- Enter core recurring expenses.
- Add separate travel and healthcare allowances.
- Apply a buffer for taxes, replacements, and unplanned spending.
- Choose a withdrawal rate and compare the target with your portfolio.
Fat FIRE Calculator
Estimate a financial independence target for a higher-spending retirement. Separate core living costs from travel, healthcare, and a tax or contingency buffer, then see how each component contributes to the total portfolio requirement.
Planning assumptions
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Result
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Expanded FIRE portfolio target
Buffered annual spending—
Monthly spending capacity—
Current progress—
Portfolio gap—
Buffered spending = (Core + Travel + Healthcare) × (1 + buffer)
Fat FIRE target = Buffered spending ÷ Withdrawal rate
What the result means
The headline converts the expanded lifestyle budget into a portfolio target. Breaking out spending categories makes it easier to revise discretionary costs without hiding core needs.
The buffer is user-defined and is not a tax calculation. Model major one-time purchases separately.
Core spending of $90,000, travel of $25,000, and healthcare of $15,000 total $130,000. Adding a 15% buffer produces $149,500; at 3.5%, the target is about $4.27 million.
How is the tax and contingency buffer used in this Fat FIRE estimate?
The percentage is added to the combined core, travel, and healthcare budget before the withdrawal-rate calculation.
Can I remove travel spending from the Fat FIRE target?
Yes. Enter zero for travel to see a lower-spending scenario while retaining the other categories.
Why might Fat FIRE use a withdrawal rate below 4%?
A lower chosen rate produces a larger portfolio and may provide more flexibility for long retirements or variable spending, but it is not a guarantee.
Should a second home be included as annual spending?
Include its recurring costs here; model the purchase price or down payment separately from annual withdrawals.
Does the portfolio gap account for future investment growth?
No. The displayed gap is target minus current portfolio today; it does not forecast contributions or growth.