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When can I reach Barista FIRE?

Type what you spend a year, what part-time work would pay, what you have invested and what you save. The Barista FIRE calculator works out the smaller number your investments need to cover the rest, and the age you could reach it.

Your numbers

Returns are never guaranteed.
The 4% rule is common. Lower is more cautious.
You reach Barista FIRE at age
47.2

With $25,000.00 a year of part-time income, you need $625,000.00 invested; you will save $309,000.00 on the way.

Years to go
17.2
Spending your investments cover
$25,000.00
Full FIRE number for comparison
$1,250,000.00
Your Barista FIRE number
$625,000.00
How far you are
16%
You’ll save
$309,000.00
Real growth
$218,849.76
Months
206

You reach Barista FIRE at age: 47.2. With $25,000.00 a year of part-time income, you need $625,000.00 invested; you will save $309,000.00 on the way.

How close are you to your Barista FIRE number?

What does each year look like?

The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use

How to calculate

Computes your Barista FIRE number, (yearly spending − part-time income) ÷ withdrawal rate, and the age your investments reach it from what you have and what you save, at a real return.

Example with the default inputs (Your age 30, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Part-time income a year $25,000.00, Invested today $100,000.00, You save $1,500.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Prices rise each year by 3%, Safe withdrawal rate 4%): With $25,000.00 a year of part-time income, you need $625,000.00 invested; you will save $309,000.00 on the way.

Method: Barista FIRE number = max(0, yearly spending − part-time income) ÷ withdrawal rate; each month, in today’s money, balance = balance × (1 + i) + savings, with i = ((1 + R) ÷ (1 + inflation))^(1/12) − 1, until the balance reaches the number.

  • All amounts are in today’s money: your savings, spending and part-time pay rise with prices.
  • You keep the part-time income for as long as you need it. If it stops, your investments must cover all your spending (the full FIRE number).
  • The return and inflation stay the same every year, and savings are added at the end of each month.
  • The withdrawal rate is a rule of thumb from past market returns, not a guarantee. Taxes, fees, health insurance and Social Security are not included.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Your age 30, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Part-time income a year $25,000.00, Invested today $100,000.00, You save $1,500.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Prices rise each year by 3%, Safe withdrawal rate 4% gives Your Barista FIRE number $625,000.00, Spending your investments cover $25,000.00, Full FIRE number for comparison $1,250,000.00, How far you are 16%, Years to go 17.166667, You reach Barista FIRE at age 47.166667.Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, Compound interest calculator and formula, https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator (retrieved 2026-10-03)
  2. Your age 30, Yearly spending in retirement $40,000.00, Part-time income a year $20,000.00, Invested today $20,000.00, You save $2,500.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Prices rise each year by 0%, Safe withdrawal rate 4% gives Your Barista FIRE number $500,000.00, Years to go 16, You reach Barista FIRE at age 46, You’ll save $480,000.00.
  3. Your age 30, Yearly spending in retirement $50,000.00, Part-time income a year $0.00, Invested today $100,000.00, You save $2,000.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Prices rise each year by 3%, Safe withdrawal rate 4% gives Your Barista FIRE number $1,250,000.00, Years to go 24.916667, You reach Barista FIRE at age 54.916667.Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, Compound interest calculator and formula, https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator (retrieved 2026-10-03)
  4. Your age 40, Yearly spending in retirement $40,000.00, Part-time income a year $45,000.00, Invested today $0.00, You save $0.00, Expected yearly return 5%, Prices rise each year by 3%, Safe withdrawal rate 4% gives Your Barista FIRE number $0.00, Spending your investments cover $0.00, Years to go 0, You reach Barista FIRE at age 40.

How it works

All amounts are in today’s money.

  • Spending your investments cover G = max(0, yearly spending − part-time income).
  • Your Barista FIRE number F = G ÷ (withdrawal rate ÷ 100). It is $0 when the part-time income covers all spending.
  • Full FIRE number for comparison = yearly spending ÷ (withdrawal rate ÷ 100).
  • How far you are = invested today ÷ F × 100 (shown when F is above $0).

The real monthly rate is i = ((1 + R) ÷ (1 + inflation))^(1/12) − 1, with the return R and inflation as decimals. Starting from what you have invested, each month the balance becomes balance × (1 + i) + what you save a month (a yearly amount is split into 12). The months stop at the first month whose end balance is at or above F, or at age 100.

  • Years to go = months ÷ 12; you reach Barista FIRE at age = age + months ÷ 12. If F is not reached by age 100 the page says Not by age 100.
  • You’ll save = months × monthly saving; real growth = the monthly growth added up.

Rules

  • Age 18 to 90; spending at least $1; part-time income from $0; return and inflation from 0% to 20%; withdrawal rate from 1% to 10%.

Assumptions

  • The part-time income lasts as long as you need it. The return and inflation stay the same. Taxes, fees, health insurance and Social Security are not included. This is an estimate, not advice.

Worked examples by hand

The default. G = 50,000 − 25,000 = 25,000; F = 25,000 ÷ 0.04 = $625,000; full number $1,250,000; how far = 100,000 ÷ 625,000 = 16%. i = (1.07 ÷ 1.03)^(1/12) − 1 = 0.0031797. Month by month the balance passes $625,000 in month 206: age 47.2, 17.2 years.

No growth. G = 40,000 − 20,000 = 20,000; F = $500,000. From $20,000 at $2,500 a month: (500,000 − 20,000) ÷ 2,500 = 192 months, age 46; you save $480,000.

No part-time income. The FIRE calculator’s example: $50,000 of spending at 4% needs $1,250,000; from $100,000 at $2,000 a month the balance reaches it in 299 months, age 54.9.

Part-time pay above spending. G = max(0, 40,000 − 45,000) = 0, so F = $0 and you are there now, at age 40.

Other questions people ask

What is Barista FIRE?

It is a form of financial independence where you leave full-time work but keep a part-time job, often for its pay or benefits. The job covers part of your spending, so your investments only need to cover the rest.

How is the Barista FIRE number worked out?

(Yearly spending − part-time income) ÷ withdrawal rate. Spending $50,000 a year with $25,000 from part-time work at a 4% rate needs $25,000 ÷ 0.04 = $625,000, half the full FIRE number of $1,250,000.

How long does it take to reach?

The page saves month by month at a real return until your investments reach the number. With $100,000 invested, $1,500 a month saved, a 7% return and 3% inflation, the default reaches $625,000 in 206 months, at age 47.2.

What withdrawal rate should I use?

Many FIRE plans use 4%, the default here. A lower rate needs a bigger number but is more cautious when the money must last for decades. No rate is guaranteed.

What if the part-time job ends?

Then your investments must cover all of your spending, which needs the full FIRE number. The page shows both numbers so you can see the gap.

Why does the calculator use a real return?

All amounts are in today’s money, so the return is turned into a real return: (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. A 7% return with 3% inflation is about 3.88% a year after inflation.