Why This Exists
Most retirement calculators assume you'll work until 65, collect a pension, and maybe enjoy a decade of leisure before you die. That's the default script. Work for 40 years. Retire. Hope you're healthy enough to enjoy it.
I don't accept that script. Neither should you.
This calculator exists because I needed one that didn't assume I wanted to work until I was old. I wanted tools that answered a different question: How do I stop working as soon as possible?
My Journey
I'm 36. I spent four years of my early twenties working fast food. Minimum wage, irregular hours, no benefits. I wasn't thinking about retirement—I was thinking about making rent.
Eventually I pivoted into software development. Now I earn a good salary. Life is comfortable. But here's the thing that haunts me:
If I had known about FIRE back in my fast food days—if I had saved even $100 a month—I'd be so much further along right now.
It's not that I would have been able to save a lot. It's that I would have started. The habit would exist. The compound growth would have had those extra years. The mindset shift would have happened earlier.
I can't go back. But I can make sure this information is accessible to the version of me who's 22 and making sandwiches and has no idea this is even possible.
What I Actually Believe
FIRE isn't about extreme deprivation. It's not about eating rice and beans every day or never enjoying life. That's a strawman version of financial independence.
FIRE is about math. Simple math:
- Figure out what you actually spend (not what you think you spend)
- Multiply that by 25
- That's your number
Once you have 25 times your annual expenses invested, you can withdraw 4% per year and statistically never run out of money. That's it. That's the whole secret.
The hard part isn't understanding the math. It's changing your relationship with money, with work, with what you think you "need." The hard part is realizing you have more control than you've been told.
Where I Am Now
I'm on the path. Not at the finish line—probably years away still. But every month, the number grows. Every year, the timeline shrinks.
I built these calculators because I use them. I wanted clean tools that show me exactly where I stand without upselling me financial products or making me feel bad about my progress.
If you're here, you're curious about this path. That curiosity is the first step. Run the numbers. See your target. Then decide if you want to pursue it.
This is so possible. It's not just for tech workers or trust fund kids. It's math. And math doesn't care about your job title.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.