The Only 3 Retirement Numbers You'll Ever Need (Calculate Yours in 10 Minutes)

Most retirement advice is maddeningly vague. "Save a million dollars." "Ten times your salary." None of it tells you YOUR number, you know, the specific, calculable amount based on your actual spending and your actual life. In this video, I walk you through the only three retirement numbers that matter, and exactly how to calculate each one in about ten minutes. In this video: 1) Traditional FIRE: the "never work again" number, why most people can't hit it, and the tax trap almost every FIRE blog skips (hint: where you put the money matters as much as how much you save) 2) Coast FIRE: my favorite number, and the one I'd point most people toward: how much you need invested TODAY so compound interest handles the rest without you ever contributing another dollar 3) The Bare Minimum: the number for anyone who's 50 with $40K saved and tired of feeling behind; it's more achievable than you think, and knowing it beats hoping 4) Why Social Security shows up in one calculation and not the others (and why that's intentional) 5) The tax layer on all three: Roth vs. traditional vs. taxable brokerage, and why the same $221,000 produces wildly different retirements depending on which wrapper it's in 6) The 5% rule update: Bill Bengen, the man who invented the 4% rule, already changed his own number 7)The one calculation worth writing down: Coast FIRE number = Retirement Goal ÷ (1.07)^(Years Until Retirement) This is general financial education, not personalized advice. Your tax bracket, timeline, and household situation all matter. For the application to your specific numbers, work with a CPA or CFP who knows your situation. Today is just the framework. Coast FIRE calculator: coastfirecalc.com Your Social Security projection (free, 5 minutes): ssa.gov Want one money playbook that actually works, every week, for free? Join my newsletter: socialcapconnect.substack.com/subscribe 🎧 Podcast: Your Money Guide on the Side 📖 My book REAL WEALTH out December 1: tylergardner.com/book I'm not your financial advisor and this isn't financial advice. I'm a former financial advisor and portfolio manager who now walks through the woods of Vermont explaining that the math is simpler than they told you.