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Types of FIRE

Five flavors of FIRE

The FIRE community has split the goal into versions that mostly differ by how much you plan to spend. We stack them like altitudes, from Lean at the bottom to Fat at the top, so a result always tells you where you are.

  1. MARSFat FIRE$100k or more a year in retirement, which means a portfolio of roughly $2.5M to $3M. Comet gets a tiny rover.
  2. THE MOONFIRE25 to 31 times your yearly spending, invested, depending on how long retirement lasts. At that size the portfolio pays for life and work becomes optional.
  3. SPACE STATIONBarista FIREInvestments cover most of your spending; a part-time job covers the rest, often chosen for the health insurance. You docked, you didn't land.
  4. ORBITCoast FIREYou have enough invested that, with zero new contributions, growth alone reaches your FIRE number by your retirement age. From here you only need to cover today's bills. This is the one the Coast calculator measures.Run it
  5. LOW ORBITLean FIRERetire early on about $40k a year or less, so roughly $1M to $1.2M invested. Possible, but the budget stays tight for good.