{
  "slug": "fire-number",
  "name": "FIRE",
  "aliases": [
    "financial independence retire early",
    "leanFIRE",
    "coastFIRE",
    "chubbyFIRE",
    "fire number"
  ],
  "family": "accounts",
  "heat": "high",
  "talk": "Lots of talk",
  "mostDiscussed": false,
  "firstLine": "A FIRE number is an estimate of the investment assets needed to support financial independence or early retirement, based on spending, other income and a chosen withdrawal assumption.",
  "whyLine": "The target moves when housing, healthcare, family needs or work plans change. People also disagree about which assets can actually fund spending and how much flexibility they want.",
  "feelWords": [
    "FIRE",
    "leanfire",
    "coast fire",
    "fi number"
  ],
  "commonPicture": [
    {
      "lead": "A rough target starts with the spending gap",
      "why": "Expected annual spending minus other income is the amount investments would need to supply. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Savings rate and withdrawal rate differ",
      "why": "One concerns income being saved now; the other concerns money taken from a portfolio later. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Lean, Chubby and Coast describe different goals",
      "why": "Coast assumes existing investments can grow toward a later retirement goal without further contributions. [community]"
    }
  ],
  "watchFor": "A projected withdrawal rate is not a guaranteed paycheck. A strong market year does not settle a long retirement’s spending, healthcare or portfolio-risk questions.",
  "whatPeopleSay": [
    "**The job:** enough invested that a job is a choice. [community]",
    "**r/financialindependence, r/LeanFire, r/ChubbyFIRE** are the rooms. [community]",
    "**CoastFIRE** means the pile can grow without new contributions. [community]",
    "**Why skeptics groan:** sequence risk, health insurance, kids, and a 50-year retirement. [community]",
    "**The target and the withdrawal assumption connect:** the FIRE number estimates the assets needed; the 4% discussion tests one way those assets might fund spending. The percentage is an assumption, not a guarantee. [community]",
    "**FIRE describes a financial goal:** it is not a particular security or asset class. Different portfolios and spending assumptions can produce different paths and risks. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleRunIt": [
    "**They compare savings with the desired lifestyle:** the amount being saved now and the future spending target determine how much remains to be funded. Community labels do not replace those numbers. [community]",
    "**They do the match and tax-advantaged accounts first** — those cards still exist. [community]",
    "**They do not quit on a green year without a healthcare plan.** [community]"
  ],
  "amountsPeopleUse": [
    "**Savings-rate talk:** often **40–70%** in Lean rooms, lower in Chubby. [community]",
    "**Withdrawal-rate assumption:** “SWR” means safe withdrawal rate in these discussions. The label describes a planning estimate tested against assumptions, not a promise that money cannot run out. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleKeepIt": [
    "**A boring portfolio and a written spend.** [community]",
    "**It fades when:** lifestyle creep eats the rate. [community]"
  ],
  "howItFeels": [
    "**Early years:** tight. Later: optional. [community]"
  ],
  "howLongPeopleRunIt": [
    "**Years of saving,** then a one-income or no-job experiment. [community]"
  ],
  "deepDive": [
    "**The pieces do different jobs:** an employer match and retirement accounts concern saving; a taxable brokerage concerns another place to invest; the withdrawal-rate assumption translates a future spending gap into a rough portfolio target. None of those choices alone establishes readiness to stop working. [community]"
  ],
  "watchForLong": [
    "**4% as a guaranteed paycheck.** [community]",
    "**Ignoring health insurance.** [community]"
  ],
  "related": [
    "four-percent-rule",
    "the-match",
    "taxable-brokerage",
    "am-i-behind",
    "roth-vs-traditional"
  ],
  "researchPointer": [],
  "housePointers": [],
  "playPointer": null,
  "sources": [
    "r/financialindependence",
    "r/LeanFire",
    "r/ChubbyFIRE"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Community talk may be wrong. Not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. No return or outcome is promised.",
  "quickAnswerHistory": [
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "Lean / Coast / Chubby",
          "why": "Different spend, same letters. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "definition",
      "rows": [
        "FIRE is the internet name for saving and investing until work is optional, including Lean, Coast and Chubby flavors."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "definition",
      "rows": [
        "FIRE means financial independence, retire early: saving and investing toward having enough that paid work becomes optional."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "communityPicture",
      "rows": [
        "People chase a savings rate and a withdrawal story, then argue about health insurance, sequence risk and whether 4% is a paycheck."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "firstLine",
      "rows": [
        "FIRE is the internet’s name for ‘enough invested that work becomes optional’ — Lean, Coast, Chubby, and arguments about the 4% rule."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whyLine",
      "rows": [
        "FIRE is the internet’s name for ‘enough invested that work becomes optional’ — Lean, Coast, Chubby, and arguments about the 4% rule."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "A savings rate, not a guru",
          "why": "The engine is the percent that does not get spent. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Lean: lower spending; Chubby: higher spending; Coast: let savings grow",
          "why": "CoastFIRE describes reaching a point where retirement investments are expected to grow toward the later goal without further contributions. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "The 4% rule sits next door",
          "why": "This card is the identity; that card is the withdrawal story. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Index funds, not a stock-picking sport",
          "why": "Bogle-adjacent rooms dominate. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Lean-room savings-rate reports: often 40–70%",
          "why": "This is the range in the discussion; it is separate from a retirement withdrawal rate. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "watchFor",
      "rows": [
        "Treating 4% as a paycheck. Quitting Tuesday after a good market year. This is not $STUD and not a ticker shop."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whatPeopleSay",
      "rows": [
        "**The 4% rule card** owns Trinity-study arguments. This card owns the tribe name. [community]",
        "**Not a crypto identity** and not STUDtoken. [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "howPeopleRunIt",
      "rows": [
        "**Raise the savings rate, then pick a flavor.** [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "amountsPeopleUse",
      "rows": [
        "**SWR arguments** live on the 4% card. [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "deepDive",
      "rows": [
        "**4% rule, the match, Roth vs Traditional, taxable brokerage** are the machinery. [community]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}