New Delhi, Oct. 18 -- For someone looking to retire early, deciding how much to invest towards financial independence and early retirement (FIRE) versus short-term financial goals can be a balancing act. While investing more today can help build a retirement corpus faster, goals such as buying a car, making a house down payment or funding other planned expenses also require money within a specific timeframe. Diverting too much towards either could mean delaying other goals or falling short of the retirement corpus needed to sustain a longer retirement.

The key is to calculate how much each goal requires and how soon the money will be needed, rather than follow a fixed allocation, says Jasmeet Singh, executive director at Anand Rathi Weal...