Barista FIRE is semi-retirement: your investments cover part of your spending and a low-stress part-time job covers the rest. Because the portfolio only funds the gap, the number is far smaller than full FIRE, this calculator shows exactly how much smaller and when you will get there.
Sources & assumptions: the withdrawal-rate convention comes from William Bengen's 1994 paper “Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data” and the 1998 Trinity Study (Cooley, Hubbard & Walz), which tested inflation-adjusted withdrawals against US market history since 1926. The default 6% real return is a planning assumption, long-run US equity real returns have historically averaged roughly 6–7% per year (Dimson, Marsh & Staunton, Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook), adjust it to your own outlook. Everything is in today's dollars; taxes, fees and sequence-of-returns risk are not modeled. All math runs in your browser and nothing you type leaves your device.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| $48k spending − $18k part-time · $100k + $1,000/mo | Number $750,000 · reached in 19.3 years |
| $60k − $24k · $150k + $1,500/mo · age 40 | Number $900,000 · Barista FIRE at ~56 |
| $36k − $12k · $200k, no further contributions | Number $600,000 · 18.4 years on growth alone |
Barista FIRE is semi-retirement: you leave the career track early, your investments cover part of your living costs, and a relaxed part-time job covers the rest, the name comes from the idea of working a few coffee-shop shifts, often partly for employer health insurance in the US.
Subtract your expected part-time income from your annual spending to get the gap your portfolio must fund, then divide by your safe withdrawal rate. At 4%, a $30,000 gap needs $750,000 invested, versus $1.2 million for full FIRE on the same spending.
Coast FIRE means you stop saving for retirement but keep working to cover today's bills in full. Barista FIRE means you start spending from the portfolio right away, but keep a part-time income so the portfolio can be much smaller.
Be conservative: part-time wages can change, and the plan depends on them. The less income you count on, the larger the portfolio you need, try running the calculator with half your expected income as a stress test.
The same convention as full FIRE: 4% from Bengen (1994) and the Trinity Study (1998). Because Barista FIRE usually starts young and lasts decades, many planners use 3.25–3.5% for extra safety.
Full FIRE demands a portfolio that covers 100% of your spending, the full 25× multiple. Barista FIRE splits the bill: the portfolio covers part of your spending and lighter work covers the rest. The nickname comes from the archetype of covering life's basics with a low-stress job (barista, tutor, seasonal work) while the portfolio compounds in the background. You are not retired; you are untethered, free to work at something you would almost do for free.
The power is in the subtraction. Suppose you spend $60,000 a year. Full FIRE at a 4% withdrawal rate needs $1.5 million. If a part-time job covers $25,000 of that spending, the portfolio only has to fund $35,000, about $875,000, and the target drops by 40% overnight. Run the calculator with your own split: enter the spending the portfolio must cover, not total spending, or you will rebuild the full-FIRE number by accident.
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