Dad on FIRE

Choosing the right investment platform can have a big impact on your returns. Even small annual fees can erode thousands from your investments when compounded over time. Use the interactive chart below to see how different platform fees stack up — and how much more of your money you can keep (and invest!). Given the chart detail, this page is best viewed on a desktop or if you're on a mobile, either turn it to landscape or select the desktop version of the page. Thanks! ISA & SIPP Fees ISA Fees SIPP Fees Up to £200k Up to £1M Data sourced from Interactive Investor, Vanguard, AJ Bell, Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown (and accurate as of 29/05/2025). Calculations are bassed on Funds rather than Shares, which in some cases may be cheaper. For "ISA and SIPP" fees, 50% allocation into eac...

The 4% rule is all well and good, but I've never really got to grips with this as a tangible model for calculating FIRE mainly because of the complications when working out the restrictions on when you can access the pots at different ages (predominantly pensions). Instead I prefer to break down FIRE strategy and planning into two distinct sections: Pension provisions . Including overall pot, what this might work out to be in retirement, and what age you can access. Bridge Pot . This will get you from your FIRE age to your above Pension pot access (above) In the past I've developed a pension calculator for the former , and here is my calculator for the latter aspect. What I've developed here is an Excel sheet which works out what you need between your desired FIRE age and your pension pot access age, aka your "FIRE Bridge pot". This has helped me to visualise when I could 'push the button' on FIRE, how much I could live off in the 'Bridge years' an...

Here's a calculator I made a while back, mainly out of frustration that the vast vast majority of online pension calculators made some huge assumptions. Namely, that you will carry on working until at least your private pension age, and that your contributions will be exactly the same each year, or at least that they will increase with inflation. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iltETWM5FcgGA_TIOTcurNqdBoqAkh4y/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113724788594386554052&rtpof=true&sd=true So, here it is, the 'lumpy' Pension Calculator . Which lets you input a custom amount each year, to see what effect 'front loading' your pension will have. Spoiler alert...it's pretty good!! How to use: Click on the link and download a copy for yourself (that way it avoid people inputting amounts into the online template!) Input your age, current pension pot and what returns you think you'll get on average Have a mess around with some annual pension contributions in Colu...

Psst. D'ya wanna double your money? Ok, how about tripling it? Triple and a half?! Final offer! Sounds too good to be true right? Well depending on your tax band and your employer contribution to your pension scheme this is effectively what is on offer. Access the spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UXYHzVNM2wrynmsJzAIcr9rlQcHShAgWSLy7cS6I3wU/edit?usp=sharing As with all my spreadsheets, you only need to fill out the cells in  bright yellow . In the case of this one, there are only 3 cells to fill in. Example 1: Take the UK median wage of roughly £25k (mean wage is much higher due to sky high wages skewing it!) Employer contribution of 5% Employee contribution of 6% If done via salary sacrifice, then the benefit to the employee is 224% If they have a student loan then this rises to 273% Example 2: Income of £60k Employer and Employer contribution same as above (5% and 6% respectively) If done via salary sacrifice, then the benefi...

Like most FIRE people, I'm a bit of an Excel geek. I work extensively with the platform and I also track my finances every month on it. I've designed a spreadsheet which lets you understand when you can FIRE. As you will not be able to take a private pension until aged 57, if you decide to retire before this date you will need a "bridge" account. I recommend a S&S ISA on a platform like Vanguard, but obviously do your own research on what works for you. You can access it on GoogleSheets here How to use: The only cells you need to alter are in bright yellow, you can then play around with the fire date to see how much more you need in your "bridge" account. 1. En ter you year of birth in cell G1 2. Enter the expected growth in cell G2 (rule of thumb historically is 7% 3. Enter how much money you will need to live off during your "bridge" period in cell G6. This is between when you FIRE and when you ca...