How do I use the FIRE calculator?

1. Set your current age and target FIRE age: The years between them drive every date-based figure: the inflation-adjusted corpus you need, the Coast FIRE number, and the projected corpus at that age. 2. Choose a FIRE style: Select Lean, Regular, or Fat to start with a preset annual expense and safe withdrawal rate, then edit the numbers for your household. 3. Enter income and expenses: Use annual figures. The calculator derives annual savings and savings rate from income minus expenses. 4. Add current savings: Enter existing investments and savings that can contribute to the FIRE corpus. Exclude assets you do not plan to use for retirement cash flow unless intentional. 5. Add a savings step-up if your income is growing: Savings already rise with inflation in the projection. The step-up is the real increase on top of that, for raises and promotions that outpace inflation. Leave it at 0 for a flat real savings path. 6. Set return and inflation assumptions: Expected return grows the portfolio, while inflation raises both future savings and the FIRE target in the projection. 7. Review the crossover year and the gap at your target age: The calculator reports the year the portfolio first reaches the inflation-adjusted target, and whether you are short of or ahead of the Regular FIRE number on your chosen FIRE date.

FIRE means Financial Independence, Retire Early. You build a corpus large enough to cover annual expenses using a conservative withdrawal rate.

How is the FIRE number calculated?

FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ (safe withdrawal rate / 100). At 3.5% SWR, the target is about 28.6x annual expenses.

What are Lean, Fat, and Coast FIRE?

Lean FIRE is 0.7x your expenses, Fat FIRE is 1.5x, both measured against the inflation-adjusted corpus needed on your FIRE date. Coast FIRE is the corpus you would need today for compounding alone to reach the Regular FIRE number by that date, with no further contributions.

Why is the FIRE number at my target age larger than today's number?

Today's number covers today's expenses. By your FIRE date those expenses have inflated, so the corpus that funds them is larger. Planning to the today's-rupees figure is the most common reason people under-save.

What does the annual savings step-up do?

The projection already grows your annual savings with inflation. The step-up is the real increase on top of that, for promotions or raises that outpace inflation. Leave it at 0 to keep savings flat in real terms.

Why use 3.5% to 4% SWR in India?

Higher inflation and sequence risk can justify a more conservative range. Many Indian FIRE planners model 3% to 4% and stress-test for volatility.

Does this calculator account for inflation?

Yes. Both annual savings and FIRE target are inflation-adjusted year by year in the projection.

Is FIRE guaranteed if I hit the target?

No plan is guaranteed. Use this as a planning baseline and review annually as returns, expenses, taxes, and life goals change.

Tools/

FIRE Calculator

Estimate your path to financial independence with inflation-aware projections.

Current Age

18 Yrs65 Yrs

Target FIRE Age

31 Yrs70 Yrs

Current Annual Income

₹1,00,000₹5,00,00,000

Annual Expenses

₹1,00,000₹5,00,00,000

Current Savings/Investments

₹0₹50,00,00,000

Annual Savings Step-Up

0%15%

Expected Return Rate

5%20%

Inflation Rate

2%12%

Safe Withdrawal Rate

2%6%

Regular FIRE Number (Today’s Rupees)

₹1.71 Cr

13 years to FIRE at current assumptions.

Regular FIRE at Age 45

₹4.11 Cr

Current Savings

₹10 L

Current Gap

₹1.61 Cr

Annual Savings

₹9.0 L

Coast FIRE today

₹75.1 L

Projected Corpus at 45

₹5.16 Cr

Surplus at 45

₹1.05 Cr

FIRE Progress6%

FIRE Projection chart

Portfolio
FIRE Target

Year-by-Year Breakdown

Year	Portfolio	FIRE Target	Gap
0	₹10,00,000	₹1,71,42,857	₹1,61,42,857
1	₹20,20,000	₹1,81,71,429	₹1,61,51,429
2	₹32,16,400	₹1,92,61,714	₹1,60,45,314
3	₹46,13,608	₹2,04,17,417	₹1,58,03,809
4	₹62,39,155	₹2,16,42,462	₹1,54,03,307
5	₹81,24,083	₹2,29,41,010	₹1,48,16,927
6	₹1,03,03,376	₹2,43,17,470	₹1,40,14,094
7	₹1,28,16,449	₹2,57,76,519	₹1,29,60,070
8	₹1,57,07,690	₹2,73,23,110	₹1,16,15,420
9	₹1,90,27,076	₹2,89,62,496	₹99,35,421
10	₹2,28,30,856	₹3,07,00,246	₹78,69,390
11	₹2,71,82,322	₹3,25,42,261	₹53,59,939
12	₹3,21,52,669	₹3,44,94,797	₹23,42,128
13	₹3,78,21,966	₹3,65,64,484	-₹12,57,481

About the FIRE calculator

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The core idea is to build an investment corpus large enough that a conservative withdrawal rate can fund your annual expenses without relying on salary income.

