Barista FIRE Calculator
Find your Barista FIRE number: the portfolio size you need so that part-time income plus safe portfolio withdrawals cover your full living expenses, letting you leave your primary career now.
This projection assumes a steady, unchanging return. Curious how your plan holds up against real market volatility? Try the Monte Carlo calculator →
How the Barista FIRE number is calculated
Your Barista FIRE number only needs to cover the gap between your expenses and your part-time income — take that annual gap and divide it by your safe withdrawal rate (typically 4%). Once your portfolio reaches that number, part-time work plus safe withdrawals sustainably cover your full cost of living indefinitely. The default return assumes historical U.S. stock market averages; see ourmethodology page for the full explanation and how to customize it.
FAQ
What is Barista FIRE?
Barista FIRE is a hybrid form of early retirement: you've saved enough to leave your primary career, but you keep working part-time to cover some (or all) of your living costs, while a smaller investment portfolio covers the rest. The name comes from jobs like Starbucks barista work, which notably offer health insurance to part-time employees working 20+ hours a week.
How much part-time income should I assume?
Be conservative. A common approach is to estimate realistic part-time or freelance income for work you'd actually want to do, and to weigh in the value of any benefits (especially health insurance) that job provides, since those reduce your out-of-pocket expenses too.
How is this different from Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE assumes you keep earning enough at some job to cover 100% of your current expenses while your investments compound untouched, reaching full retirement later. Barista FIRE assumes you downshift to part-time work now, with your (smaller, already-sufficient) portfolio permanently covering the gap between that part-time income and your expenses.