Why wouldn't you retire on $5M?

[Anonymous]

I can retire easily with 5m or an income of 10k a month. I don't feel cheap saying that but I know some people couldn't retire with 10m and 20k income a month. It's a personal thing.

[Anonymous]

I did just that at the end of 2024. $5M in stocks, bonds & cash. Another $1M in home equity. Have deferred comp, pension and health care. DW is still working because she enjoys it and it is her own LLC.

No regrets. Life is too short. Took care of a sibling who died at 63 and that changed my perspective.







DW is older than me and still running her LLC.

[Anonymous]

It all depends on your costs, as other said.

$5 million would have been enough for me to retire at any age since my birth. That kind of money would generate, what, $150k/year forever without touching the principal? That's more than we've ever made in a year.

We hope to have one million in savings+home equity when we can no longer work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cause you have to be stuck with spouse 24/7.

This, plus I don’t believe I can go from full time to retired with no plan. I want to gradually cut back not just stop cold turkey one day. How disorienting after working for decades

[Anonymous]

I need 20 M to be comfortable

[Anonymous]

I will be happy with health insurance, paid off modest home, $ for food, couple of grandchildren. Have seen elders pass last decade. You really don’t need that much. Crazy, greedy, malcontent people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need 20 M to be comfortable

Need or want? 19 million wouldn't be enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be happy with health insurance, paid off modest home, $ for food, couple of grandchildren. Have seen elders pass last decade. You really don’t need that much. Crazy, greedy, malcontent people

YOU don’t need that much. Some of us don’t want to live like misers. Worked out asses off for it. We plan to enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

We crested over $5million but lost a bunch for various reasons. Still, although I'd like to retire soon it just isn't practical, yet, even if I had $5million liquid in the bank.

For one we have 3 kids at home, including one in elementary school. This requires us to provide stability and a fixed address for the next decade or so.

Second, have work based obligations and agreements that will last another 3-4 years.

Third, my spouse recently re-entered the workforce to a job/career that is satisfying and helps society. She's in no rush to quit.

Fourth, going back to the three kids, I do feel its a requirement for us to provide for them beyond college - money for a first home, a wedding, and a chunk towards their own retirements and to pass down.

All of this though and I still think about retiring allllll the time.

[Anonymous]

We hit that mark and are now retired. I waited until my DD graduated high school. I have only been retired for less than a month, so we will see how it goes. I may pick up some tutoring to help fill the day, but nothing full-time.

[Anonymous]

It’s all about what works for you. I went back to work full time a year ago at 58 after almost 30 years as a sahm and PT consultant. What nobody tells you is staying busy and happy and fulfilled takes a lot of work. I wasn’t happy once my kids were grown, parents died and husband returned to the office. Lunching, Yoga, pickleball and travel got old and having my life’s purpose on most days being making dinner walking the dog was honestly depressing. I couldn’t imagine doing just that and volunteering for 30 more years. I love the structure and camaraderie of work and the paycheck. My job is not high stress but it’s interesting. I’d like to work til 65-67. Just my perspective - and we have a little over 5 mil now.

[Anonymous]

Realizing how this sounds, but still, at that mark, I'd like to take a sabbatical for a year or so. Partly as a trial retirement and partially to see if I re-energize around work.

I'm in a field where ageism is rife and it's unlikely I'd ever find a good job again after a break. So its grind forward, step away, or eat a lot of humble pie after a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s all about what works for you. I went back to work full time a year ago at 58 after almost 30 years as a sahm and PT consultant. What nobody tells you is staying busy and happy and fulfilled takes a lot of work. I wasn’t happy once my kids were grown, parents died and husband returned to the office. Lunching, Yoga, pickleball and travel got old and having my life’s purpose on most days being making dinner walking the dog was honestly depressing. I couldn’t imagine doing just that and volunteering for 30 more years. I love the structure and camaraderie of work and the paycheck. My job is not high stress but it’s interesting. I’d like to work til 65-67. Just my perspective - and we have a little over 5 mil now.

This sounds nice. If you don’t mind answering, did you go back to your previous field / line of work or try something new?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Realizing how this sounds, but still, at that mark, I'd like to take a sabbatical for a year or so. Partly as a trial retirement and partially to see if I re-energize around work.

I'm in a field where ageism is rife and it's unlikely I'd ever find a good job again after a break. So its grind forward, step away, or eat a lot of humble pie after a break.

This is me. I would be ok working more but I just ** really ** need a long break. It's getting harder to find contractor gigs for non technical.

My dream would be to travel for 3 months, then work for another 3, rinse and repeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be happy with health insurance, paid off modest home, $ for food, couple of grandchildren. Have seen elders pass last decade. You really don’t need that much. Crazy, greedy, malcontent people

Same here. I've gradually shifted over the years from spending money on stuff to spending money on experiences. If you're single, you can retire full time overseas on 30k income. You can even have a nice lifestyle in the US and travel several months a year on under 100k income. But if you're still focused on material goods in retirement then you can easily piss away tons of money.