Financial Independence · Retire Early
Find your number.
$0The portfolio that funds your life, forever.
find your number. plan your escape.
01 — Income & Spending
What does your financial life look like?
Two numbers do most of the work in early retirement: what you earn and what you keep. Drag the sliders to match your year. We'll do the math the moment you let go.
Most of every dollar you earn is buying you time. This is the FIRE engine running well.
02 — Your Portfolio
How much have you already built?
The number that matters isn't a round target — it's yours. We multiply your spending by the inverse of your safe withdrawal rate, then watch your portfolio race toward it.
03 — Projections
Three futures. One choice.
Markets aren't promises. Below: your base case, what an extra two points of return looks like, what 2.5 less feels like, and the version where inflation quietly rents out a room in your portfolio.
04 — Your FIRE Style
What kind of freedom are you building?
Pick the version of retired life you actually want. Some are about leaving early at any cost; some are about leaving comfortably. We'll resize your number around the choice.
05 — Tax Strategy
Not all savings are created equal.
The order you fill accounts matters as much as how much you save. HSA first — it's the only account that's tax-free coming and going. Then 401k to the match. Then Roth IRA. Taxable brokerage is the bridge to 59½ when you need money before traditional retirement.
Fill from the top. The bar shows how close you are to maxing each bucket.
06 — Roth Ladder
Bridge the gap to 59½.
Before 59½ you can't touch your 401k / 403b without a 10% penalty. The Roth conversion ladder solves this — convert pre-tax 401k / 403b money to Roth each year, wait 5 years, then withdraw the converted principal penalty-free. Start the ladder the day you retire so the first dollars unlock when you actually need them.
Projected from your current 401k balance of $165K growing at 7% for 9 years with $24K/yr contributions. This is your pre-tax 401k / 403b — separate from any Traditional IRA, which should be $0 if you are doing Backdoor Roth conversions.
How it works: Each year in retirement you convert a chunk of your pre-tax 401k / 403b to Roth, paying income tax at your (now lower) bracket. That converted money must season for 5 years before you can withdraw it penalty-free. The grey bars are locked; the green bars are available to spend.
| Year | Age | Convert | Tax Owed | Roth Balance | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2035 | 47 | $60K | $13K | $60K | — |
| 2036 | 48 | $60K | $13K | $124K | — |
| 2037 | 49 | $60K | $13K | $193K | — |
| 2038 | 50 | $60K | $13K | $266K | — |
| 2039 | 51 | $60K | $13K | $345K | — |
| 2040 | 52 | $60K | $13K | $429K | $60K |
| 2041 | 53 | $60K | $13K | $519K | $120K |
| 2042 | 54 | $60K | $13K | $616K | $180K |
| 2043 | 55 | $60K | $13K | $719K | $240K |
| 2044 | 56 | $60K | $13K | $829K | $300K |
07 — Retirement Risk
The order of returns matters more than the average.
Two retirees with identical average returns can land in radically different places depending on when the bad years hit. A crash in year one is devastating because every withdrawal locks in losses. The same crash in year fifteen is survivable. This is sequence of returns risk — the most underappreciated threat to early retirement.
- 1
Cash buffer
Keep 1–2 years expenses in cash or short-term bonds so you never sell stocks at a loss.
- 2
Flexible spending
Reduce withdrawals 10% in down years. The portfolio recovers faster than you think.
- 3
Part-time income
Even $20K/yr bridges major market drops without touching the portfolio.
- 4
Bucket strategy
Separate short-, medium-, and long-term money so a downturn hits only the long bucket.
08 — Social Security
When should you claim?
SS is the one guaranteed income stream that increases every year with inflation. For high earners the question isn't whether to claim — it's when. Delaying from 62 to 70 increases your benefit by 77%. For a couple, the math gets even more compelling.
09 — Income in Retirement
Where will your money come from?
In retirement you don't have one income stream — you have several buckets that deplete at different rates and get taxed differently. The order you draw from them determines how long your money lasts and how much you keep.
| Year | Age | Social Security | Roth IRA | 401k / 403b | Brokerage | Total | vs Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47 | — | — | $110K | — | $110K | +$0 |
| 2 | 48 | — | — | $113K | — | $113K | +$0 |
| 3 | 49 | — | — | $117K | — | $117K | +$0 |
| 4 | 50 | — | — | $120K | — | $120K | +$0 |
| 5 | 51 | — | — | $124K | — | $124K | +$0 |
| 6 | 52 | — | $128K | — | — | $128K | +$0 |
| 7 | 53 | — | $131K | — | — | $131K | +$0 |
| 8 | 54 | — | $2K | $134K | — | $135K | +$0 |
| 9 | 55 | — | — | $137K | $2K | $139K | +$0 |
| 10 | 56 | — | — | — | $144K | $144K | +$0 |
You have a number. Now you have a plan.
Here is everything we know about your path to financial independence.
- 1
Max your HSA
Contributing $4K of $8K — add $4K to fully optimize the only triple tax-advantaged account.
- 2
Max your 401k
DoneHitting the $24K employee limit.
- 3
Fund Backdoor Roth
At your income level, direct Roth IRA contributions are not allowed. Use the Backdoor Roth: contribute $7,000 to a Traditional IRA then immediately convert to Roth. Important: keep your Traditional IRA balance at $0 — any pre-tax IRA balance triggers the IRS pro-rata rule, making part of your conversion taxable. Your 401k balance does not affect this. Current: $7K of $14,000/yr max (2 people).
- 4
Build your Roth ladder bridge
$45K of $550K needed to bridge 5 years until Roth conversions season — $505K gap.
- 5
Optimize SS timing
Currently claiming at 67. Waiting until 70 adds $14K/yr for life.