My journey to financial independance

I wanted to share my story because it's been two years since I discovered the Coast FIRE concept, and it completely changed my perspective on financial independence.

When I first got interested in FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), I felt pretty lost. At 25, I had a decent salary but no clear strategy. The idea of saving 70% of my income to retire by 40 seemed... unrealistic.

One tool that helped me tremendously was this Coast fire calculator. Plugging in my numbers (current savings, estimated return rate, target retirement age) made me realize I didn’t need to stress so much!

For example:

• At 27, with €30,000 invested and an average 6% return, I could already be CoastFIRE-ready for retirement at 60.
• That meant I no longer had to save aggressively, just cover my expenses while letting my portfolio grow.

I'm curious how many others might be CoastFIRE without realizing it. The mental shift from constant saving to trusting the math was challenging at first: how have others navigated this transition? What strategies have you found most helpful for maintaining perspective on your financial journey? I'd love to hear others' experiences with finding balance between present enjoyment and future security.