How this works: We use each country's 10-year government bond yield as the reference "safe" return rate. Formula: Capital needed = Annual spending รท Bond yield. If your capital ร rate โฅ annual spending, your interest covers costs forever โ principal stays intact. Important: bond yields โ your actual savings rate. Real accessible rates are lower. Currency risk and inflation are not modeled. This is a theoretical framework, not financial advice.
Personal note: I built this tool after staring at those insane Shanghai apartment prices and wondering โ wait, if I just put this money in bonds instead of buying property, could I actually retire? Turns out in China, you'd need $2.87M at current yields. In Turkey? $139k. Geography is destiny for FIRE.
Capital vs. Annual Spending โ How Long Does It Last?
Green = lasts forever (interest covers spending). Red = runs out. Hover a cell for exact years.
Same Lifestyle, 15 Countries โ Capital Required
How much you'd need to live off interest forever at your selected spending level
๐ Data: Wind Financial Terminal, 2026/5/19, via @ๆไบฌๅๅฎข on ๅฐ็บขไนฆ Xiaohongshu. 10-year government bond yields.