See exactly how much you need invested before part-time income covers the rest — and how many years until you get there.
01 · Inputs
Adjust to see your Barista FIRE progress update instantly.
Annual, after taxes
Default 4% (Trinity study)
After inflation. Default 5%
02 · Result
Barista #
$750k
Full FIRE
$1.3M
Years Left
16.8
$750,000
$1,250,000
$120,000
$558,219
$630,000
16.8 yrs
You need 40% less capital than a traditional FIRE plan and could reach financial independence 7.5 years sooner while maintaining part-time income.
Projected ages your portfolio (with current contributions) reaches each share of your Barista FIRE Number.
Age 35
~2029
Age 41
~2035
Age 46
~2040
Age 49
~2043
Required Barista FIRE portfolio at different part-time income and real-return assumptions.
| Part-time / yr | 3% return | 5% return | 7% return |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $15,000 | $875,000 | $875,000 | $875,000 |
| $20,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 |
| $25,000 | $625,000 | $625,000 | $625,000 |
| $30,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
How Barista FIRE stacks up against Traditional FIRE with your current numbers.
Traditional FIRE
$1,250,000
Portfolio covers 100% of expenses
Barista FIRE
$750,000
Portfolio + $20,000/yr part-time
Difference
$500,000
Less capital required
Capital Reduction
40%
vs Traditional FIRE
Barista FIRE is a hybrid milestone within the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. Your invested portfolio covers most of your expenses and part-time work — historically named after coffee-shop jobs that offered health benefits — covers the gap. You leave full-time work years earlier than traditional FIRE without fully depleting your portfolio.
Traditional FIRE requires a portfolio large enough to fund 100% of your lifestyle (typically 25× annual expenses). Barista FIRE needs only enough to fund the gap left by part-time income — often a much smaller number, reached years sooner, with the benefit of lower sequence-of-returns risk.
Barista FIRE is a hybrid form of financial independence where your invested portfolio covers most of your expenses and part-time work — historically named after coffee-shop jobs offering health benefits — covers the rest. It lets you leave full-time work years earlier than traditional FIRE.
Coast FIRE means you've saved enough that compound growth alone will reach your full Freedom Number by retirement — but you still work full-time today. Barista FIRE means you stop full-time work now and supplement your portfolio with part-time income.
Barista FIRE Number = (Annual Expenses − Annual Part-Time Income) ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate. It is the portfolio required today so that a safe withdrawal plus part-time income covers your full annual expenses.
4% is the classic Trinity Study figure. Many in the FIRE community use 3.25%–3.75% for longer retirement horizons. Adjust based on your risk tolerance and retirement length.
Often yes — many Barista FIRE practitioners pick part-time jobs specifically for employer-sponsored health coverage, especially in the US.
Use the sensitivity table — it shows how varying part-time income shifts your required Barista FIRE number and time to reach it.
Learn what Barista FIRE really means, how it differs from Coast FIRE and traditional FIRE, and the assumptions behind supplementing your portfolio with part-time income.