A FIRE number is the amount of money someone needs in retirement

The FIRE movement stands for ‘financial independence, retire early’

FIRE followers typically prioritize high savings rates, relatively frugal living, and aggressive investing strategies in an effort to work less and enjoy life more in the long term. They range from low-income manual laborers to high-income tech workers and doctors.

Some FIRE followers abide by the 4% rule for portfolio withdrawals

Many FIRE proponents also abide by the 4% rule, which says that retirees can withdraw roughly 4% (adjusted for inflation) of their retirement portfolio each year.

Inside the lives of FIRE followers

A man named Barney Whiter saved half of his salary each month so that, eventually, he could retire at age 43. Other FIRE followers rent out rooms in their homes or even their cars in attempts to achieve the same financial freedom.

One financial planner says FIRE is a bad idea

Some financial professionals argue that those following the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement might be basing their math on too short of a timeline, leaving them without enough money if they live further into old age than expected.

There are five main types of FIRE

Many different types of FIRE exist, and their methodologies and end goals vary drastically. “Lean FIRE” followers, for instance, are minimalists who plan to live modestly in retirement. “Barista FIRE” proponents plan to work part-time in retirement.

Calculate the financial outlook for your retirement

This simple calculator takes your age, income, planned contributions, and expected retirement needs into account to give you a portrait of how your financial condition will look when it comes time to start withdrawals.

Inside a FIRE follower's money diary

This podcast episode details a few days inside the bank account of a woman in Australia who set out to retire by age 35.

What is the 240 paychecks retirement rule?

Many people think about the large sum of money they'll require to retire comfortably. It can be intimidating. The 240 retirement method breaks that thinking down into paychecks. Specifically, the framework argues that the average retiree will need 240 paychecks to retire. Learn more here.

How much money you need to retire in each state

The average American thinks they'll need at least $1.46M to retire comfortably, according to a new study. But the actual floor for a comfortable retirement varies by state. In West Virginia, for instance, the study suggests that retirees only need to have about $712,921 saved for retirement.

Retirement expectations versus reality

There's a big gap between what many Americans expect to happen during retirement and what actually happens—at least according to one financial planner. In this article, the financial planner in question explores how retirement expectations can differ from reality, exploring financial considerations such as how long people expect to work part-time during retirement, and more. Read the article here.

The first year of retirement sets the financial tone for later life

The "first year of retirement" rule says the 12 months after you retire from your career and leave the workforce can set the tone for the rest of your financial life—so it's important to approach it mindfully.

Americans ages 30 to 34 have $44,800 in their 401(k) accounts on average

Americans ages 28 to 44 save about 13.5% of their pretax income on average, which is close to the recommended retirement savings rate of 15%.

You have to earn under a certain gross amount per year to be eligible for a Roth IRA

A Roth IRA might make the most sense for someone confident that they will have a higher income in retirement than they do now. For 2025, those allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA must have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of less than $150K.

Everything you need to know about emergency funds

The general rule of thumb for emergency funds is that you should have three to six months of living expenses saved—but what does that mean exactly? This article answers all your specific emergency fund questions, such as where you should put those emergency reserves, whether you should save three to six months of your full salary or just enough to cover three to six months of bills, and more. Read it here.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024

Most of those deaths involved misuse of the explosives and device malfunctions or misfires. That fatality count doesn't include the almost 15,000 people who received treatment in the emergency room due to firework-related injuries. More than a third of all the injuries in 2024 were burns, underscoring the risks of using these explosive devices.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

How to calculate your net worth

Someone's net worth is the value of their assets minus their liabilities. Assets may include a home or a retirement savings account, whereas examples of liabilities include student or credit card debt.

Experts recommend putting aside between 1% and 4% of the home’s value for maintenance

Experts say homeowners should consider the home’s age and condition, and its location’s climate, when deciding exactly how much to put aside for repairs and maintenance. They also recommend setting aside more money for those who expect to hire others for home repairs rather than doing it themselves.

Burning Man typically costs thousands of dollars to attend

It is no secret that Burning Man is a costly endeavor, with disposable income needed to buy tickets, take time off work, create shelter, hold living supplies, and provide entertainment and gifts while living in the desert.

Homes in areas increasingly prone to natural disasters often aren't covered by private insurance

Instead, they're often covered under insurance plans of last resort, known as FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) plans. However, as more and more homes become covered by FAIR, the program is facing strain. This interactive visual helps explain the new problems FAIR is facing.

Final life insurance is most common for people over the age of 50

Final expense life insurance is a type of life insurance where, instead of paying a sum of money to your beneficiaries after death, the insurance covers the expenses for your funeral, burial, and any end-of-life care.

Calculate: Do you need to file for bankruptcy?

About 77% of American households had some debt at the end of 2023. However, when debt becomes crushing, it's time to consider a management plan or a bankruptcy filing. This calculator helps explore whether debt is manageable based on inputs like medical debt, payday loans, and gross annual income.

Volunteer fire departments are declining as communities shift to career staff

As populations increase and emergency calls grow more complicated, many communities are replacing volunteer fire departments with full-time professional staff—a change that boosts response capacity and reliability but also significantly raises costs.

Use a prediction market profit or loss calculator

In order to calculate how much someone would make from a specific trade on a prediction market, this calculator asks for the purchase price of a given "yes" or "no" prediction, the number of contracts the trader plans to purchase, and more.

It cost the IRS $0.36 to collect $100 in 2024

It costs the IRS a significant amount of money to do part of its job—collecting money. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service spent $16.1B to collect $4.7T in taxes in 2023.

Private equity IRR is the internal rate of return on a PE investment or fund

It's typically expressed as an annualized percentage that incorporates both the size and timing of cash flows between investors and the fund. It's the discount rate that makes the net present value of all cash flows equal zero. Many private equity funds target a net IRR in the mid‑teens to low‑20s percent range, with an 8% "hurdle" or preferred return as a minimum before carried interest or "carry" is paid.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.