Financial Independence Calculator
See your FI stage instantly. Same model we use in the Worthy app.
Your FI stage will appear here
Enter your target annual lifestyle and current invested assets to see where you stand.
Financial Independence
BuildingKeep investing — you're not coasting yet.
Your $0 is invested — keep adding to it; growth alone won't get you there yet.
Hands-off income today
Pre-tax$0 /yr, for life
Covers 0% of your $50,000 target lifestyle.
What you can actually spend depends on taxes — Roth withdrawals are tax-free, traditional 401(k)/IRA withdrawals are taxed as income.
How this is calculated Hide details
$0 invested · hands-off figure is 4% of today's balance, pre-tax · 5% real growth assumed. Estimates, not guarantees.
The four stages of financial independence
Building. You're investing but your portfolio still needs new contributions to fund retirement.
Coast FIRE. Compounding alone can grow your investments into your full retirement number by your target age. You can stop saving.
Barista FIRE. Your portfolio already covers at least half of your target lifestyle. Light part-time work bridges the rest until full FIRE.
Work optional. Your portfolio covers your full target lifestyle indefinitely. Earning is now your choice.
The math behind the stages:
Hands-off income = invested × 4% FI number = target × 25 Coverage = hands-off ÷ target Projection = invested × (1 + r)^years
Financial independence FAQ
What are the four FI stages?
Building means your portfolio needs more contributions to fund retirement. Coast means growth alone will carry it to your target by retirement age — you can stop saving. Barista means your portfolio already covers half your lifestyle; light side income can bridge the rest. Work optional means your portfolio covers your full lifestyle indefinitely.
How is the "hands-off income" figured?
Hands-off income is 4% of your current invested assets per year — the safe withdrawal rate used by most FIRE planners. If you have $500,000 invested, your hands-off income is about $20,000/year, for life.
Is the hands-off income pre-tax or after-tax?
It's the gross 4% withdrawal — pre-tax. What you can actually spend depends on the mix of accounts you hold: Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) withdrawals are tax-free, traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, and taxable brokerage withdrawals are mostly tax-free except for the gains portion. The simplest way to handle this: enter your target annual lifestyle as the gross amount you'll need to withdraw — including the taxes you expect to pay.
What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE is the milestone where compounding alone can carry your portfolio to your full FI number by your target retirement age. After Coast, you don't need to contribute anything more to retirement — you just need to cover your current expenses until you retire.
What growth rate should I use?
Long-term stocks average ~5–7% real (inflation-adjusted) annual return. 5% is conservative, 7% is the historical average. Use whatever you sleep well with.
What counts as "invested assets"?
Index funds, ETFs, individual stocks, retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, etc.), and other long-horizon investments. Cash in checking, emergency funds, and your primary residence usually don't count toward the FI number.
Is my data private when I use this calculator?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser. We don't store your inputs, we don't send them to a server, and we don't track you across sessions.