QuietCalcsWhat is Barista FIRE?
Coast FIRE says: save hard early, then work full-time (but stress-free) until retirement. Barista FIRE goes further: once your portfolio is big enough, you drop to part-time work that covers only part of your spending, and the portfolio pays the rest while still growing enough to fund full retirement. The name comes from the classic example of working a few shifts at a coffee shop — in the U.S., partly because some part-time employers famously offer health insurance.
The catch is that Barista FIRE needs more money than Coast FIRE: your portfolio is being tapped during the part-time years instead of compounding untouched. This calculator shows all three numbers side by side so you can see the ladder: Coast < Barista < Full FIRE.
The math
Your Barista FIRE number is the sum of two present values: the full FIRE number discounted from retirement age, plus the cost of funding the spending gap until then:
gap = annual spending − part-time income
Barista number = PV(FIRE number) + PV(gap, paid monthly until retirement)
Worked example with the defaults: $40,000 spending, $20,000 part-time income, retiring fully at 65 from age 30, 7% return with 3% inflation. The FIRE number is $1,000,000; its present value is about $264,000; funding a $20,000/year gap for 35 years adds roughly $386,000 — so the Barista number is about $650,000. Earn enough part-time to cover all spending and the gap vanishes: Barista FIRE collapses into Coast FIRE.
Things the label hides
Use after-tax income for the part-time field — what actually lands in your account. In the U.S., health insurance is the make-or-break detail: a part-time job with benefits is worth far more than its paycheck, and buying your own coverage can add thousands a year to the spending input. And be honest about whether the part-time work is genuinely available and tolerable for decades — the plan leans on it.
Frequently asked questions
How is Barista FIRE different from Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE assumes you keep earning enough to cover all your spending, so the portfolio compounds untouched. Barista FIRE assumes part-time income covers only part of it, with the portfolio funding the gap — which is why the Barista number is always at least as large as the Coast number.
Why is my Barista number so much higher than my Coast number?
Because withdrawals during the part-time years are expensive: every dollar taken out early also forfeits decades of compounding. A $20,000/year gap for 35 years costs far more than 35 × $20,000 in portfolio terms.
What if my part-time income is more than my spending?
Then the gap is zero and your Barista number equals your Coast number — the calculator handles this automatically.
Does this account for taxes on withdrawals?
No — treat the spending input as gross of any withdrawal taxes, or bump it up to cover them. Tax treatment varies too much by country and account type for one honest global answer.
Is my data stored?
Only in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded — the entire calculation runs locally.
Related calculators
Coast FIRE Calculator — the no-withdrawals version of this plan, with one-time events.
How Long Will My Money Last — stress-test the withdrawal side on its own.
Hourly to Salary Calculator — price out what the part-time job actually pays.