See if part-time income plus a partial withdrawal from your savings still gets you to your full retirement number — free, unlimited, no account required.
Adjust anything — results update as you go.
Estimates only, based on a constant annual return and constant withdrawals — real markets don't move in a straight line. Not financial advice.
Unlike a pure Coast FIRE calculation (zero withdrawals) or a full retirement drawdown (living entirely off savings), Barista FIRE assumes a middle path: part-time income covers most of your expenses, and you withdraw only the remaining gap from your portfolio each year. We project that balance forward — growing at your expected return, minus your annual gap withdrawal — to see whether it still reaches your full retirement number by your target age.
At $300,000 saved, withdrawing $15,000/year to cover the gap, with a 7% expected return, over 25 years to retirement: growth consistently outpaces that withdrawal, so the balance keeps climbing toward the $1,500,000 full-retirement target — the calculator above runs this instantly with your own numbers.
If you want zero withdrawals while coasting, see our Coast FIRE calculator. If you're past full retirement and drawing down entirely, see how long your money will last. For the general path to full financial independence, see the FIRE calculator.
Barista FIRE is a middle ground between full-time work and full retirement: you've saved enough that a lower-stress, part-time job (the name comes from working somewhere like Starbucks for benefits) can cover most of your living expenses, while a small withdrawal from your investments covers the rest — and your portfolio still grows to your full retirement number by your target age.
Coast FIRE assumes zero withdrawals — your current income (from any job) covers 100% of expenses while your investments grow untouched. Barista FIRE allows a partial withdrawal each year, on top of part-time income, to cover a spending gap — a more flexible bridge if you want to downshift your career before your investments alone can fully support you.
That depends on your desired spending and how much you're willing to withdraw from savings each year. Lower your annual withdrawal input here (meaning more of your spending is covered by part-time income) and you'll see your projected balance at retirement improve.
That means the withdrawal rate is too aggressive for your timeline — try a smaller annual withdrawal (more part-time income), a higher expected return, or a later target retirement age.