Lean FIRE Calculator

What Is Lean FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)?

Lean FIRE is a financial independence and early retirement strategy that focuses on living a simpler life and spending less money. By cutting out unnecessary expenses, you can save more and retire early. The simpler explanation for what Lean FIRE really like is that to lower your retirement target, live a minimalist lifestyle and save aggressively.

How Does FIRE Work?

Two key components of FIRE are saving aggressively and investing wisely. By starting saving your income early and investing the sums, compound interest can accelerate the journey to Financial Independence and Retire Early.

How to Calculate Lean FIRE Goal?

Calculating your Lean FIRE goal involves determining the required retirement net worth. To achieve this, you need to understand two key components: retirement annual spending and withdrawal rate.

1. Retirement Annual Spending

Retirement Annual Spending is your estimated spending for any given year during retirement. This involves creating a detailed budget that takes into account all your future expenses, including housing, healthcare, travel, hobbies, and any other costs you expect to incur. It's important to be realistic and thorough in this assessment to ensure your retirement years are financially comfortable.

2. Withdrawal Rate

Withdrawal Rate represents the percentage of your net worth that you anticipate withdrawing annually to cover your retirement expenses. A lower withdrawal rate implies a safer and more conservative approach to financial independence, as it reduces the risk of outliving your savings.

The widely accepted safe withdrawal rate is typically between 3% and 4%. This means that for every $1 million in your retirement portfolio, you can withdraw $30,000 to $40,000 annually, assuming a 3% to 4% withdrawal rate.