Personal FIRE Decision Simulator
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Model retirement timelines, debt payoff, RSU sales, employer matches, and cash allocation decisions in one personalized planning tool.
Added May 25, 2026
14 signals
The Problem
People working toward financial independence often have fragmented assets, uncertain timelines, and competing choices such as paying debt, keeping emergency cash, selling RSUs, maxing retirement accounts, or buying property. They turn to forums for validation because generic calculators do not handle real-life tradeoffs across pensions, tax-advantaged accounts, rentals, debt, and early retirement goals.
Potential Solution
Build a SaaS planning tool that imports or manually captures a user's full financial picture, then runs scenario comparisons for retirement readiness and near-term money decisions. The product would generate probability-based timelines, tax-aware account drawdown strategies, contribution recommendations, and clear tradeoff views such as emergency fund versus employer match or RSU diversification versus tax shelter funding.
Why Now?
More high-earning professionals, small business owners, and FIRE-minded households are managing complex portfolios without affordable human advice. Market volatility, RSU-heavy compensation, rising living costs, and early retirement interest make scenario-based financial planning increasingly urgent.
Freedom 55?
Looking for a reality check on my numbers and early retirement timeline. **My Situation:** * **Age:** 43 * **Income:** $85,000/year salary from my small business. I could pay myself more if I want. * **Housing:** Own my house outright. Conservative value: $350,000. **$0 mortgage.** * **Debt:** $0 (no car loans, credit cards, or lines of credit). **Savings & Investments:** * **RRSP:** $315K * **TFSA:** $0 (never contributed). * **Monthly Savings:** $1,500/month into the RRSP. * **Future:** Expecting a $150,000 inheritance within 10–15 years. **Portfolio Structure:** Managed by an advisor under a fee-based program using low-cost institutional/Series F units and broad ETFs. * **Global Active Mutual Funds:** \~56% * **Passive Equity ETFs (US/CAD/Dividend):** \~42% * **Cash:** \~2% **The Goal:** My cost of living is very low without housing debt. I want to retire at age 55. Am I setting up a major tax bomb at age 71 by having everything in an RRSP/RIF? With an $85k salary, should I stop contributing to the RRSP and pivot my $1,500/month to max out my TFSA instead? Can I realistically pull off retirement at 55? What am I missing?
Financial Check up at 35.
I hit 35 recently so I got to thinking about how I'm doing. I know overall I'm doing ok but I still feel behind, especially when it comes to retirement. I do not have twice my annual salary saved up. Numbers: 2 young kids, wife doesn't work due to childcare costs Military, making 6K a month net. Putting away 600 a month in my TSP Mortgage is 2k a month at a pretty trash rate, maybe like 15-20k in equity Roth TSP: 74k Roth IRAs: 21k Investment account: 11k HYSA: 26k Checking: 5k No debts I know I should contribute more to retirement but I also want a decent cushion for expenses and I'm going to move at some point this year most likely. The one thing that makes me feel better is knowing that if I stay in another 10 years I'll get a pension so that makes me feel like traditional retirement numbers shouldn't matter as much to me. Any advice is appreciated, especially military but anyone with a pension, does the math change? Should I be less worried?
$220k and just turned 29! Looking for advice
I turned 29 this past week, and I’m proud to have reached $220k net worth! I feel behind compared to some of my friends (I graduated with $110k student loan debt (undergrad and masters) in 2020, and then I had some major dental work done (grew up lower middle class with no access to dental care + severe depression), which cost $30k out of pocket over the past 2 yrs (finally done!!)). **My net worth break down is as follows:** **Retirement:** $152k in 401k $50k in Roth IRA $3k in brokerage (had great timing last year and invested in the S&P 500 on its lowest day of 2025!) **Savings:** $8k HYSA emergency savings (recently used $10k for medical expenses) \* **Stock:** $10k ESPP \* $16k RSU \* **Debt:** $18k federal student loan debt, average interest 4% (paid off loans with interest above 5% first) \*My plan is to sell a big chunk of the ESPP and RSUs in July (my RSUs vest quarterly so to avoid a wash sale I need to wait until mid June - mid July to sell) to bring back up my savings. I made a poor decision and didn’t sell all of my ESPP immediately last year and 6 months ago and I will be losing about $2k (lesson learned, selling it all right away from here on out). I have only recently started to take FIRE more seriously, and I’m hoping I’m not too far behind. Based on calculators I’ve used online, I believe my FIRE number is 2.5 million, and my goal would be to get there by age 55. My “dream” is to be able to barista FIRE by 50, but, my safe plan is FIRE by 55. My income currently is $140k base + $22k in RSU per years (low estimate since my company stock price has dramatically decreased since last year due to our sector, but it has a lot of promise if the market swings due to an AI bubble pop that the stock would increase to $30k/$40k per year). I don’t plan to leave my job anytime soon as it’s fully remote, and I like my team and my work. Currently, I am maxing out my 401k and Roth IRA (backdoor), and my plan for the next few years is to use any extra cash towards (1) paying off my student loans (goal by end of year) (2) saving for a used car bought outright (goal for 1 year from now) and (3) a house (lived in the city for 10 years, recently moved to a suburb outside of the city, and my partner and I who both work remotely share her car). **My questions for this sub…** 1. Should I start maxing out a HSA next year? I have only had a FSA (which I’ve maxed out), but, since my student loan debt will be paid off by the end of the year, I was thinking next year it would be smart to max out the HSA 2. Any advice for a change in strategy? I do have some life style creep and could push to save more, but, I want a balance of “living life” while I’m young and being in a situation where I could retire early.
