Financial Independence Number Calculator

Prompt

Calculate my financial independence (FI) number and build a path to reach it.

Personal context:
- Age: [AGE]
- Annual spending in retirement: [AMOUNT IN TODAY'S DOLLARS]
- Current investable net worth: [AMOUNT]
- Annual savings rate: [PERCENTAGE OF INCOME]
- Annual income: [AMOUNT]
- Expected investment return: [PERCENTAGE OR 'USE 7% REAL']
- Social Security expectation: [INCLUDE AT AGE [X] / IGNORE]
- Target retirement age: [AGE OR 'FIND THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE']

Calculate and build the plan:

1. **FI Number** — My required portfolio size using the 4% rule and 3.5% rule (more conservative). Show how spending changes the target dramatically.

2. **Time to FI** — At current savings rate and return, when do I reach the FI number? Show the math.

3. **FI Sensitivity Table** — How the FI date changes based on: savings rate, spending, and return assumptions.

4. **Savings Rate Impact** — Show what increasing my savings rate by 5, 10, 15 percentage points does to my FI date.

5. **Spending Optimization** — The highest-impact spending reductions for accelerating FI. Big levers only.

6. **Coast FI** — The portfolio amount at which I could stop contributing and still reach FI by [AGE] through growth alone. Have I already hit it?

7. **Sequence of Returns Risk** — How a bad first 5 years of retirement impacts the 4% rule. Mitigation strategies.

8. **Barista FIRE / Semi-Retirement** — What does partial retirement look like? How much do I need to earn to not touch the portfolio?