Financial independence is the point at which your investment portfolio generates enough income to cover your expenses indefinitely. Set your numbers and see the year you cross over.
Note: Currently saving 29% of income.
Default 4% — Trinity Study heuristic. Lower for safer, higher for shorter horizons.
The model assumes a constant pre-FI rate of return, constant expenses, and that you'll continue contributing until FI. The sustainable withdrawal rate is a planning heuristic based on the Trinity Study and Bengen (1994); it does not guarantee any specific outcome. Ignores taxes, fees, sequence-of-returns risk, and Canadian government benefits (CPP/OAS). A real FI plan accounts for all of these.
Build A Real FI PlanFinancial independence isn't about getting rich. It's about reaching a portfolio size where the annual income it can sustainably generate covers your annual expenses. The arithmetic:
Three levers move the timeline more than anything else: how much you spend (lower expenses lower the target and free up contribution capacity), how much you invest (more contribution compounds harder), and what you earn on investments (modest changes compound dramatically over a working life).