Barista FIRE calculator

The portfolio that covers the gap between your spending and a part-time income, so full-time work can stop.

The calculator

Barista FIRE number$875,000$35,000 a year to cover after part-time income
Full FIRE number$1,500,000If the part-time income stopped
Still needed$675,000To reach it today
Investments at semi-retire age$415,786If you add nothing for 15 years

$60,000 of spending minus $25,000 of part-time income is $35,000 a year, which at 4.0% needs $875,000. Full FIRE without that income is $1,500,000.

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How it works

Barista FIRE is the 4% (or other) rule applied to the gap, not to full spending. Coast FIRE is the cousin that keeps working full-time and stops contributing; this one drops to part-time and starts drawing. The Coast FIRE calculator and the FIRE definition sit next to it.

Assumptions

Part-time income is treated as reliable and pre-tax. If that job disappears, you need the full FIRE number. One real return, no fees.

Frequently asked questions

What is Barista FIRE?
Semi-retirement: a portfolio large enough that withdrawals plus a part-time income cover spending. You leave full-time work, but some earned income is still part of the plan.
How is this different from Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE assumes you stop contributing and keep covering today’s bills from work until a later retirement date. Barista FIRE assumes you drop to part-time and start drawing the gap from the portfolio now.
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