Financial independence arrives when your portfolio covers your spending. The savings rate — not the salary — sets the date.
Everything you save is income minus spending; everything you'll need forever is the spending.
Using real returns keeps everything in today's dollars — your spending number doesn't need inflating.
4% is the classic rule (25× spending); 3–3.5% is the conservative choice for very early retirees.
The famous curve: each extra point of savings rate cuts the working years at both ends — more saved and less needed. Starting net worth is included; the dot is you.
This FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) calculator estimates how many years until your portfolio can cover your spending. The key driver is your savings rate — the share of income you keep — which matters far more than the size of your salary.
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early: building enough invested assets that their returns cover your living expenses, freeing you from needing a paycheck.
Your savings rate sets both how fast you accumulate and how little you need to live on. A high earner who spends it all may be further from independence than a frugal saver.
It is the idea that you can withdraw about 4% of a portfolio each year with low risk of running out, implying a target of roughly 25 times annual spending.