Flamingo FIRE Calculator

Model your glide path from full-time work through the Flamingo phase to full FIRE by blending your savings plan, optional cash-flow events, and historical market performance.

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Time until flamingo start
Capital at flamingo start
Capital at full FIRE
Coast FIRE

Progress Towards Your Goal

Current
$0
Full FIRE
$0
Flamingo
$0
Advanced Metrics
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Savings efficiency ? Compares the dollars you add to investments against the growth needed to stay on track, highlighting whether contributions or market gains are doing the heavy lifting right now.

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Achievement breakdown ? Visualizes progress toward Flamingo, full FIRE, and your coast buffer so you can quickly spot which milestone is closest and where more savings may be needed.

Flamingo target 0%
Full FIRE target 0%
Coast buffer ? Shows progress toward the balance needed to coast: it divides your projected full FIRE portfolio, assuming you stop contributing now, by the required amount. 100% means you can coast; values above 100% indicate extra buffer. 0%

Peak burn rate ? Highest monthly spending across all phases up to and including the Flamingo phase so you can see if spending pressure ever spikes beyond what feels comfortable.

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Milestone Date Age Portfolio
Flamingo start
Full FIRE

What Is Flamingo FIRE / Flamingo FI?

Flamingo FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) — or simply Flamingo FI — is a variation of the FIRE movement and a more flexible version of Coast FIRE.

Flamingo FIRE focuses on reaching semi-retirement or Semi FIRE first (though later than with Coast FIRE), but lets you transition to early retirement sooner than with most Semi FIRE strategies, and eventually full financial independence by traditional retirement age.

Explore the Flamingo FIRE strategy in our in-depth guide and free calculator to see how soon you can reach semi-retirement.

To understand Flamingo FIRE or Flamingo FI, think of a flamingo: it stands gracefully on one leg — perfectly balanced — while the other rests. Flamingo FIRE works the same way. You shift your weight from the heavy load of full-time work to a lighter, more balanced lifestyle — supported by part-time income and growing investments — steadily compounding toward financial independence.

  • Before Flamingo FIRE (two legs working hard): You’re standing firmly on both legs — full-time job and high savings rate — building your financial foundation fast.

  • During Flamingo FIRE (one leg at rest): Like a flamingo easing into balance, part-time income supports your lifestyle while your portfolio keeps growing quietly in the background.

  • After Flamingo FIRE (fully at rest): Eventually, your investments cover everything — full Financial Independence (FI) — and you can rest completely, free from financial stress.

This metaphor highlights what makes Flamingo FIRE unique: it’s about finding balance earlier, enjoying more freedom now, without having to wait until you’ve reached full FIRE. Try the Flamingo FIRE Calculator above to see when your balance point arrives.

Want to compare? Check out the Coast FIRE Calculator or Barista FIRE Calculator to explore other semi-retirement paths, and read this overview of all FIRE and Semi FIRE / Semi FI types that explains how Flamingo FIRE compares to Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE.

How the Flamingo FIRE Calculator Works

The Flamingo FIRE Calculator helps you model your journey from full-time work to semi-retirement. You can:

  1. Set your baseline data: Enter your current age, income, monthly savings, net worth (your investment portfolio), and when you want to start the Flamingo phase and reach full FIRE.
  2. Model the Flamingo phase: Add your expected part-time income, expenses, and optional extra savings and investments during semi-retirement.
  3. Adjust assumptions: Experiment with expected return, inflation, withdrawal rate, and your tax & fee drag (more below). You can also set your desired monthly expenses for full FIRE. For background, the Trinity Study on safe withdrawal rates inspired much of modern withdrawal strategy research.
  4. Add cash flow events: Add one-off bonuses, major expenses, or additional side income to see how they affect your timeline.
  5. Track advanced metrics: The tool calculates savings efficiency, milestone achievement (Flamingo FI, full FIRE, Coast FIRE), and peak burn rate. It also keeps a short run history so you can compare scenarios.
  6. Visualize your glide path: A dynamic chart shows your portfolio growth from today through Flamingo and into full FIRE. Toggle inflation adjustment, net cash flow, rolling averages, or a +5-year projection.
  7. Export results: Download a chart image (PNG) or a full PDF report for your records.

How Taxes & Fees Affect Your Semi FIRE Journey

The Tax and Fee Drag slider in a FIRE calculator, set to 1.50 percent per year, allowing users to adjust annual tax and investment fee assumptions for more accurate portfolio growth projections.

The Flamingo FI Calculator also accounts for taxes and fees, offering a realistic view of your compounding rate after drag — typically 0.5–1.5% for low-cost portfolios.

This slider in the assumptions tab reduces your gross return by an annual “drag” to reflect real-world frictions like fund TER/expense ratio, brokerage/platform fees, dividend withholding taxes, and tracking differences. The drag applies across accumulation, the Flamingo phase, and full FIRE so projections stay realistic.

Example:

If your gross return is 6% and your tax/fee drag is 1.5%, your net return becomes 4.5%.

On 100,000 over 10 years, that’s 179,085 vs. 155,297 — a gap of 23,788 due to fees and taxes.

Even small changes in fees can significantly impact how soon you reach Flamingo FI or Full FIRE.

