Common questions

FIRE is a financial movement focused on saving and investing aggressively in order to retire far earlier than the traditional retirement age of 65. The core idea is to build a portfolio large enough that investment returns — typically around 7% nominal or 5% real — cover your living expenses indefinitely. Once your portfolio reaches that point, you are financially independent and work becomes optional.

Your FIRE number is the total portfolio value you need to retire. It is calculated as: Annual expenses ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate. At the classic 4% SWR, this equals 25× your annual spending. If you spend CHF 60,000 per year, your FIRE number is CHF 1,500,000.

The 4% rule comes from William Bengen's 1994 research, later expanded by the Trinity Study (1998). It states that a retiree can withdraw 4% of their initial portfolio per year — adjusted for inflation — and have a high probability of never running out of money over a 30-year retirement, based on historical US stock and bond market data. It is a guideline, not a guarantee.

Most researchers still consider 3.5%–4% to be a reasonable baseline for a 30-year retirement. For longer retirements (40–50 years, common in FIRE), some advocate a more conservative 3%–3.5% SWR. The right rate depends on your asset allocation, time horizon, and willingness to adjust spending in bad markets.

These are lifestyle variations of the same strategy. Lean FIRE means retiring on a frugal budget (often 60% of average spending). Traditional FIRE maintains your current lifestyle. Fat FIRE means retiring with a generous budget — typically 1.5× or more of average spending — giving you significant spending flexibility.

Bridge FIRE is a strategy for people who want to retire before their state or company pension age. You retire early and draw down your investment portfolio (the "bridge") until pension income starts, at which point withdrawals decrease or stop. It requires careful planning because you must ensure the portfolio survives the bridging period — which could be 10–20 years.

In Barista FIRE, you semi-retire by reducing to part-time work. Your part-time income covers a portion of your expenses, so your portfolio only needs to fund the remainder. This means you can retire with a much smaller portfolio than Traditional FIRE requires — sometimes 40–60% less — because you're not relying on it exclusively.

Coast FIRE means you have already saved enough that — even if you stopped contributing entirely — your portfolio will compound to your full FIRE number by a target retirement age. At that point you only need to "coast", earning enough to cover current expenses without adding to savings. It's a useful milestone that reduces pressure long before full retirement.

Geo FIRE (or geographic arbitrage) means retiring to a lower-cost country so your money goes further. If you earn and save in Switzerland (CHF 6,500/month expenses) but retire in Thailand (CHF 2,500/month), your FIRE number drops by over 60%. The same portfolio lasts much longer when withdrawals are smaller.

Inflation erodes your purchasing power over time. In real (inflation-adjusted) terms, a portfolio that earns 7% nominally with 2% inflation has a real return of ~4.9%. FireClarity's calculators let you choose between nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) modes. In real mode, all values are shown in today's purchasing power, which is easier to reason about.

If you plan to receive a state pension (e.g. Swiss AHV, UK State Pension, German GRV), add it as an income stream in the Bridge FIRE calculator. Once it starts, it reduces the amount you need to withdraw from your portfolio each year, significantly extending how long the portfolio lasts. In Traditional FIRE, add it as an "extra income stream" starting at pension age.

A common assumption is 7% nominal annual return for a globally diversified equity portfolio, based on long-run historical averages. After 2% inflation, this gives ~4.9% real return. Conservative planners use 5–6% nominal. FireClarity defaults to 7% nominal / 2% inflation (real mode), but you can adjust both in the Return Assumptions section.

Sequence-of-returns risk is the danger of experiencing poor market returns early in retirement. Even if the average return over 30 years is fine, a bad first decade forces you to sell assets at low prices, permanently damaging your portfolio. The Monte Carlo simulations in FireClarity model this by running 1,000 random return sequences, giving you a success probability across many possible market scenarios.

Yes. All calculators are completely free, require no account, and run entirely in your browser. No data is sent to a server. You can use the tool without signing up or providing any personal information.

No. FireClarity is an educational tool for modelling and planning. The simulations are based on historical data and mathematical assumptions — they are not predictions. Always consult a qualified financial adviser before making major financial decisions.