FIRE calculator
Three numbers tell you where you stand: your FIRE number (the portfolio that funds your life), the year you reach it at your current pace, and your Coast FIRE number — the point where 65 is already secured and every further dollar buys earlier freedom. All in today's dollars.
Your situation
The road to your number
Projected balance each year at your savings pace, in today's dollars.
| Age | Balance | Of FIRE number |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | $182,500 | 15% |
| 37 | $216,625 | 17% |
| 38 | $252,456 | 20% |
| 39 | $290,079 | 23% |
| 40 | $329,583 | 26% |
| 41 | $371,062 | 30% |
| 42 | $414,615 | 33% |
| 43 | $460,346 | 37% |
| 44 | $508,363 | 41% |
| 45 | $558,782 | 45% |
| 46 | $611,721 | 49% |
| 47 | $667,307 | 53% |
| 48 | $725,672 | 58% |
| 49 | $786,956 | 63% |
| 50 | $851,303 | 68% |
| 51 | $918,868 | 74% |
| 52 | $989,812 | 79% |
| 53 | $1,064,303 | 85% |
| 54 | $1,142,518 | 91% |
| 55 | $1,224,644 | 98% |
| 56 | $1,310,876 | 100% |
The Canadian FIRE advantage nobody mentions
Most FIRE math online is American, and Canada quietly plays the game on easier settings: RRSP money is accessible at any age — withdrawals face withholding tax (10% / 20% / 30% by size, outside Quebec) but no penalty, unlike the US 401(k)'s 10% charge; TFSA withdrawals are tax-free whenever you like; and walking away from a job doesn't mean walking away from healthcare. The genuine Canadian puzzle is sequencing the bridge years between early retirement and CPP/OAS — which accounts to spend first, and how to melt the RRSP down in low-income years. The FIRE in Canada guide is the full playbook.
Spending is the super-lever
Every $1,000 of permanent annual spending you remove cuts your FIRE number by $25,000 (at 4%) — and simultaneously frees $1,000 a year to invest. No return assumption, side hustle or market outcome moves the date like the spending line does. Run the chips above and watch.
Frequently asked questions
What is a FIRE number and how is it calculated?
Your FIRE number is the portfolio that can fund your spending indefinitely: annual spending ÷ safe withdrawal rate. At the classic 4% rule that's spending × 25 — $50,000 a year needs $1,250,000. At a more conservative 3.5% it's spending × ~28.6. The number is in today's dollars because this calculator uses real (after-inflation) returns throughout — what you see is purchasing power, not nominal balances.
What is Coast FIRE?
The amount where you could stop saving entirely today and still hit your FIRE number by 65 on growth alone — your FIRE number discounted back at your real return. Reaching it changes the conversation: every dollar you save after Coast FIRE buys earlier freedom rather than securing 65. On the default scenario the Coast number is far below the full FIRE number, which is why people hit it decades sooner than they expect.
What return should I assume?
This calculator wants a real (after-inflation) return, because your spending target is in today’s dollars. A diversified all-equity portfolio has historically delivered roughly 5–7% real over long periods; a balanced portfolio less. We default to 5% real and would treat 7% as optimistic. Be honest here — an inflated return assumption produces a fantasy FI date, and the error compounds for decades. Fees matter at this horizon too: the MER calculator shows why a 2% mutual fund quietly adds years to the journey.
Is the 4% rule safe for retiring at 40, not 65?
The 4% rule was derived from 30-year retirements; a 45-year retirement carries more sequence-of-returns risk, so many early retirees plan at 3.25–3.75% — try the chips above and watch the FIRE number move. Counterweights the raw math ignores: CPP and OAS eventually arrive (reducing what the portfolio must fund from ~65 on), most FIRE-ers earn something post-retirement, and spending flexibility in bad markets is worth more than a lower SWR. Our 4% rule guide covers the Canadian evidence.
Where do RRSP, TFSA and the “bridge years” fit?
Canada is quietly one of the best countries for FIRE: RRSP withdrawals before 65 carry no penalty (only withholding tax, reconciled at filing — unlike the US 401(k)’s 10% hit), TFSA withdrawals are tax-free at any age, and healthcare doesn’t chain you to a job. The planning problem is the bridge years — funding age 40–65 before CPP/OAS start — which rewards a deliberate account order (TFSA/non-registered early, RRSP melted down in low-income years). The FIRE in Canada guide walks the whole structure; the RRSP meltdown covers the drawdown trick.
How current and reliable is this calculator?
It’s deliberately simple, deterministic math — fixed real return, annual compounding, contributions at year end — built to answer “roughly when?” not to simulate every path. Real portfolios vary year to year, which matters most right around the FI date (sequence risk). Use it for direction, re-run it yearly, and treat the final approach with the conservatism it deserves. For the spend-down side, see the safe withdrawal calculator.
Educational tool, not financial advice. Deterministic projection: fixed real return, annual compounding, contributions at year end, all values in today's dollars; real markets vary, and outcomes near the FI date are dominated by sequence-of-returns luck. Withholding rates reflect 2026 CRA schedules outside Quebec. Build the plan with professional advice before acting on it.