Financial Independence Calculator

How many years until work is optional? Enter your income, spending, current investments and a few assumptions, and this shows your savings rate, your FI number, and the years to financial independence. Updates as you type.

How it works

Your FI number is the pot that funds your spending forever at your withdrawal rate. Then your annual savings, growing at your expected return, fill that pot:

FI number = annual spending ÷ withdrawal rate

savings rate = (income − spending) ÷ income

• Raise your savings rate — it cuts your FI number and grows the pot faster, a double win. This is the single biggest lever.
• Lower spending permanently reduces the target you need to hit.
• Returns help, but you can't control them — your savings rate you can.

This is an educational estimate using constant returns and spending, ignoring tax on withdrawals and sequence-of-returns risk. Not financial advice.

FAQ

What is financial independence (FI)?

Financial independence means your investments are large enough that the income they generate covers your living expenses, so working becomes optional. A common target is 25 times your annual spending, which corresponds to a 4% safe withdrawal rate.

How is the FI number calculated?

Divide your annual spending by your safe withdrawal rate. At a 4% withdrawal rate, FI number = annual spending ÷ 0.04, which is the same as 25 × annual spending. Spend $40,000 a year and your FI number is $1,000,000.

Why does the savings rate matter more than income?

Your savings rate — the share of income you keep and invest — sets both how fast your nest egg grows and how small your spending (and therefore your FI number) is. Two people on the same income reach FI decades apart if one saves 10% and the other saves 50%. That is why this calculator centres on the savings rate.

What return and withdrawal rate should I use?

Many people model a long-run real (after-inflation) return of around 5–7% for a diversified stock-heavy portfolio, and a 3.5–4% withdrawal rate. These are assumptions, not guarantees — markets vary. Use conservative numbers and treat the result as a planning estimate, not a promise.

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