Annual Compound Interest Calculator

This is how much money you currently have invested.
This is how much money you plan to invest each year.
This is how long you plan to invest for.
This is how much interest you expect to earn each year. For context, the average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 10.64% over the last 100 years as of May 2024.
Disclaimer: The calculations provided by this tool are estimates based on the information you input and certain assumptions. This is intended to be used as a guide only.

How Much Do You Actually Need to Retire?

(Understanding the 4% Rule + 25x Rule)

Who this is for:
Anyone wondering how much money it really takes to walk away from a job and live off your investments without guessing.

Why this matters:
Most people avoid thinking about retirement because it feels abstract. These two rules give you a concrete way to reverse-engineer your financial freedom number.

Step 1: The 4% Rule (AKA: How much you can withdraw safely)

The 4% Rule is a simple guideline that helps estimate how much of your investment portfolio you can withdraw each year without running out of money.

It’s based on decades of market research and assumes you’re invested in things like index funds or a diversified portfolio that grows over time.

Example:
If you’ve stacked up $1,500,000 in investments...
You could safely pull out 4% of that every year to live on:
✅ $1,500,000 × 4% = $60,000/year

This works because long-term market returns have averaged around 8–10% annually. So by only taking out 4%, your portfolio still has room to grow — even after inflation and the occasional downturn.

Step 2: The 25x Rule (AKA: How much you need to retire)

If the 4% Rule tells you how much you can withdraw...
The 25x Rule flips it: It tells you how much you need saved based on the income you want each year.

Just multiply your annual expenses by 25.

Example:
If you want to live off $60,000 a year in retirement:
✅ $60,000 × 25 = $1,500,000 portfolio goal

You now have a clear target to aim for — no guessing, no wondering if “$1M is enough.”

Quick Tips:

  • These rules assume you’re investing long-term — not keeping your money in a savings account that loses value to inflation.

  • Planning to retire early? You might want to use a slightly lower withdrawal rate (like 3.5%) to be extra safe.

  • Expenses change over time — so revisit your number as your lifestyle shifts.

Final Thought: You Don’t Need to Be Rich To Get Rich — You Just Need a System

Most people overcomplicate retirement. You don’t need to predict the future. You just need to get consistent, stack ownership, and let time do its thing.

If you want help building your investing system from scratch check out my Money Mastery program.