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The FIRE Exit
Glossary

4% rule

A guideline from US research suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one, then adjust that amount for inflation each year, with a low chance of running out over 30 years. It came from the Trinity Study and assumes a US stock-and-bond mix.

What it means for you

A quick sanity check for "how big must my pot be?", but 30 years is short for an early exit, so many treat it as a ceiling rather than a target.

My take

Antiquated and misused — good idea, wrong application. It comes from a study where ending year 30 with zero still counted as a success. That's not my definition of one.

Read the thinkingThe number The maths from the talk: how big the pot, why I count thirty times spending rather than twenty-five, and what I actually hold. Still not advice — just my own sums, shown.

Every term, in plain English, on one page — the full glossary. Education, not advice.

Bring me a challenge.

The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.

How the sessions work

Ninety minutes, online, €600 — the Exit Audit included.