Rat Racer

See when you escape the rat race.

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Rat Racer is an educational calculator. It is not financial, tax, or investment advice.

Financial independence calculator

How Rat Racer works

Rat Racer models when your net worth could reach a financial independence goal using the income, spending, saving and growth assumptions you enter.

Start with your numbers

Use Simple to enter your age, net worth, income, tax and spending. Review the growth assumptions and net worth goal, then select Calculate Pace on the race track to see the modeled crossing time.

After editing Simple or Advanced inputs, select Recalculate Pace to update the result. Existing results stay marked as out of date until you calculate again.

Choose the level of detail

  • Simple projects one net worth balance year by year. Saving is after-tax income minus spending; each year adds modeled returns on the prior balance and that year’s saving.
  • Advanced models assets, liabilities, contributions, payments, cash-flow events and rate schedules month by month.
  • Goals solves separate questions about future value, monthly contribution, time to reach a target or required yearly return. Each valid goal updates automatically.

What the finish line means

The finish line is a modeled net worth target related to spending. In Simple, you can edit the target; its ratio to current annual spending stays constant as projected spending changes.

Advanced uses its spending basis and goal multiple, including active scheduled debt payments and the entered retirement spending reduction. The crossing is the first modeled period when net worth reaches that target.

Read the result as a scenario

Changing growth rates, taxes or spending changes the timeline. The calculation uses entered assumptions, without live market forecasts or randomized return paths. Default values are starting examples.

Reaching the target does not establish that money will last through retirement. Advanced’s separate retirement feasibility check does not determine the crossing date. Total net worth can include home equity and retirement balances before withdrawal taxes.

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