Compare All Paths
Find the approach that fits your situation.
How much is enough
| Traditional | FIRE | LeanFIRE | FatFIRE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retire at | 60 | 40–50 | 35–45 | 45–55 |
| Savings rate | 15–20% | 40–60% | 50–70% | 40–50% |
| Monthly spending in retirement | ฿40k–฿70k | ฿40k–฿60k | ฿25k–฿35k | ฿100k–฿200k |
| FIRE Number (THB) | ฿12M–฿21M | ฿12M–฿18M | ฿7.5M–฿10.5M | ฿30M–฿60M |
| Portfolio approach | Conservative–Balanced | Growth–Aggressive | Aggressive | Growth–Balanced |
| Pace / intensity | Low–Medium | High | Very High | High |
| Key trade-off | Less early freedom | Less spending now | Less cushion | Needs high income |
How you get there
The four above are targets. These four are strategies — they change when you stop contributing and how much you work while the portfolio finishes the job, and they apply to any target you pick.
| Slow FIRE | Coast FIRE | Barista FIRE | Flamingo FIRE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it changes | The pace | When you stop saving | How much you work | Both, in two phases |
| Savings rate | 20–35%, steady | 40–60%, then nothing | 40–60%, then part-time | 50–70%, then nothing |
| The moment it turns on | No single moment — steady throughout | Hitting the coast number | Going part-time | Reaching half your number |
| Full-time work ends | Early-to-mid fifties | Optional from the milestone on | 35–45 | 35–45 |
| Financially independent at | 50–57 | Your chosen age, often 60 | Often never fully | About ten years after semi-retiring |
| The number you aim at | Your full number, reached slowly | Your number ÷ (1 + r)ⁿ | (Expenses − part-time income) × 25 | Half your number, then let it double |
| Depends most on | Staying consistent for decades | The return assumption you divided by | Part-time income holding up | One good decade in markets |
| Main Thai catch | None major — least disruptive to SSO and PVD | RMF needs a purchase every other year | Section 39's fixed ฿4,800 pension base | Both of the above, for a decade |
The right questions to ask
How much time do I want to exchange for how much money? Traditional gives you more time enjoying life now; FIRE gives you more time later. Neither is wrong.
What does my retirement actually look like? Before you calculate a FIRE Number, describe the life. Do you eat out every day? Do you travel internationally? Do you support parents? The numbers follow the vision.
What are my actual obligations? Parental support, children’s education, and healthcare for ageing parents are real financial commitments. A plan that ignores them is not a plan — it is a wish.
The Thai middle path
Many Thai planners end up somewhere between Traditional and FIRE, and the strategies above are how they get there. You work until 50–55 rather than 40 or 60, or you stop contributing early and coast, or you go part-time once a smaller number is covered. Set retirement age in Profile, build the budget category by category in Expenses, then use Simulation to test how major life events change the path.
A note on uncertainty
All eight paths rest on projections of the future, and the ones that hand the last stretch to compounding — Coast and Flamingo especially — rest on them most. RetireReady shows you a range (±2% on annual returns) rather than a single number, precisely because the future is uncertain. The goal is not a perfect number. The goal is enough clarity to make a deliberate decision today, then revisit it as your life changes.