Barista FIRE calculator
Find the smaller portfolio that lets you leave full-time work, cover part of your spending with a part-time job, and still reach full retirement on time.
Find your barista number
Barista FIRE number = (annual spending − part-time income) × 25 at a 4% withdrawal rate. Enter your numbers and the calculator does the rest, including whether the plan still reaches full retirement.
How this calculator works ↓New to a term? Money terms explained.
Your plan
Your two numbers
—
Year-by-year balance
| Age | Phase | Added / withdrawn | Balance |
|---|
How this calculator works
The calculator runs your plan in two phases, one month at a time, and then compares the result with two targets: the barista FIRE number and the full FIRE number.
- Saving phase. From today until the age you go part-time, your balance grows by one twelfth of the annual return each month and your monthly contribution is added. The contribution stays the same for the whole phase.
- Part-time phase. From the part-time age until you stop working entirely, contributions stop. Each year the portfolio pays out only the part of your spending that part-time income does not cover: spending minus part-time income. If your part-time income is higher than your spending, the difference is invested instead of withdrawn.
- Barista FIRE number. The yearly payout multiplied by 1 ÷ withdrawal rate. At the default 4% that is 25 times the gap. With $55,000 of spending and $25,000 of part-time income the gap is $30,000, so the number is $750,000. Full FIRE on the same spending would need $1,375,000.
- Earliest part-time age. The first age at which your projected portfolio, with contributions continuing until then, reaches the barista FIRE number. It answers "when could I go part-time" rather than "am I there at the age I picked".
- Full FIRE number. Annual spending times the same multiplier, minus the Social Security or pension benefit if it starts by your full retirement age. The calculator compares it with the portfolio left at the end of the part-time phase.
The status under the barista number says whether the portfolio at your part-time age covers it. The line under the results calls full retirement "on track" when the portfolio at your full retirement age meets the full FIRE number, "close" at 80% or more, and "short" below that. A short result usually means the part-time phase is drawing the portfolio down faster than it grows; a later part-time age, more part-time income or lower spending moves it the most.
Assumptions and where they come from
| Assumption | Default | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | 7% after inflation | Roughly the long-run S&P 500 return after inflation. Before inflation the index has returned about 10% a year over 1928–2025 (NYU Stern, Damodaran). Spending and income are in today's dollars, so the return is a real return, not the nominal one. |
| Withdrawal rate | 4% (25× the gap) | The "4% rule" from Bengen's 1994 study and the 1998 Trinity study, which found that 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawals from a stock-heavy portfolio lasted 30 years in most historical periods (summary and sources). Early retirees with longer horizons often use 3–3.5%. |
| Part-time income | $25,000 a year, after tax | An illustration, not a benchmark. About 20 hours a week at $25 an hour before tax. Enter what you expect to keep. |
| Health insurance | Not modeled | Include premiums in annual spending. The name "barista FIRE" refers to part-time jobs that carry health benefits; Starbucks, for example, offers benefits to employees who average 20 hours a week (Starbucks benefits eligibility). Otherwise, marketplace coverage is bought through HealthCare.gov until Medicare at 65. |
| Taxes | Ignored | Growth and withdrawals are treated as untaxed, and part-time income is entered after tax. Withdrawals from traditional 401(k) and IRA accounts are taxable, and before age 59½ they generally face an additional 10% tax unless an exception applies (IRS). Taxable brokerage accounts are the usual source for the part-time years. |
| Social Security and pensions | None unless entered | Reduces the full FIRE number only when the benefit starts by your full retirement age. Your own estimate is in your my Social Security account. |
| Inflation | Not applied separately | Everything is in today's dollars and the return is real, so the projection stays roughly in today's dollars. Contributions and part-time income never rise with raises. |
| Fees and sequence of returns | Ignored | The return is applied evenly every month. Real markets deliver returns in lumps, and a bad stretch right after you go part-time matters more than the average. |
Assumptions last reviewed: September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is barista FIRE?
Barista FIRE is a version of early retirement where you leave full-time work once your portfolio can cover part of your spending, and a part-time job covers the rest. Because the portfolio only has to fund the gap, the target is much smaller than a full FIRE number. The name comes from the idea of working a part-time job that offers health benefits, such as a Starbucks barista position.
How is the barista FIRE number calculated?
Barista FIRE number = (annual spending − part-time income) × (1 ÷ withdrawal rate). At the common 4% withdrawal rate that is 25 times the gap. If you spend $55,000 a year and expect $25,000 from part-time work, the gap is $30,000 and the barista FIRE number is $750,000, compared with $1,375,000 for full FIRE on the same spending.
What about health insurance?
The calculator does not price it; you include it in annual spending. Some employers offer health coverage to part-time staff, which is where the name comes from: Starbucks, for example, makes benefits available to employees who average 20 hours a week. Otherwise, marketplace plans through HealthCare.gov are the usual route before Medicare at 65, and the premium can be a large share of a part-time budget.
Does the calculator include Social Security?
Only if you enter it. The optional Social Security or pension field lowers the full FIRE number when the benefit starts by your full retirement age. If it starts later, the calculator leaves it out of the number and says so, because the portfolio has to carry the full spending until the benefit begins. You can get an estimate of your own benefit from your my Social Security account at ssa.gov.
What if my part-time income covers all of my spending?
Then the barista FIRE number is zero: the portfolio does not need to pay out during the part-time years, and anything you earn above your spending is invested. That plan is closer to coast FIRE, where the question is only whether the balance you already have will grow into your full number on its own. The Retirement and FIRE calculator has a coast mode for exactly that.
Is a 4% withdrawal rate safe for a retirement that lasts 40 years or more?
The 4% rule was tested over 30-year retirements. For longer horizons many early retirees use 3 to 3.5%, which raises the number: at 3.5% the multiplier is about 28.6 instead of 25. The withdrawal rate field accepts any value, so you can see both. During the part-time years the calculator also shows the actual withdrawal rate your plan implies, which is often well below 4% because part-time income carries most of the load.
Read next
Retirement and FIRE calculator (coast, lean and fat modes) · How interest really works · Investment projection calculator
This calculator is educational. It is not financial, tax, investment or legal advice. The assumptions are simplified; check them against your own situation or a licensed professional before acting on a result. See the Terms of Use.