This term is part of the FireLotse calculation model – you won’t find it used this way in other guides or calculators.
Your cash flow describes your life today: you enter one total each for living costs and lifestyle. How much of it you spend in FIRE – after leaving work for financial independence – you plan with a factor and, if you like, with individual items.
You split individual items out of the total in the "Today" tab and decide how they behave in FIRE: "stays the same", "ends", "different amount" or – for living costs – "health insurance". Costs that only start when you leave work are added in the "In FIRE" tab as "new from FIRE".
Items count in FIRE with exactly their amount. The factor applies only to your other living costs or other lifestyle, i.e. everything you have not planned individually. Without items, it applies to the whole total.
With Lean FIRE, lifestyle does not count in the FIRE budget – nor do lifestyle items.
Rent after a move:Your living costs are €2,400 today, of which €800 is rent. In FIRE you pay €500 rent and plan 90% for the rest. You split out the rent as "different amount: €800 → €500". In FIRE, €1,600 × 90% = €1,440 plus €500 rent then count, €1,940 in total.
Rent stays the same:If your rent stays at €800 in FIRE, split it out as "stays the same". It is then excluded from the factor: €1,600 × 90% + €800 = €2,240.
Commuting and canteen:Typical costs that end with your job: as "ends" they count as €0 in FIRE. If you still work part-time after leaving (Barista FIRE), some of them come back.
A new hobby:€2,000 per month for sailing from FIRE on, although your lifestyle costs €400 today: as a factor that would be 500%. As "new from FIRE" it counts with exactly €2,000 – on top of your current lifestyle.
Health insurance:If you pay your health and long-term care insurance yourself out of your living costs today, split it out as "health insurance". FireLotse recalculates it in FIRE per life phase, so it is not counted twice. Dental or glasses supplementary insurance usually stays the same. If you are privately insured, choose "Fixed amount" in Retirement: without the employer subsidy your contribution lies between your current share and twice that.
Good to know
Current key figures stay the same:Savings rate, FU ratio and lifestyle share keep using your current totals. Only your FIRE budget and therefore your FIRE number change.
No household ledger needed:Items are optional. Only split out what behaves noticeably differently in FIRE – the factor covers everything else.
Not as items:FireLotse calculates taxes on your withdrawals itself, Riester and company pensions count as wealth building, and the running costs of a property come from the Real estate module.
For the whole FIRE period:The items apply from the day you leave work to all FIRE phases, in today's purchasing power. Costs with their own start or end date (such as care from age 80) are deliberately not covered by items – this keeps your FIRE number a fixed target. A nominally fixed amount such as a loan payment would shrink in real terms over time; FireLotse keeps it constant, i.e. on the cautious side.
General information – not tax, legal or investment advice. Last reviewed:
