Financial Independence Planning

Your real FI number —
not a rule of thumb

Most FI calculators apply one formula to a number you guessed. fvequals uses your actual budget categories and live CPI data to calculate the savings target that fits your life.

Start 14-day free trialSee how it works
$5.99 / month after trial
No credit card during trial
Live CPI data by category
ResultsScenariosTax Details
Your FI Number
$1,542,857
$4,500/mo budget · CPI-adjusted · 3.5% rate
Historical Failsafe✓ Within safe range
Portfolio Payout Ceiling$1,680,000
ConservativeAverageRisky
On track · 14 years to financial independence
Income & InvestmentsBudgetResults
Annual Income
$125,000
Texas · Single · Age 35
Investment Accounts
401(k)$45,000
Roth IRA$12,000
Brokerage$18,000
Total invested: $75,000
Income & InvestmentsBudgetResults
Monthly Budget
$4,500
8 CPI categories · Average spending model
Housing
$1,400
Food
$600
Transport
$550
Healthcare
$400
Other
$1,550
ConservativeAverageRisky
Income & InvestmentsResultsTax Details
After-Tax Income
$99,475
Texas · Single · $125,000 gross
Federal Effective Rate18.2%
State Income Tax0.0%
Payroll (SS + Medicare)7.65%
Total tax: $25,525 · effective 20.4%
Results

The Problem

The 4% rule was designed in 1994. Your budget wasn't.

The classic rule says save 25× your annual expenses, then withdraw 4% per year. It sounds precise — but it uses one generic inflation rate applied to an average household that doesn't exist.

If you spend more on healthcare than transportation, or more on housing than food, the average doesn't describe you. Your FI number is different. Possibly by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

FI Number — $5,000/mo budget

4% rule (generic)
$1,500,000
fvequals (your budget)
$1,714,286

At a CPI-adjusted 3.5% withdrawal rate for a typical budget — the gap can exceed $200K. Retiring $200K short isn't a rounding error.

How It Works

Three inputs. One number that actually means something.

1

Enter your income and investments

Tell fvequals what you earn and what you've already saved — brokerage, 401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, pension, and more. Takes about two minutes.

Minimum input required
2

Map your budget to CPI categories

Enter your monthly spending across the 8 major CPI categories — housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and the rest. fvequals pulls real inflation data for each one.

Real data, not assumptions
3

Get your FI number

Your results show the savings target that funds your actual future expenses — adjusted for how your specific spending categories inflate over time — plus both historical benchmarks.

Your number, not the average

Built for people who already track their budget

vs. generic calculators

CPI by category, not one flat rate

Healthcare inflates differently than groceries, which inflates differently than housing. fvequals weights your projected future expenses by how your specific budget categories actually move — not by what the average household spends.

vs. comprehensive planners

Minimum inputs. Comprehensive analysis.

Competitors offer Monte Carlo simulations, Roth conversion ladders, and ACA subsidy modeling — powerful for some, overwhelming for most. fvequals captures only what it needs — your budget and your investments — then runs a thorough analysis: CPI-weighted projections, tax-aware planning, and a historical failsafe comparison. The interface is lean. The output is not.

Methodology

Two independent checks on your number

Your results are validated against two benchmarks — not one. First, the historical failsafe rate: the rate that survived every market cycle since 1926. Second, the maximum your portfolio can realistically pay out, calculated from your expected return and years in retirement. One tells you what history says is safe. The other tells you what your portfolio can actually deliver.

Privacy

Your data stays yours

No bank connections, no account aggregation, no selling your financial profile. You enter what you choose to enter. fvequals is a planning tool, not a data product.

Try It

See the difference a real FI number makes

A $4,500/month budget needs $1,542,857 at fvequals' CPI-adjusted rate — $192,857 more than the standard 4% rule says. The gap is the cost of using one flat number for inflation instead of your real spending categories.

Try the full FI calculator →

Pricing

One plan. No tiers, no upsells.

$5.99/ month

14-day free trial — no credit card required

  • ✓ Income & investment tracking (401k, IRA, Roth, HSA, brokerage, pension)
  • ✓ Budget mapped to 8 CPI categories with live inflation data
  • ✓ Personalized FI number with CPI-adjusted projections
  • ✓ Historical failsafe + portfolio payout ceiling comparison
  • ✓ Retirement withdrawal order planning
  • ✓ Federal, state, and payroll tax details
Start your free trial

Cancel anytime. Your plan is saved if you return.

