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Weekly Self-Promotion Thread – Wednesday, April 08, 2026
byu/AutoModerator infinancialindependence
Posted by AutoModerator
1 Comment
Hi all,
**yes, another FI calculator… but I built it to test the “levers” most tools ignore.**
Most FIRE calculators feel static: you put in your numbers, get “Age 52,” and that’s it. In reality, life is a series of trade-offs. I got tired of switching between five different spreadsheets to see how a daily habit or a “One More Year” scenario shifted my date, so I built a tool focused on **sensitivity and scenario exploration.**
It’s called **The FI Calculator (**[**https://theficalculator.com/**](https://theficalculator.com/)**)**. It’s free, requires no account, and has no invasive ads. I’ve also built a GPT (“FIRE & Early Retirement Planner”, [https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69b57dc2922481919efe83284c3acc4f-fire-early-retirement-planner](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69b57dc2922481919efe83284c3acc4f-fire-early-retirement-planner)) that uses the same API if you prefer chatting to clicking.
**What makes this one different?**
I focused on the “What Ifs” that actually keep us up at night:
**The “Daily Habit” Gut-Check:** Enter a habit (e.g., $6/day coffee) and instantly see exactly how many *months* it delays your retirement.
**Real-Time Sliders:** Drag your savings rate or retirement spend and watch the FIRE curve move instantly. No “Calculate” button required.
**One More Year (OMY) & Coasting:** Model specific “bridge” years where you coast on a lower salary or work just one extra year to see the exact portfolio cushion it provides.
**Life Events:** Add one-off or recurring events (inheritance at 45, kids’ college for 4 years) to see the ripple effect on your timeline.
**Dynamic Guardrails:** Model rules like *”I’ll cut spending by 10% if the market drops 20%”* and see how it affects your success rate in historical simulations.
**Stress Testing:** Run your plan against the Great Depression, the 70s, or 2008 using real S&P 500 and Treasury data, not just randomized Monte Carlo noise.
**Why I’m sharing this now**
The tool has been live for over a year and has evolved significantly based on user feedback. I’m looking for this community’s “power user” perspective:
**Missing Features:** What complex scenario can your spreadsheet handle that my tool can’t?
**UI/UX:** Is it “cluttered” or is the interactivity intuitive?
**Bugs** — anything broken or giving you numbers that don’t feel right?
I’d love for you to break it and tell me why. You can drop feedback here or via the form on the site. Thanks for taking a look!