000 |
| $100,000 | $2,500,000 |
| $150,000 | $3,750,000 |
In FinWise
FinWise plans and forecasts let you model your FIRE timeline based on your actual savings rate and net-worth trajectory — see when you cross your FIRE number under different scenarios.
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