Optionality Tracker
Public page →What number actually makes work optional?
Most people aim at the retirement number - the capital that funds the life they live now. There is an earlier number that funds the life they would accept. That one arrives years sooner, and almost nobody has worked out where it is.
The two numbers
The ladder
These rungs are not one scale. The first three are runway: how long the pile lasts if you spend it down and it earns nothing. The top two are perpetual: what the capital pays out each year without ever being exhausted. Coast sits between them and is a projection. They answer different questions, so the distances between them are not comparable.
What this does not tell you
This shows you where you stand today. It does not tell you when you arrive, whether you could already stop adding, or which single change buys you the most years. Those need your age, and they are part of The Operator's Mindset.
Educational content only - not financial advice. The optionality framework is a discipline tool, not a substitute for personalised retirement planning. Every figure here is arithmetic on the assumptions you entered, not a forecast and not a recommendation.