The shockingly simple math
Savings rate \u2192 years to FIRE
Your savings rate is the most important number in your financial life. It tells you \u2014 independent of your income \u2014 how far you are from walking away. Pick a rate to see the full breakdown.
Assuming 7% real return, 4% safe withdrawal rate, starting from zero
| Savings rate | Years to FIRE | Bucket | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | 52.2 years | Just getting started | See breakdown |
| 10% | 41.7 years | Just getting started | See breakdown |
| 15% | 35.3 years | Solid middle ground | See breakdown |
| 20% | 30.7 years | Solid middle ground | See breakdown |
| 25% | 27.1 years | Solid middle ground | See breakdown |
| 30% | 24.0 years | Solid middle ground | See breakdown |
| 35% | 21.4 years | Aggressive FIRE path | See breakdown |
| 40% | 19.0 years | Aggressive FIRE path | See breakdown |
| 50% | 15.0 years | Aggressive FIRE path | See breakdown |
| 60% | 11.4 years | Extreme / high-income | See breakdown |
| 70% | 8.3 years | Extreme / high-income | See breakdown |
| 80% | 5.4 years | Extreme / high-income | See breakdown |
Explore every rate
Why this math works
Every year you save X% of your take-home pay is a year where you bank X%/(1-X%) years of freedom. Save 50% and each working year buys a full year of retirement. Save 75% and each working year buys three. The formula is income-invariant \u2014 a person earning $40K/yr and saving 50% reaches FIRE at the same time as a person earning $400K/yr and saving 50%.
That\u2019s why frugality compounds. Cutting $1 of annual spending both frees a dollar to invest and reduces the pile you need by 25x.