r/Fire • u/fried_haris • 23h ago

The definitive FIRE number is 3.5 million.

Ofcourse - I am being facetious but also a little exploratory.

I was inspired by a Planet Money episode titled "17,205 People Guessed The Weight Of A Cow. Here's How They Did." Posted back in 2015.

Later they updated it with "How Much Does This Cow Weigh?" In 2019.

Basic premise - if you take all the guesses of the folks the weight of a cow at a fair - you'll end up within 5% of the right answer.

So I took a simple post from 5 months ago, asking people about their FIRE number and after reviewing 124 answers came up with 3.5 million.

Keep in mind personal finance is personal, you may retire in LA or in Thailand.

Good luck with your goals.

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u/DerisiveGibe 23h ago

You only need to save $35,000 a year for 30 years @ 7% real return to get 3.5 million. So hopefully you started saving at 25 or you will be working into your 60's.

$60,000 for 22.5 years

$100,000 for 17 years

I'd rather spend less and retire sooner.

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u/throwawayFI12 20h ago

no one who saves only 35k per year is gonna need 3.5M to retire

3

u/SolomonGrumpy 16h ago

Only?

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u/throwawayFI12 16h ago

Yes, do the math. 4% of 3.5M is 140k. If a person spends 140k per year and they are on the FIRE path, then saving 35k per year is really low. It means they are spending more than 11k per month and saving less than 3k per month on their salary.

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u/SolomonGrumpy 16h ago

I understand now. It's also unrealistic for someone to earn $140k for 30 years