How to use the FIRE calculator
- Enter your age, monthly take-home income and monthly household expenses.
- Add what you have invested so far: EPF, PPF, NPS, mutual funds and shares, but not your home.
- Set the expected return, inflation and a withdrawal rate (3 to 4% is common for India).
- Read your FIRE number, FIRE age and the lean and fat FIRE ages.
- Pick an age for Coast FIRE and check the table for what each extra ₹5,000 a month changes.
What FIRE means
FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early. You save and invest a large share of your income until the portfolio can pay your expenses for life. After that, work is a choice. Many people keep working part-time; the point is that they no longer need the salary.
FIRE number = yearly expenses ÷ withdrawal rate
Example: age 30, take-home pay of ₹1,50,000 a month, expenses of ₹60,000, ₹10 L invested, 10% return and 6% inflation. At 3.5% the FIRE number is ₹2.06 Cr in today's money. Saving ₹90,000 a month, rising with inflation, gets there in 14 years, at 44, when the target has grown to about ₹4.65 Cr. Each extra ₹5,000 a month brings that forward by about 1 year.
FIRE number by monthly expenses
| Expenses a month | At 4% | At 3.5% | At 3% | Lean FIRE (3.5%) | Fat FIRE (3.5%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹30,000 | ₹90 L | ₹1.03 Cr | ₹1.2 Cr | ₹72 L | ₹1.54 Cr |
| ₹50,000 | ₹1.5 Cr | ₹1.71 Cr | ₹2 Cr | ₹1.2 Cr | ₹2.57 Cr |
| ₹75,000 | ₹2.25 Cr | ₹2.57 Cr | ₹3 Cr | ₹1.8 Cr | ₹3.86 Cr |
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹3 Cr | ₹3.43 Cr | ₹4 Cr | ₹2.4 Cr | ₹5.14 Cr |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹4.5 Cr | ₹5.14 Cr | ₹6 Cr | ₹3.6 Cr | ₹7.71 Cr |
In today's money. Lean FIRE assumes 70% of the expenses and fat FIRE 150%. The amount needed on the day you stop working is higher, because expenses rise with inflation until then.
Years to FIRE by savings rate
| Savings rate | Saved a month | FIRE number today | Years to FIRE | FIRE age (from 30) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | ₹20,000 | ₹2.74 Cr | 43 | 73 |
| 30% | ₹30,000 | ₹2.4 Cr | 33 | 63 |
| 40% | ₹40,000 | ₹2.06 Cr | 26 | 56 |
| 50% | ₹50,000 | ₹1.71 Cr | 20 | 50 |
| 60% | ₹60,000 | ₹1.37 Cr | 15 | 45 |
| 70% | ₹70,000 | ₹1.03 Cr | 11 | 41 |
Take-home pay of ₹1,00,000 a month, nothing invested yet, 10% return, 6% inflation and a 3.5% withdrawal rate. A higher savings rate works twice: more goes in each month, and the lower spending means a smaller FIRE number.
FIRE or a normal retirement
- FIRE plans for money that lasts indefinitely, so it uses a low withdrawal rate and a large multiple of expenses.
- A normal retirement at 58 to 60 plans for a fixed number of years and can spend the corpus down, so the target is lower.
- Health cover matters more in early retirement: there is no employer policy, and premiums rise with age.
- EPF and NPS have their own withdrawal rules before retirement age, so check how much of your portfolio you can reach early.
To plan a retirement at a set age, with the corpus lasting until a chosen life expectancy, use the retirement calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is a FIRE number?
It is the portfolio at which your investments can pay your expenses: yearly expenses divided by the withdrawal rate. Spending ₹60,000 a month, that is ₹7,20,000 a year, so at 3.5% the FIRE number is ₹2.06 Cr in today's money, about 28.6 times yearly expenses.
Is the 4% rule safe for India?
The 4% rule comes from US studies of 30-year retirements with inflation near 3%. Indian inflation has been higher, and an early retirement can last 40 years or more, so many Indian planners use 3 to 4%. At 3.5% you need 28.6 times your yearly expenses; at 3% you need 33.3 times, against 25 times at 4%.
How much do I need to retire early in India?
It depends mostly on your expenses. At 3.5%, ₹50,000 a month needs ₹1.71 Cr today and ₹1 lakh a month needs ₹3.43 Cr. Prices keep rising, so the amount needed on the day you stop working is higher: the calculator shows both.
What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE is the amount that, invested today and never added to, grows to your FIRE number by a chosen age. In the example, coasting to 50 needs about ₹90.03 L invested now at 10%. After that, your income only has to cover your expenses until then.
What is the difference between lean FIRE and fat FIRE?
They use the same rule on different budgets. This calculator takes lean FIRE as 70% of today's expenses and fat FIRE as 150%. In the example, lean FIRE comes at age 40 and fat FIRE at age 49.
What savings rate do I need for FIRE?
The savings rate matters more than income, because saving more also means needing less. On ₹1 lakh a month take-home with nothing invested, 10% returns and 6% inflation, a 30% savings rate reaches FIRE in 33 years and a 50% rate in 20 years.
Does the FIRE calculator include tax?
No. Enter expenses as what you spend after tax. In FIRE, gains and interest you withdraw are taxed, so budget for tax on withdrawals or use a slightly lower withdrawal rate.