FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. More and more people are choosing to shun the culture of working into your 60s, instead adopting the principles of FIRE and retiring decades earlier than their peers.

“Money is the carrot, the illusion. If the donkey could see the whole picture, it might rethink its choice to chase the carrot.”
     – Robert Kiyosaki

Instead of committing their lives to the pursuit of career, work is a means to an end: financial freedom.

Most often FIRE manifests itself as a combination of high savings rates (50%+ of income), frugal living (a tight control of outgoings), and investing, with the intention to retire within a decade or two.

When the money you earn from your investments will pay for your living expenses, you have reached FIRE. This is when you can begin to withdraw money from your investment pot each year without burning up your invested capital. FIRE enthusiasts tend to drawdown from their investment pot using the 4% safe withdrawal rate.

The calculator above tells you when you reach that magical tipping point, the moment when you can take full control of what you do with your life.