Barista FIRE calculator
Barista FIRE combines some earned income with money from a portfolio. The name does not require a café job: the useful question is how much of your spending work would cover and how much would remain.
Use this calculator to explore a spending gap, not to decide whether a job or investment is right for you. This is not financial advice.
Start with the gap your portfolio must cover
Enter annual spending and the after-tax work income available to pay those expenses. Add an allowance for taxes on portfolio withdrawals to the spending figure if relevant. Do not subtract gross salary from an after-tax budget.
The simplified annual gap is:
Annual portfolio-funded gap = max(0, annual spending − annual work income available for spending)
Then choose an initial annual withdrawal-rate assumption:
Illustrative portfolio target = annual portfolio-funded gap ÷ withdrawal rate
This is a starting-balance estimate under a simplified ongoing-income assumption. It does not model the sustainability of withdrawals over time.
Worked example: income changes the gap
Enter your own annual spending, available work income and withdrawal assumption above. The gap equals max(spending − work income, 0); the target divides that gap by the rate.
The 4% rate is chosen only to show the arithmetic. It is neither a recommended rate nor a promise that the portfolio will last. The example leaves investment taxes out unless they are already included in the spending amount.
If work income covers the whole spending amount, this gap calculation returns zero. That does not mean you have funded retirement after the work stops.
Temporary work needs a second phase
Suppose a job pays some bills for a few years, then ends. A target calculated as though that income continues throughout retirement would understate the later funding need.
Write down the dates when work income ends and pensions or benefits might begin. Health coverage tied to a job may also change. The simple gap calculation does not solve those transitions or confirm eligibility for any benefit.
For money you intend to leave untouched while work pays all expenses, compare the Coast FIRE calculator. For the full portfolio-funded spending amount, use the FIRE number calculator.
Check the plan if earnings fall
Try a smaller income amount or no work income. Consider whether the hours are sustainable and what happens during a break from work. A plan depending on continued earnings is different from one that no longer needs them.
Is Barista FIRE the same as Coast FIRE?
Not necessarily. A Coast FIRE plan leaves retirement investments to grow without withdrawals before retirement. A Barista FIRE plan may already need withdrawals to fill a spending gap.
Model and transparency
Last updated: 6 November 2026. Deterministic annual calculations, not a historical success test. This is not financial advice.
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