Advice on retiring early with no mortgage
Hi I am single, 41 in July, and wanting to retire at 60, mortgage free. I’ve been in a local government pension scheme since aged 19 (I left briefly for 18 months in 2018, so have two pots) and expect to stay in this sector until I retire. My current LGPS pension benefits are; * Pot 1 (deferred) £11,140.43 (mixture final salary and CARE). Lump sum £6,486.08. * Pot 2 (current); £8,796.86 (CARE) My normal pension age is 68. To get my full benefits I would have to retire in July 2053. However I want to retire 8 years early (in July 2045) and therefore my CARE benefits would reduce by 30%. I currently earn £72k. In August I start a new local government role at 84k to 94k a year (over 5 annual scale points). I have two rentals with about £60k owed on each. Currently both mortgages end in about 15 years and payments are c. £320 pcm each. Current interest rates are 2.5% on each. Both fixed rates end in mid-2027 and will likely go up. The rentals are not hugely profitable. In my 25/26 self assessment, gross rental income is £21k pa, 'taxable profit for year' is £15k after allowable expenses (then £3140 interest on finance) so tax due is around £5500 annually. The rentals are worth about 220k combined. So there is 100k equity. My residential property mortgage has £169k left, interest rate is 5.4%, monthly payment is £960 and it ends in 2054 when I am 69 (this is a problem as I want to retire at 60). It allows overpayments at 10%. The property value is around £250k, so equity is around £80k. What’s the best way to get mortgage free by 60 and maximise income in retirement? I’ve always wanted to keep hold of rentals for extra income in retirement to top up reduced LGPS pension (although it will be taxed at 40%). Also have wondered if that £100k equity in the rentals may perform better by some other method in the next 20 years? I dont know much about investing. The value of the rentals has increased by around £30k since I acquired them (one was purchased jointly by myself and my father in 2005, he passed away in 2012 and I took over mortgage, the second he left me mortgage free in 2012 but I’ve since remortgaged). So I'd expect to have some CGT to pay if I sold. Are the options below right? * Overpay on my residential mortgage and leave everything else as it is (to clear it by age 60, I think I'd need to overpay around £300 a month?). * Extend the terms on the rentals so they end when I am 60 and use the extra cash released to overpay on my residential one (is this more efficient, interest wise?) * Leave mortgages alone, and put as much as I can in AVCs to build up a big lump sum from which to pay the mortgages when i retire at 60? (Maybe make the mortgages interest only)? * Sell the rentals, pay the CGT and then; * put the cash into main mortgage at next renewal (reducing the balance), and then overpay to get term down sooner? * invest the cash somehow long-term? * I could put the money released into AVCs (you can contribue 100% of your pensionable pay per year). AVCs are tax free on the way in and the way out, but can only take as lump sum when I take the other main pension benefits. I won’t have any hiers when I die - I want to make a donation to charity upon death, and also to somehow release the equity in my properties to spend in retirement but stay in my home until I die. So this is also a factor.
Emergency fund vs Employer sponsored match
Quick question, I currently have a limited amount of cash available for emergencies. Can cover 1.5-2 months of expenses. I have a nice employer 401k match, but in order to take advantage of the full match I’d need to put 10% of my income toward the match. Should I build a more robust emergency savings before contributing to retirement? I’d like to have at least 4 months of an emergency fund.
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