Full FIRE is a huge number, and for most people it is the wrong target to stare at. Barista FIRE asks a smaller question: if a part-time income you would actually accept covered part of your spending, how much portfolio would you still need — and how many years sooner would you get there? This calculator answers with two numbers and the year-by-year path to both.
The full number is the classic: annual expenses divided by your withdrawal rate. On the sample’s $42,000 of expenses at an EXAMPLE 4% rate, that is $1,050,000. The barista number prices the bridge: part-time income of $18,000 a year — 42.9% of expenses, and YOUR input, printed as an input everywhere it is used — leaves the portfolio only $24,000 a year to manufacture. The number falls to $600,000. Every $1,000 a year of part-time income removes $25,000 from the portfolio you need, and the sheet shows that exchange rate explicitly.
Then the path: a 40-year growth table, one row per year, with both finish lines marked on the rows where they fall. In the sample the barista number is crossed in year 15 (age 49, balance $602,477) and the full number in year 22 (age 56, balance $1,060,910). The bridge buys 7 years. That difference — not either number alone — is the product.
The honest catch is printed on the sheet, not buried: the barista number works only while the part-time income does. If it stops, the full number is the real target again. Health cover, taxes and lost benefits are not in the figures — the sheet tells you to price them into your expenses before trusting either finish line.
What it does for you:
– Computes BOTH finish lines from one set of inputs — full FIRE number and barista FIRE number
– Prices the bridge honestly: part-time income is your input, its share of expenses is shown (42.9% in the sample)
– Shows the exchange rate: every $1,000/yr of part-time income removes $25,000 of needed portfolio (at 4%)
– Walks a 40-year growth path with both milestones marked on the exact rows they fall
– Prints the years sooner the bridge buys (7 years in the sample) as a headline number
– Adds a planning expense log, zero-based monthly budget, dashboard and 12-month summary
What’s inside (.xlsx, works in Excel AND Google Sheets):
– Start Here — setup steps and the EXAMPLE settings (ages, savings, contribution, expenses, return, rate, part-time income)
– The Two Numbers — both finish lines, what is still to build to each, and both milestone ages
– Growth Path — 40 year-by-year rows with Barista and Full milestone markers
– Expense Log, Monthly Budget, Dashboard, Monthly Summary
Instant download. Type only in the yellow cells — formula cells are locked (password: sheetdaily, disclosed on the Start Here tab so you can unlock if you ever need to). Sample household is pre-filled so you can see exactly how it works; clear the yellow cells and type your own. Planning tool only — not financial, tax or retirement advice; returns are an assumption and part-time work is a hope with a payslip, and neither is guaranteed.
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