Anonymous
08/06/2025 14:12
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Are you prepared to be worthless at such a young age?
My sister and BIL retired younger and their oldest son is marrying. The soon to be daughter in law parents are same age but he is a Managing Director on Wall Street and Wife is a Realtor who sells multimillion dollar homes. They are all around 62-64.
My sister and BIL has downsized, have little to talk about as no jobs and seem meaningless.
Their son is slowly disowning them. Her parents paying most of wedding, Wedding at Dads Fancy Country club, Her church of course and brunch next day after wedding at their 6,000 sf two million dollar home.
My sister and BIL at 62/64 are now at the old people table lumped in the fixed income crowd at their downsized home. The other couple pulling in tons of income each month with tons of spending money and great stories about work and stuff are exciting.
Was not something they anticipated how meaningless they would become and how quickly it happend. .
My sister and BIL retired younger and their oldest son is marrying. The soon to be daughter in law parents are same age but he is a Managing Director on Wall Street and Wife is a Realtor who sells multimillion dollar homes. They are all around 62-64.
My sister and BIL has downsized, have little to talk about as no jobs and seem meaningless.
Their son is slowly disowning them. Her parents paying most of wedding, Wedding at Dads Fancy Country club, Her church of course and brunch next day after wedding at their 6,000 sf two million dollar home.
My sister and BIL at 62/64 are now at the old people table lumped in the fixed income crowd at their downsized home. The other couple pulling in tons of income each month with tons of spending money and great stories about work and stuff are exciting.
Was not something they anticipated how meaningless they would become and how quickly it happend. .
Anonymous
08/06/2025 13:57
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:4K Health Insurance is a funny joke. You do know the subsidy for most of that is going away in 2026. I say $2,000 a month is a better amount for insurance plus out of pockets. And that is light. A root canal, Implant, crown Colonoscopy, MRI and some Physical Therapy plus insurance premium could pop that number to 30K pretty easy.
And home insurance will soon be $6,000 a year most people with nice homes by 2030.
And where is home repairs? My water heater just broke and my roof is near end of life. I spend on average $1,000 a month on home maint and repairs. Heck my roof is near end of life that will be $30,000.
You are also years away from Social Security and when you do get it will be a big h
You say $4k/month is a "funny joke" and then suggest $2k/month? WTF?
She put 4k per year.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 11:09
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:4K Health Insurance is a funny joke. You do know the subsidy for most of that is going away in 2026. I say $2,000 a month is a better amount for insurance plus out of pockets. And that is light. A root canal, Implant, crown Colonoscopy, MRI and some Physical Therapy plus insurance premium could pop that number to 30K pretty easy.
And home insurance will soon be $6,000 a year most people with nice homes by 2030.
And where is home repairs? My water heater just broke and my roof is near end of life. I spend on average $1,000 a month on home maint and repairs. Heck my roof is near end of life that will be $30,000.
You are also years away from Social Security and when you do get it will be a big h
Medical for a "decent plan" in mid 50s will be $2.5K-3K+ per month. Add in that said plan will have a $7K/14K+ deductible, and you should plan for $4K/month in expenses. We are mid 50s, were totally healthy (think 1-2 visits per year, and a few urgent care trips for illnesses, ideal weight, healthy eaters, no meds), and that can change overnight to we hit our $3K deductible by March this year. All from issues that are just "aging" or "it just occurred" and nothing you can do to prevent. I'd budget $4K per Month (so $48K/year) for medical at that age
Anonymous
08/06/2025 11:03
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:4K Health Insurance is a funny joke. You do know the subsidy for most of that is going away in 2026. I say $2,000 a month is a better amount for insurance plus out of pockets. And that is light. A root canal, Implant, crown Colonoscopy, MRI and some Physical Therapy plus insurance premium could pop that number to 30K pretty easy.
And home insurance will soon be $6,000 a year most people with nice homes by 2030.
And where is home repairs? My water heater just broke and my roof is near end of life. I spend on average $1,000 a month on home maint and repairs. Heck my roof is near end of life that will be $30,000.
You are also years away from Social Security and when you do get it will be a big h
You say $4k/month is a "funny joke" and then suggest $2k/month? WTF?
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:59
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If we have the following expectations and want to retire at 55 in the DC area, how much do we need to have saved by then? Assume we will budget extra for health issues/long term care separately.
- no mortgage, only real estate taxes on a 900k house
- car payments totaling 1k each month.
- assume 1k for household/yard he’ll
- budget 4K for health insurance
- no pension or SS until we hit appropriate ages, so first decade+ would just be from savings. Pension would only be $30k per year; let’s not count on any SS
- kids will be out of college.
- we would like to make 2 international trips a year plus a couple in the US
- we like to eat out once or twice a week.
- we don’t spend a lot but don’t want to feel tight in our spending.
Sometimes it feels like no amount saved will be enough and others like we have plenty and can ramp down now.
That made me laugh. I don’t think you understand the meaning of “we don’t spend a lot”
+1000
Along with $1K/month PER CAR for a car payment, yet no mention of insurance. They are likely spending $3K/month on just VEHICLES (loan/insurance/gas)
However, add it all up, first as a "must have to live" and then a "extras we would want".
Then see if you can afford to retire. IMO, I wouldn't retire at 50 if I couldn't have most of the "extras we want". Working alone can likely make your health insurance only $500/month versus $4k.
