IndieDev FIRELean FIRE vs Fat FIRE: pick the right number
Two FIREs, very different timelines
FIRE isn't one number. It's a family of numbers, set by what your life actually costs.
The two anchor points are Lean FIRE and Fat FIRE. Most indie devs default to Fat without realizing it — and pay for that default with an extra ten years of work.
The brackets
| Flavor | Annual spend | FI number (25×) |
|---|---|---|
| Lean FIRE | $25,000 – $40,000 | $625k – $1M |
| Regular FIRE | $40,000 – $80,000 | $1M – $2M |
| Fat FIRE | $100,000+ | $2.5M+ |
Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE are strategies, not target sizes. Different post.
What the numbers actually buy
Lean FIRE is a paid-off home or low-cost rent, cooking at home, one used car, a domestic vacation a year, marketplace health insurance. It is not deprivation. It is not having a $400/mo car payment.
Fat FIRE is the same life with discretionary money on top — international travel, dining out three times a week, private schools, a newer car, a house in a desirable zip code.
The middle is where most American median-spending households actually land.
The Fat FIRE default
Most indie devs aim at Fat FIRE without choosing it. The target gets set by current spending — which was set by a lifestyle that crept up during the years of strong revenue.
The problem: Fat FIRE roughly triples the portfolio target. At the same savings rate, the years-to-FI is the same — but the income required to maintain that rate also triples.
A $40k/yr life on a $1M portfolio is reachable in roughly 22 years at a 40% savings rate, on $66k of income. A $120k/yr life on a $3M portfolio is reachable in the same 22 years at the same rate — but requires $200k/yr of income to feed it. Most indie devs don't sustain that revenue, so the savings rate quietly slips, and the timeline stretches into the 30+ year range.
The honest budget
Run the experiment. Take last 12 months of personal spending. Categorize it. Then ask, line by line: would I cut this if it bought me five extra years of freedom?
Most lines stay. Some go. The remaining number is your real target.
The right number is the smallest one you can live with
Lean FIRE is not a flex. It is a lever. Each $1,000/yr trimmed off your target is $25,000 off your FI number. Five small recurring cuts can take a year off the timeline.
Pick the number. Then optimize against it.
Ship. Stack. Live.