Do most FIRE'd people stop reinvesting dividends and cap gains, so that they can withdraw that money?
Not sure about others but I know some do. Reinvesting is just like buying, so it doesn't make sense to me to buy when you are selling.
Then there is the tax consideration. You are already taxed on the dividends and having to sell more might cause more capital gains. If I need $40K and get $20K dividends, I'd probably rather subject just $20K more to whatever capital gains are on them instead of buying $20K of something and selling and subjecting $40K to cap gains. And anything new I reinvest has to be held for a year before selling to avoid short term gains. Furthermore, if I'm harvesting any losses, new reinvestments can thwart that due to wash sale rules.
Do most calculators account for the fact that you're not reinvesting, when they project returns for decades out? I don't recall seeing such options.
I don't see how it would make a difference in a retirement calculator. If I didn't take the dividends, I would have to sell more of other shares so it works out the same.
If you're looking at a chart or graph of returns that a mutual fund publishes, no, it does account for this. Their chart that says $10,000 invested last year is now worth xxx includes reinvestment; if they had 2% divs and the share price went up 8% they would call it a 10% gain and state that the 10K was now worth 11K. However, my account would be $10,800 because I put $200 in my pocket.
Slightly different question, I have accounts all over the place. Is it a good idea to consolidate or just sell off the smaller accounts first?
Your choice.
It's simpler to have a smaller number of accounts (especially at tax tme), easier to move money between investments for rebalancing or otherwise changing investments, and often you get additional services (like Vanguard Flagship) when you have more assets with a company. On the other hand, I think a lot of people split between at least 2 places just in case they can't access their money from one place. If you have everything in one place and their website and phones are down, your account gets hacked, or they go under, you may not be able to get money when you need it.