FIRE Explained: How Financial Independence, Retire Early Actually Works

FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early — sounds like a lifestyle for tech millionaires. It isn't. At its core it's a single idea: build a pot of money big enough that the returns cover your living costs, so working becomes optional. Here's how it actually works, with the numbers shown.

The one number that defines FIRE: your FI number

The lever that matters most: your savings rate

The flavors of FIRE

Find your own timeline

The honest caveats

Open PerfinLab — the personal finance app that shows its math.