Savings Rate
The share of your income you save or invest rather than spend, the strongest predictor of how fast you reach financial independence.
Your savings rate is the percentage of your income you don't spend, the portion that goes to investing and building wealth. In FIRE planning it's the single most powerful lever, because a higher savings rate both grows your portfolio faster and lowers the spending you need to fund, pulling your financial-independence date dramatically closer.
The math is striking: at a 50% savings rate, you're saving as much as you spend, and financial independence can arrive in well under two decades rather than the traditional four-plus. There are different ways to define it (gross versus net of taxes, whether to count employer match), so what matters most is picking a consistent definition and tracking it over time.
This definition is general information to help you understand a term, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Figures that change year to year (limits, thresholds, rates) should be confirmed against current official sources. For guidance on your situation, a licensed fee-only fiduciary is the right next step.