Early Retirement Calculator Spreadsheet

About this template

This early retirement calculator lays the projection out year by year, instead of handing you one number you cannot question. It is a FIRE planner for anyone running the numbers on financial independence and stopping work early who wants to see every assumption.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

Every year on its own row

For each year you see the opening balance, what you paid in, the growth and the closing balance. The year your pot covers your spending is flagged on the row, so you can see where the curve comes from rather than trusting it. The pot you need comes from your own withdrawal rate, and the growth rate is one you type in.

Seven connected tabs

• Projection: 32 years, opening to closing, on your own rate
• Holdings: 60 rows, the pot it starts from, with units summed from your trades
• Transactions: what you actually paid in, month by month
• Value: a monthly snapshot of where the pot has been
• Dashboard: six live figures and every holding underneath
• Setup and Start Here

What it works out

• Units held, summed from the transaction log
• Cost, value, gain and return per holding
• A year-by-year projection on your own assumptions
• The pot you need, from your own withdrawal rate
• Charts that redraw from your own numbers

So the retirement planner side and the investment tracker side use the same figures: the projection starts from what you actually hold. There is no live price feed and no internet connection, which is why it keeps working offline for years. The filled copy has three worked years of data.

Not financial advice

This is a record of what you bought and a projection of numbers you chose. It does not recommend anything, does not know your circumstances, and assumes a growth rate you type in yourself. Past returns do not predict future ones. For advice, ask someone regulated to give it.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice. No Microsoft 365 subscription required.
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. No Google account is needed for the Excel files.
• No add-ins, no macros, no subscription and no live price feed

What you download

• The Excel workbook filled with a worked example, and the same workbook blank and ready for yours
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready to download as soon as payment clears. The Start Here tab walks you through setup in a few minutes. The files are for personal use on your own devices; please do not share or resell them. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use it in Excel or Google Sheets?

Either. You get Excel files for Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to make Google Sheets copies with a free Google account.

How far ahead does the projection go?

Thirty-two years, with opening balance, money paid in, growth and closing balance shown for each one.

What growth rate does it assume?

Whatever you type in. It does not choose a rate for you, and past returns do not predict future ones.

How does it work out the pot I need?

From your spending and the withdrawal rate you set, and it flags the year your projected pot covers it.

Does it pull live prices?

No. There is no price feed. You enter values yourself, so the file works offline.