Battle Arena

Barista FIRE Income vs Retirement Fortress

How $10,000 would have grown in each — compared across total return, income, NAV, and risk.

Compared over their common history since Jan 2024.

Judge on
Window
Barista FIRE Income
High riskMedium reward

10.6%

yield · $88/mo per $10k

WinnerRetirement Fortress
Low riskLow reward

2.4%

yield · $20/mo per $10k

Retirement Fortress wins on total return (2–0, full common history).

Growth of $10,000 (dividends reinvested)

Barista FIRE IncomeRetirement FortressDistributions reinvested · hypothetical, fixed weights
Total Return0–2
42.6%
Total Ret.
43.9%
16.3%
CAGR
16.8%
Income3–0
10.6%
Yield
2.4%
$88
Income
$20
0.38
Steadiness
0.50
Principal / NAV0–2
12.9%
NAV
35.0%
-14.5%
Max DD
-12.5%
Risk1–3
4.7
Risk-Adj.
10.5
1.94
Sortino
1.97
11.8%
Volatility
12.0%
3.6
Safety
1.9

Holdings overlap

0% overlap

Barista FIRE Income only

JEPQ 25%SPYI 20%QQQI 20%ARCC 15%EPD 10%STAG 10%

Shared

No shared holdings

Retirement Fortress only

SCHD 30%VYM 25%DGRO 20%VIG 15%DVY 10%

The risk-first read

Retirement Fortress wins. Barista FIRE Income dangles a bigger 10.6% headline yield, but after NAV erosion its total return (42.6%) trails Retirement Fortress's 43.9% — and at a higher risk tier (3.6 vs 1.9). The classic yield trap.

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Growth is a hypothetical, fixed-weight backtest with distributions reinvested at ex-date since Jan 2024 — no fees or taxes; past performance doesn't predict future results. How these numbers are computed. Not investment advice.