Type the white cells. The sheet inflates today’s spending to retirement, then shows the corpus for three plans and the monthly investment that gets you there.
| LINE | AMOUNT |
|---|---|
| Annual expenses today | ₹0 |
| Years to retirement | 0 |
| Annual expenses at retirement | ₹0 |
| Savings grown to retirement | ₹0 |
| Lean FIRE corpus, 25× | ₹0 |
| FIRE corpus, 40× | ₹0 |
| Fat FIRE corpus, 60× | ₹0 |
| Monthly investment for FIRE | ₹0 |
| PLAN | TIMES EXPENSES | WITHDRAWAL EACH YEAR | CORPUS AT RETIREMENT | IN TODAY'S MONEY | MONTHLY INVESTMENT |
|---|
Corpus at retirement is in that year’s rupees. In today’s money is the same lifestyle priced now: today’s annual expenses times the multiple. The monthly investment is what is still needed after money you have already invested grows at the return you typed.
Three ways to retire
Lean FIRE is 25 times your yearly spending at retirement, which is a 4% withdrawal. FIRE is 40 times, a 2.5% withdrawal, with more room if markets are poor. Fat FIRE is 60 times, about a 1.67% withdrawal, for a looser budget. A higher multiple means a larger corpus and a smaller slice taken out each year.
Why expenses grow
The corpus has to pay future prices, not today’s. The sheet multiplies this year’s spending by inflation for each year until you retire. Change inflation and the future expense, the three corpus figures, and the monthly investment all move together.
The monthly investment
Money already invested compounds every month at the return you typed. The sheet subtracts that future value from each corpus, then solves for a flat monthly investment, added at the start of the month, that closes the gap. If savings already cover a plan, that monthly figure is zero.
What is FIRE?
FIRE means Financial Independence, Retire Early. The idea is to save a large enough corpus that a small yearly withdrawal covers your spending, so work becomes optional. This sheet turns your spending, age, and inflation into that corpus.
Which plan should I use?
Lean FIRE fits a tight budget and assumes you can live on less if needed. FIRE is the middle plan on this sheet, 40 times expenses, which is more cautious than the classic 25 times rule. Fat FIRE is for spending that stays comfortable even if returns disappoint. The gold row follows the middle plan.
What does the withdrawal percent mean?
It is the share of the corpus you would spend in the first year of retirement. At 25 times expenses that share is 4%. At 40 times it is 2.5%. The rest stays invested. A lower percent lasts longer if markets are weak, and it needs a bigger corpus.
Does inflation change the monthly investment?
Yes. Higher inflation raises the spending you must cover at retirement, so the corpus and the monthly investment rise. The “in today’s money” column does not use inflation. It only restates the lifestyle in rupees you can picture now.
What if I already have investments?
Enter them as the amount already invested. The sheet grows that balance to retirement at your expected return, then asks the monthly investment to cover only the remainder. A larger balance means a smaller monthly figure.
Are these numbers a promise?
No. Inflation, returns, and your spending will not follow a straight line. Use the sheet to see the size of the goal and how sensitive it is when you change a white cell. It is not a forecast of what a fund or a pension will pay.