Tip: Low-cost index portfolios often land around 0.5–1.5% as mentioned above. You can use the higher end if your dividends are taxed heavily or you hold costlier/active funds.

Why the Calculator Can Change Your FIRE Plan

Flamingo FI helps you work less and live more — balancing part-time income and compounding growth. Our Flamingo FIRE Calculator is designed to help you:

  • Understand how part-time income can accelerate your path to FIRE

  • Explore how cash flow events impact your retirement milestones

  • Visualize your financial trajectory with clear metrics and charts

  • Plan with more flexibility compared to “all or nothing” FIRE approaches

Whether you’re considering part-time work, semi-retirement, or simply want to stress-test your financial independence plan, this tool helps you make smarter, more confident decisions.

FAQs: Flamingo FIRE Calculator

Here are the most common questions and simple answers to help you use the calculator effectively:

What’s the difference between Flamingo FIRE and Coast FIRE?

- Flamingo FIRE: You reach semi-retirement by covering expenses with part-time work, while your portfolio keeps compounding.
- Coast FIRE: You’ve saved enough that, even if you stop contributing, your portfolio will grow to cover full retirement.

What does “Savings efficiency” mean?

It shows how much of your progress is coming from your contributions versus market growth. High savings efficiency means your contributions are driving results; lower efficiency means your investments are doing more of the work.

What is the “Peak burn rate”?

The highest monthly withdrawal needed during your Flamingo phase — useful to see if your plan ever requires more spending than you’re comfortable with.

Can I save or share my results?

Yes. You can export a chart image or full PDF report to revisit your plan or share it with a partner or financial advisor.

Can I model one-off and recurring events?

Absolutely. You can add bonuses, inheritances, or large expenses as one-off events, and set recurring income streams such as side hustles or rental income to see their long-term impact.

Does the calculator account for inflation and returns?

Yes. You can adjust assumptions for inflation, investment returns, withdrawal rates, and even tax drag to create realistic projections tailored to your situation.

More Freebies For Your Financial Independence Journey

FIRE projection chart from 1990 to 2019 showing portfolio growth compared to a FIRE target of 1,200,000. The green line represents portfolio value rising from under 200,000 to over 2.6 million, surpassing the FIRE number in 2013 with a surplus of 279,579. By 2019, the portfolio reached 2,692,216, making Coast-FIRE possible with a no-contribution portfolio of 1,371,156. Visualization highlights the achievement of financial independence and the option to stop contributions while staying above the FIRE goal.

FIRE Calculator

Discover your path to Financial Independence with our free FIRE Calculator. Test forecast vs. historical returns, explore Coast-FIRE potential, and calculate your exact FIRE Number. Visualize your journey, fine-tune contributions, and see how close you are to early retirement. Start planning your future today!

Retirement withdrawal strategy calculator chart using the 4% Rule from 1975 to 1995 with a starting portfolio of $110,000 over 21 years. The green line shows portfolio growth from around $140,000 to over $420,000 despite annual withdrawals. Blue bars represent withdrawals increasing from about $4,400 to over $12,000, demonstrating the long-term sustainability of the 4% Rule for financial independence and early retirement planning.

Retirement Withdrawal Strategy Calculator

Not sure how to make your savings last through retirement? Our Retirement Withdrawal Strategy Calculator lets you test proven withdrawal methods, see how they would have performed in real markets, and find the strategy that keeps your income steady for life.

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Barista FIRE Calculator

Discover your path to Barista FIRE with our free interactive calculator. Plan your transition from full-time work to part-time freedom, visualize portfolio growth, and ensure financial independence with tailored projections based on your financial situation. Start crafting your dream lifestyle today!

A financial graph visualizing the path to Coast FIRE, showing the relationship between the Coast FIRE number, portfolio growth, and the FIRE number of €750,000. The graph highlights the Coast FIRE point at age 36.9, with a confirmation message indicating that investments are sufficient to reach Coast FIRE. This is part of the online freebies and provides a clear visual representation to help users track their financial independence journey.

Coast FIRE Calculator

Discover your path to Coast FIRE with our free interactive Coast FIRE Calculator! Easily project your financial journey, calculate your FIRE Number, and see how close you are to financial independence. Start optimizing your investments today!

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Simple Bare Bones Budget Calculator

Wondering how to survive a period of lower income or high expenses? This free calculator helps you plan a budget you can actually live on — even with debt or big savings goals.

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Compound Interest Calculator

What’s possible for my money if I invest a large amount on the stock market? Watch your portfolio grow and compound over time until part of your retirement is funded. You can use it as a Coast FIRE Calculator.

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Investment Growth Calculator

See what’s possible for your money when you start investing at least a portion of your money in the stock market every month. How could this increase your retirement income?

We Upgrade Your Favorite FIRE Tools! 🔥

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We’ve are busy behind the scenes!

🚧 What’s in progress:

We’re currently fine-tuning the Barista FIRE Calculator and the FIRE Calculator to include the advanced features, export functionalities and interactive charts we implemented for the Retirement Withdrawal Calculator, Coast FIRE Calculator and Flamingo FIRE Calculator.

💡 What’s to come:

  • Refined data accuracy and projections
  • Export and sharing functionalities
  • Improved user experience on all devices
  • Fresh design that’s easier to navigate
  • More flexibility for personalized scenarios
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