Plan your path to
financial independence
Calculate your FIRE number, simulate your portfolio through retirement, and model every strategy — Traditional, Bridge, Barista, Coast, and Geo FIRE.
Five strategies, one tool
Every FIRE path is different. Pick yours and run the numbers.
Traditional FIRE
Save 25× your annual expenses, retire, and withdraw 4% per year forever. The classic strategy.
Bridge FIRE
Retire early and bridge the gap with your portfolio until your state pension starts. Built for European investors.
Barista FIRE
Work part-time to cover some expenses. Retire with a much smaller portfolio than Traditional FIRE requires.
Coast FIRE
Already saved enough? Stop contributing and let compounding do the work. Just cover today's expenses.
Geo FIRE
Retire to a lower-cost country and cut your FIRE number by 40% or more. Geo-arbitrage, calculated.
Not sure where to start?
Read our guide to find out which FIRE strategy fits your life.
What is FIRE?
Financial Independence, Retire Early. The idea is simple. The maths is what matters.
The core idea
FIRE is about saving and investing a large portion of your income so that one day, the returns from your investments cover your living expenses — and work becomes optional. Most FIRE adherents target a savings rate of 30–60%.
The 4% rule
The most widely used guideline: you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio per year in retirement. This means you need 25× your annual expenses invested. Spend CHF 60,000/year? Your FIRE number is CHF 1,500,000.
Why it works
A globally diversified equity portfolio has historically returned ~7% per year. After inflation (~2%), the real return is ~5%. At a 4% withdrawal rate, your portfolio keeps growing even as you draw from it — in most market scenarios.
Built for serious planning
Not a rough estimate. A full simulation.
Monte Carlo simulation
Run 1,000+ random return sequences to see your probability of success across all market scenarios.
Sequence-of-returns risk
The order of returns matters as much as the average. Our simulations model bad first decades explicitly.
Income stream modelling
Add state pensions, rental income, part-time work, or any other cash flow — starting and ending at any age.
100% private
Every calculation runs in your browser. No data is sent to a server. No account needed. Ever.
From the blog
Guides to help you plan smarter.
The 4% Rule Explained: How to Calculate Your FIRE Number
The cornerstone of every FIRE plan. Learn where it comes from and when to adjust it.
Bridge FIRE: How to Retire Early Before Your Pension Kicks In
Retiring at 50 means surviving years without your state pension. Here's how to plan for it.
Geo-Arbitrage: How Moving Abroad Can Cut Your FIRE Number by 40%
The maths of living somewhere cheaper — and why it changes everything.
Common questions
New to FIRE? These are the questions most people ask first.
How much do I need to retire early?
At a 4% safe withdrawal rate, you need 25× your annual expenses. Spend CHF 5,000/month? Your FIRE number is CHF 1,500,000. Use the Traditional FIRE calculator to model your exact situation, including expected returns and inflation.
What is the safest withdrawal rate?
The original 4% rule was designed for 30-year retirements. For early retirees targeting 40–50 years, many researchers suggest 3%–3.5%. FireClarity lets you set any withdrawal rate and shows you the probability of success via Monte Carlo simulation.
Which FIRE strategy is right for me?
It depends on your timeline, lifestyle, and flexibility. Bridge FIRE suits people in countries with strong state pensions. Barista FIRE is for those happy to keep one foot in the workforce. Geo FIRE is for the location-independent. Our guide walks you through each one.
Ready to run the numbers?
Five calculators. Full portfolio simulation. Monte Carlo analysis. Free.
Open FireClarity Calculator →