This calculator reports two corpus figures: the FIRE number in today's rupees, and the Regular FIRE number you actually need on your target FIRE date, once inflation has worked on your expenses for the years in between. It also shows Lean and Fat variants, the Coast FIRE corpus, years to FIRE at your current savings path, and the gap or surplus at your target age.

The output is a planning baseline. In India, inflation, taxation, currency exposure, healthcare shocks, family obligations, and market sequence risk can all change the safe withdrawal rate that is appropriate for your household.

Frequently Asked Questions

Set your current age and target FIRE age
The years between them drive every date-based figure: the inflation-adjusted corpus you need, the Coast FIRE number, and the projected corpus at that age.
Choose a FIRE style
Select Lean, Regular, or Fat to start with a preset annual expense and safe withdrawal rate, then edit the numbers for your household.
Enter income and expenses
Use annual figures. The calculator derives annual savings and savings rate from income minus expenses.
Add current savings
Enter existing investments and savings that can contribute to the FIRE corpus. Exclude assets you do not plan to use for retirement cash flow unless intentional.
Add a savings step-up if your income is growing
Savings already rise with inflation in the projection. The step-up is the real increase on top of that, for raises and promotions that outpace inflation. Leave it at 0 for a flat real savings path.
Set return and inflation assumptions
Expected return grows the portfolio, while inflation raises both future savings and the FIRE target in the projection.
Review the crossover year and the gap at your target age
The calculator reports the year the portfolio first reaches the inflation-adjusted target, and whether you are short of or ahead of the Regular FIRE number on your chosen FIRE date.

Balanceₜ = Balanceₜ₋₁ × (1 + return) + Annual savings × ((1 + inflation) × (1 + step-up))ᵗ⁻¹; Targetₜ = FIRE number × (1 + inflation)ᵗ

FIRE number is annual expenses ÷ (safe withdrawal rate ÷ 100), in today's rupees
Regular FIRE number is FIRE number × (1 + inflation)^years to FIRE, the corpus needed on the FIRE date
Lean FIRE is 0.7 × Regular FIRE number, Fat FIRE is 1.5 × Regular FIRE number
Coast FIRE is Regular FIRE number ÷ (1 + return)^years to FIRE, using the nominal return because the Regular number is already in FIRE-date rupees
Balanceₜ is projected portfolio value at year t, and annual savings is income minus expenses
Targetₜ is the inflation-adjusted FIRE corpus needed in year t

FIRE is achieved in the first year where projected balance is greater than or equal to the inflation-adjusted target. Coast FIRE is the corpus that reaches the Regular number through compounding alone, so if you already hold it you can stop adding to the portfolio and still arrive on time.

Worked example

Suppose you are 30, targeting FIRE at 45, annual income is ₹15,00,000, annual expenses are ₹6,00,000, current savings are ₹10,00,000, expected return is 12%, inflation is 6%, savings step-up is 0%, and safe withdrawal rate is 3.5%.

FIRE number (today's rupees): ₹1,71,42,857
Regular FIRE number at 45: ₹4,10,83,855
Lean FIRE at 45 (0.7×): ₹2,87,58,698
Fat FIRE at 45 (1.5×): ₹6,16,25,782
Coast FIRE corpus today: ₹75,05,867
Annual savings: ₹9,00,000
Savings rate: 60%
Years to FIRE: 13
Projected corpus at 45: ₹5,16,28,679
Surplus at 45: ₹1,05,44,825

Planning to the ₹1,71,42,857 figure would under-save badly: the corpus actually needed at 45 is ₹4,10,83,855. On this savings path the portfolio crosses the inflation-adjusted target in year 13, and reaches ₹5,16,28,679 by 45, about ₹1,05,44,825 ahead of the Regular FIRE number. Holding ₹75,05,867 today would be enough to coast to that number without saving another rupee.

Lean and Fat FIRE use fixed 0.7x and 1.5x multipliers on your entered expenses. They are conventions, not household budgets, so model your real lean and comfortable spending separately before relying on them.
Coast FIRE assumes your portfolio actually earns the nominal return you entered for every year until the FIRE date. A weak decade breaks the coast, so revisit it if returns disappoint.
A 3.5% to 4% withdrawal rate is only a starting point. Indian inflation, taxes, and market volatility may require a more conservative rate.
Do not include an illiquid self-occupied home in the FIRE corpus unless it can realistically fund retirement cash flows.
Healthcare, children's education, elder care, and currency-linked expenses can break a simple expense multiple, so model them separately.
Review the plan annually. FIRE depends on sustained savings, realistic return expectations, and expenses that stay under control after independence.

Know your real FIRE number

Finest tracks your spending and net worth from actual transactions, so the two inputs that matter most stop being guesses.

Know your real FIRE number

FIRE Calculator

Inputs

Results

FIRE Projection chart

About the FIRE calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

Know your real FIRE number

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