Coast FIRE: The Art of Enough
What if you have already saved enough — and just don't know it yet?
The question nobody asks
Most financial planning starts with a target: I need ₹X crore by age 60. Then you work forward — save more, earn more, invest more. The engine never stops.
Coast FIRE asks the opposite question: what if you stopped adding money today? Would what you already have grow into enough?
The definition
Coast FIRE is the point where your existing investments, compounding at a reasonable rate, will reach your retirement target by your target age — without a single additional contribution.
You have already done the hard part. The money just needs time.
Working backwards
Say you need ₹3 crore at age 60 to sustain your retirement. You are 30 today. If your investments grow at 10% per year (nominal), you need roughly ₹17 lakh today — and then nothing more.
₹17 lakh. That is the Coast FIRE number for this scenario. If you have already crossed it, every rupee you invest from now on is extra. It is margin. It is freedom.
Of course, your specific number depends on your target corpus, expected return, inflation assumption, and timeline. The principle stays the same.
The psychological shift
Something changes when you realise you have hit Coast FIRE. The anxiety around saving drops. You stop optimising every rupee. You might take a lower-paying job you love. You might take a sabbatical. You might just sleep better.
This is not about stopping work. It is about knowing that you work because you choose to — not because the math demands it.
The catch
Coast FIRE depends on your assumptions holding. If real returns are lower than expected, or if you revise your retirement lifestyle upward, the number moves. It is a compass, not a contract.
Use it as a milestone, not a finish line. And check it periodically — the math updates as your life does.