Lean FIRE
RetirementLean FIRE is the minimalist variant of financial independence. The goal: a small FIRE capital with low monthly expenses (often below €1,500–2,000/month). Typical for people who value freedom over comfort.
The advantage: the target capital is considerably smaller and can be reached faster. The downside: little buffer for unexpected expenses, travel or rising living costs.
Rule of thumb (4% rule):€1,500 / month net budget = €18,000 / year. Simple rule of thumb: 18,000 ÷ 0.04 = €450,000. Compared with €3,000 / month (regular FIRE) → €900,000. Important: this is a simplified pre-tax estimate.
Lean FIRE in FireLotse:In the retirement planner you enable Lean FIRE via a checkbox. Then only living costs (without lifestyle spending) are taken into account for the FIRE number. The lifestyle factor is set to the minimum.
The real FIRE number is higher:The €450,000 rule of thumb ignores taxes and health-insurance contributions. FireLotse calculates backwards: starting from your net budget, it determines the required gross withdrawal including taxes and the minimum statutory health-insurance contribution (approx. €3,430/year with voluntary statutory insurance). The Lean FIRE number actually shown is therefore usually 15–25% higher than the rule of thumb.