Flamingo FIRE: reach half, then let it finish
Flamingo FIRE means reaching half your full number, then stopping and letting compounding do the other half. At 8%, money roughly doubles in nine years. Half of €1,050,000 is €525,000, and it becomes the full number without another euro added.
The formula
Full FI number ÷ 2.
Assumptions: 4% withdrawal rate, 8% growth before inflation, age 35 targeting 60. Stated in full in the methodology.
Worked example: €3,500 a month
This is not a round number. It is what my own living costs were at the point passive income covered them, which is the moment I would call being free.
Half of the full FI number, then coast.
And here is how long that takes, by what you put in every month.
| Invested each month | Time to Flamingo FIRE |
|---|---|
| €1,000 | 19 yrs |
| €2,000 | 12 yr 9 mo |
| €3,500 | 8 yr 9 mo |
Look at what changes between those rows. The gap between them is a pay question, not an investing question, and that is the whole argument of this site. The calculator works out how much more you could be putting in without changing job.
Who it suits
People who want a clear halfway marker rather than an open-ended climb.
What I think of it
Flamingo is Coast FIRE with a rounder number and a fixed rate of doubling. It survives because halves are easy to hold in your head, and a target you can hold in your head is a target you keep. That is not a small thing. Most plans fail because people stop believing in them, not because the maths was wrong.
Questions
How long does the second half take?
At 8% before inflation, about nine years. At 5% after inflation, closer to fifteen. Which of those you use decides whether this is a plan or a hope.
The other eight
- Traditional FIREI never have to work again
- Lean FIREI need very little
- Fat FIREFreedom and a great lifestyle
- Coast FIREWhen can I stop needing to save?
- Barista FIREI only need to work a little
- FI, not REWork because you want to
- Slow FIDon't sacrifice your 30s for your 60s
- Geoarbitrage FIRESame portfolio, cheaper life
None of this is financial advice and I am not an adviser. Read what this is and what it is not.