FAQ

Common questions

  • The 4% rule applies one generic withdrawal rate to a single average inflation figure — it doesn't know how you actually spend. fvequals applies real CPI data to your specific budget categories. If healthcare is a large share of your spending, medical inflation weighs more heavily than food inflation. The result is a withdrawal rate and savings target calibrated to how your actual expenses are likely to change over time — not the statistical average household.
  • Other tools in this space are comprehensive — Monte Carlo simulations, Roth conversion ladders, ACA subsidy modeling, Social Security optimization. If you need all of that, they're capable. fvequals does one thing exceptionally well: give you a defensible FI number with the minimum useful input. No onboarding interviews, no account aggregation, no 40 variables to configure. If you already track your budget, you have everything you need to get your number in under 10 minutes.
  • No. fvequals never connects to your financial institution. You enter your account balances manually — it takes about two minutes. This is intentional: no connection means no credential risk and no ongoing sync to manage. Your data is used only to generate your projections within the app and is never sold or shared with third parties.
  • Three things: your current income, the approximate balance in each investment account you hold (401k, IRA, Roth, brokerage, HSA, pension — whatever applies to you), and a rough monthly budget broken into spending categories. Exact numbers are helpful but estimates work fine to start. Most users complete the full setup in under 10 minutes.
  • It's the portfolio balance at which your investments can sustain your projected future living expenses — indefinitely, or for the duration of your planned retirement — without drawing down the principal. The key distinction from the 4% rule is that fvequals calculates your future expenses by inflating each budget category at its own historical CPI rate, then derives the savings target from that personalized spending projection rather than a generic formula.
  • The failsafe rate is the highest withdrawal rate that sustained a retirement portfolio through every 30-year period in U.S. market history since 1926 — including the Great Depression, the 1970s stagflation, and the early 2000s crash. Your fvequals results cross-check your CPI-based FI number against this historical benchmark, giving you two independent reads on your plan: one grounded in your actual spending, one grounded in market history.
  • They're estimates grounded in real historical data — not guarantees. Future inflation, market returns, tax law, and your own spending will all differ from historical averages. fvequals shows you two independent benchmarks so you can see the range, not just a single number, and judge how much cushion your plan has. No tool can predict the future — but a well-calibrated estimate is a much better planning target than a rule of thumb.
  • Nothing is charged — we don't even collect a card for the trial. The in-app banner counts down your remaining days, and when the trial ends you can subscribe for $5.99/month to keep full access (your data stays saved either way). Cancel anytime via Manage Subscription in the app — no long-term commitment, no cancellation fees.
  • The application is currently designed around U.S. tax structures, retirement account types (401k, IRA, Roth, HSA), and CPI data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. International users can use the tool, but the tax estimates and account categories are U.S.-specific and may not apply to retirement structures in other countries.
  • No. fvequals is an educational planning tool. The projections it generates are mathematical models based on your inputs and publicly available historical data — not professional financial advice. Before making significant retirement or investment decisions, consult a qualified financial planner, tax advisor, or attorney who can evaluate your complete individual circumstances.

Important Disclosures

The information, projections, and calculations provided by fvequals are for educational and illustrative purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. fvequals is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or financial planner, and use of this application does not create any advisory or fiduciary relationship.

Projections are estimates, not guarantees. All outputs are based on the assumptions, inputs, and historical data you provide, combined with Consumer Price Index data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Actual outcomes will vary — potentially significantly — due to changes in market conditions, inflation rates, tax laws, personal circumstances, health events, and other factors beyond this application's control.

Investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance of any investment or asset class is not indicative of future results. Return assumptions used in projections are hypothetical and do not represent the performance of any specific investment, fund, or portfolio.

Inflation projections are estimates. CPI data reflects historical averages by category. Future inflation rates may differ materially from historical trends. The application of CPI category weights to your personal budget is a modeling approximation and is not a guarantee of future purchasing power.

Safe withdrawal rate analysis is based on historical research. The withdrawal rates referenced by fvequals — including the 4% rule, the 3.5% conservative rate, and the historical failsafe rate — are derived from peer-reviewed academic research including the Trinity Study. These figures represent historical observations and do not guarantee that any withdrawal strategy will be sustainable over any specific time horizon.

Tax calculations are approximations. Tax estimates are based on current federal and state tax law and are intended as general planning guidance only. Consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.

fvequals does not access, store, or transmit your bank account information or investment account balances. All financial data you enter is used solely to generate planning projections within the application. This application is not a substitute for personalized professional financial advice.