Plan your path to financial independence as a single-income household. See how to balance childcare costs, savings goals, and long-term wealth building.
FIRE Number
$1.5M
Years to FIRE
26 yr
Savings Rate
23%
Single parents face a unique FIRE challenge: one income covering all household expenses plus childcare. The traditional FIRE target of 50%+ savings rate may be unrealistic. Instead, focus on a sustainable 15-25% savings rate and extend your timeline. A 20% savings rate still reaches FIRE — it just takes longer. The key is consistency and not giving up because the timeline feels long.
Childcare is often the single largest expense for single parents — $10,000-25,000+ per year. But it's temporary. Once children enter school, your savings rate can jump dramatically. Many single parents pursue 'Coast FIRE' during the childcare years: save aggressively for a few years, then let compound growth do the work while childcare costs dominate the budget.
Before aggressive FIRE investing, single parents need stronger safety nets: a 6-12 month emergency fund, adequate life insurance and disability insurance, and a basic estate plan (will + guardian designation). These protections ensure your children's security even if something unexpected happens. Once these foundations are solid, redirect surplus income to investments.
FIRE Number = (Monthly Expenses × 12) ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate
This calculator computes your FIRE number based on your monthly expenses and a 4% safe withdrawal rate. It then projects your current portfolio forward using your monthly savings and expected investment returns to find when your portfolio crosses the FIRE number. The chart shows your portfolio growth with a reference line at your FIRE target.
With $3,000/month expenses, your FIRE number is $900,000. If you have $50,000 saved and invest $3,000/month at 7% return, you'd reach $900,000 in approximately 14 years. Reducing expenses by $500/month has a double effect: your FIRE number drops to $750,000 AND you save an extra $500/month, cutting the timeline to roughly 10 years.
Experiment with reducing your monthly expenses — every $100/month reduction lowers your FIRE number by $30,000 AND frees up $100/month in savings.
Try different return rates to stress-test your plan. If your timeline still works at 5% returns, it's robust against poor market conditions.
Your savings rate matters more than your income. A household earning $80,000 with a 60% savings rate reaches FIRE faster than one earning $200,000 with a 20% savings rate.
Consider Coast FIRE as a midpoint goal. Once your portfolio can grow to your FIRE number on its own (without further contributions), you only need to cover current expenses.