What Is Your FI Number?

Your Financial Independence (FI) Number is the amount of money you need invested so that your portfolio's returns cover your living expenses indefinitely.

The Formula

Annual Future Expenses / Safe Withdrawal Rate = FI Number

For example, if you expect to spend $40,000 per year in retirement and use a 4% safe withdrawal rate, your FI Number is $1,000,000.

Safe Withdrawal Rate

The 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study: historically, withdrawing 4% of a balanced portfolio annually had a high probability of lasting 30+ years. In the Goals Settings, you can adjust this rate based on your risk tolerance and timeline.

Why It Matters

Knowing your FI Number turns a vague dream into a concrete target. Instead of "I want to retire someday," you get "I need $1.2M by age 55." That clarity makes it possible to plan how much to save each month and whether you're on track.

Auto-Computed vs. Manual

In the app, your FI Number can be:
- Auto-computed from your FI Budget expenses and safe withdrawal rate
- Manually set in Settings if you have a specific target in mind

Next Steps

In the next lesson, you'll build your FI Budget to project future spending and automatically compute your target FI Number.