FIRE milestones
Where are you on the Financial Independence ladder? Five variants — CoastFIRE, BaristaFIRE, LeanFIRE, FIRE, FatFIRE — with the math behind each.
Your ladder
Ordered by size. Each card shows the target portfolio, whether you've hit it, and how far away it is at your current savings rate.
Enough invested that you can stop contributing and still retire on time.
Portfolio + part-time income covers your spending.
Full FI at a minimalist budget.
Your target spending fully covered by the portfolio.
FIRE at a comfortable / premium budget.
What each variant means
CoastFIRE is the earliest milestone. It's the amount invested today that, with zero further contributions, compounds at your expected real return until it hits the standard FIRE number by your chosen retirement age. You still need to cover current living expenses, but you don't need to save another dollar for retirement.
BaristaFIRE (named after the idea of working part-time at a coffee shop for health insurance or spending money) is where your portfolio can fund your expenses MINUS what a part-time job contributes. The portfolio is smaller than a full FIRE number, but you're still working — just less.
LeanFIRE covers a deliberately frugal budget (default $40k/yr). You can stop working entirely, but lifestyle inflation will put you back in the workforce. Best suited to geographic arbitrage (low-cost-of-living countries) or people who genuinely enjoy frugal living.
The canonical FIRE number: 25× your target annual spend. Based on the Trinity Study's 4% safe withdrawal rate, your portfolio should survive a 30-year retirement with a high probability. This is the number most people mean when they say "I hit FI".
FatFIRE is retiring on a more generous budget (default $100k/yr). Same 25× multiple, bigger denominator. Covers a lifestyle with travel, dining out, private healthcare, kids in private school, etc.