Barista FIRE Calculator

A middle path: instead of saving 25× your FULL expenses, you save 25× the gap between spending and a low-stress part-time income, then downshift. The name nods to barista jobs with flexible hours and health benefits. You retire from the career, not from work entirely.

Gap = annual expenses − part-time income; number = gap × 25 (the 4% rule). $40k spending with $25k part-time income: gap $15k → $375k. Compare with full FIRE at $1M — the barista path needs about a third of the money.

The rule is grounded in 30-year US market history. Barista FIRE withdrawals are smaller, so market downturns hurt less, and part-time income can flex to cover more of the gap in bad years — a built-in buffer full retirees lack. The counter-risk: part-time income depends on health and local job availability.

Coast FIRE = your existing stash compounds to full FIRE by a chosen age with zero new contributions; you keep working only to pay current bills. Barista FIRE = you stop full-time work NOW and take small withdrawals to bridge the gap. Coast is about future compounding; barista is about downshifting today.

Be conservative: use income you could reliably earn in a low-stress role — often $20k–$30k/year at 15–25 hours/week. If your plan only works with a specific hard-to-get job, model a lower figure and stress-test it. Health insurance value ($6k–$15k/year) is often worth more than the wages.