Follow capital through your withdrawal years
Keep a fully funded model horizon separate from a cash shortfall, and choose when the annual withdrawal occurs. The calculator starts with prefilled, editable model assumptions and a result. These are not an actual quote, company accounts or recommended values. Edit the inputs and recalculate; Restore example returns to the initial assumptions.
1. Start with your own first-year spending
Open the capital-withdrawal companion from FIRE & Coast FIRE. Enter initial capital, annual spending for the first model year, your annual inflation, effective annual return and the number of years. Use one currency throughout. The first spending amount is used as entered; inflation changes it only from the second model year.
These are constant personal assumptions. This tool does not fetch a market return or determine lifespan, taxes, fees, a safe rate or a probability of retirement success. The years are relative model periods, rather than an actual monthly spending calendar.
2. Choose the order of spending and growth
Start-of-year withdrawal first pays the supplied spending from opening capital, then applies the return to the remainder. End-of-year withdrawal applies the return to opening capital first, then pays the spending. These two orders can produce different balances with the same annual assumptions.
Each complete table row contains the opening capital, requested annual spending, model return, available capital at withdrawal, fully paid spending and closing capital. Editing an assumption conceals the previous result until you explicitly calculate again. This companion uses a distinct method from the accumulation and Coast target model.
3. Distinguish exact zero from an unfunded year
If available capital exactly equals spending, the full year is paid and the closing balance is exactly zero. A horizon ending there is covered in the model. Asking for a longer horizon can then produce a shortfall in a later year; that does not undo the earlier funded years.
This is a guide to Datisto. Private features require sign-in and access to your own data. Personal models use your assumptions; availability and permitted use of source data are checked with the particular result. This is not investment advice.