What is Barista FIRE?
Barista FIRE means semi-retiring with part-time income covering some of your expenses, while your portfolio covers the rest. Because you're not relying on your investments alone, you need a smaller portfolio than Regular FIRE — the name comes from the idea of taking a lower-stress part-time job (working at a coffee shop, say) purely to bridge the gap, often with the side benefit of health insurance or other perks.
How to use this calculator
Enter your current age and, if you have one, a target semi-retirement age. Add your total annual spending (everything, including rent or mortgage), how much part-time income you expect to bring in — in today's dollars, whether that's barista work, consulting, freelancing, or anything else — your total invested assets, and how much you invest each month. The calculator works out the smaller portfolio you need when part-time income is covering part of the bill, and shows you both numbers side by side.
What is the 4% rule?
The 4% rule estimates how much a portfolio can safely provide each year without running out. For Barista FIRE, it's applied to the gap between your spending and your part-time income — not your full spending — since the portfolio only needs to cover what your part-time work doesn't.
Barista FIRE vs Regular FIRE
Regular FIRE needs a portfolio big enough to cover 100% of your spending. Barista FIRE needs a portfolio big enough to cover the difference between your spending and your part-time income — a meaningfully smaller number, which usually means reaching it sooner. The calculator shows you both numbers side by side, along with how many years sooner you could get there.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as part-time income? Anything — a barista job, consulting, freelance work, seasonal work. The calculator just needs a rough annual figure.
Does part-time income inflate over time? No — like a mortgage payment, it's treated as a fixed amount that doesn't rise with prices, so it covers a shrinking share of your spending each year in real terms. This is a deliberately conservative assumption.
Does this calculator account for tax? Yes, there's an optional tax slider on withdrawals, set to 0% by default. When it's above zero, the calculator shows how much of each withdrawal you actually keep.
What if I have a mortgage? Enter the monthly repayment and years remaining separately from your other spending. It's treated as a fixed nominal payment that doesn't rise with inflation, and drops off your required spending once it's paid off.
Can I switch to full Regular FIRE later? Yes — Barista FIRE isn't a permanent decision. Many people use it as a stepping stone before deciding whether to stop working part-time altogether.