I assumed both cars together totaled $1k/month. Not both separately.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:59
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
4K Health Insurance is a funny joke. You do know the subsidy for most of that is going away in 2026. I say $2,000 a month is a better amount for insurance plus out of pockets. And that is light. A root canal, Implant, crown Colonoscopy, MRI and some Physical Therapy plus insurance premium could pop that number to 30K pretty easy.
And home insurance will soon be $6,000 a year most people with nice homes by 2030.
And where is home repairs? My water heater just broke and my roof is near end of life. I spend on average $1,000 a month on home maint and repairs. Heck my roof is near end of life that will be $30,000.
You are also years away from Social Security and when you do get it will be a big h
And home insurance will soon be $6,000 a year most people with nice homes by 2030.
And where is home repairs? My water heater just broke and my roof is near end of life. I spend on average $1,000 a month on home maint and repairs. Heck my roof is near end of life that will be $30,000.
You are also years away from Social Security and when you do get it will be a big h
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:55
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Let's break it down:
$12,000 food - groceries/eating out
$12,000 property tax
$12,000 car payments
$4,000 auto insurance
$2,000 auto repair
$3,000 auto fuel
$1,000 mobile phones
$2,500 gas & electric bills
$3,500 household items
$4,000 water, sewer, trash, internet
$3,000 clothing
$2,500 entertainment
$2,000 gifts
$30,000 travel
= $93,500
No pets, no support for adult children, fairly modest but not tight lifestyle. Simple gifts to close family at holidays. Travel is economy with moderate lodgings. This does not include health costs or insurance. At 3% withdrawal at age 55 counting no pensions or SS, a reasonable person needs $3.2M for this.
You said to budget $4k for health insurance, but that is extremely low. A decent ACA plan plus out of pocket expenses is going to run $15k or more. That will increase as you age. I would say $3.6-3.8M is a good target.
You will get social security. You will get your pensions so $3.5M is a good round, safe number in today's dollars.
I think the $4K for healthcare is Per month and that is spot on (as a mid 50s looking at just that ourselves). So $40-48K/year for everything
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:54
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If we have the following expectations and want to retire at 55 in the DC area, how much do we need to have saved by then? Assume we will budget extra for health issues/long term care separately.
- no mortgage, only real estate taxes on a 900k house
- car payments totaling 1k each month.
- assume 1k for household/yard he’ll
- budget 4K for health insurance
- no pension or SS until we hit appropriate ages, so first decade+ would just be from savings. Pension would only be $30k per year; let’s not count on any SS
- kids will be out of college.
- we would like to make 2 international trips a year plus a couple in the US
- we like to eat out once or twice a week.
- we don’t spend a lot but don’t want to feel tight in our spending.
Sometimes it feels like no amount saved will be enough and others like we have plenty and can ramp down now.
That made me laugh. I don’t think you understand the meaning of “we don’t spend a lot”
+1000
Along with $1K/month PER CAR for a car payment, yet no mention of insurance. They are likely spending $3K/month on just VEHICLES (loan/insurance/gas)
However, add it all up, first as a "must have to live" and then a "extras we would want".
Then see if you can afford to retire. IMO, I wouldn't retire at 50 if I couldn't have most of the "extras we want". Working alone can likely make your health insurance only $500/month versus $4k.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:43
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Maybe need to add in 3 new cars if you plan to drive the next 30 years. So extra $150K?
Anonymous
08/06/2025 10:36
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Let's break it down:
$12,000 food - groceries/eating out
$12,000 property tax
$12,000 car payments
$4,000 auto insurance
$2,000 auto repair
$3,000 auto fuel
$1,000 mobile phones
$2,500 gas & electric bills
$3,500 household items
$4,000 water, sewer, trash, internet
$3,000 clothing
$2,500 entertainment
$2,000 gifts
$30,000 travel
= $93,500
No pets, no support for adult children, fairly modest but not tight lifestyle. Simple gifts to close family at holidays. Travel is economy with moderate lodgings. This does not include health costs or insurance. At 3% withdrawal at age 55 counting no pensions or SS, a reasonable person needs $3.2M for this.
You said to budget $4k for health insurance, but that is extremely low. A decent ACA plan plus out of pocket expenses is going to run $15k or more. That will increase as you age. I would say $3.6-3.8M is a good target.
You will get social security. You will get your pensions so $3.5M is a good round, safe number in today's dollars.
Don't forget, your est is post tax spending. Your withdrawal is (most likely) pretax.
Eek, good point. I totally left taxes out. I think a 20% tax rate is a reasonable swag, so add 20% to the total giving $130k in annual expenses and you need $4.3M or thereabouts. There was a small typo in my list. The Auto Insurance includes Property Insurance as well.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 09:29
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:Let's break it down:
$12,000 food - groceries/eating out
$12,000 property tax
$12,000 car payments
$4,000 auto insurance
$2,000 auto repair
$3,000 auto fuel
$1,000 mobile phones
$2,500 gas & electric bills
$3,500 household items
$4,000 water, sewer, trash, internet
$3,000 clothing
$2,500 entertainment
$2,000 gifts
$30,000 travel
= $93,500
No pets, no support for adult children, fairly modest but not tight lifestyle. Simple gifts to close family at holidays. Travel is economy with moderate lodgings. This does not include health costs or insurance. At 3% withdrawal at age 55 counting no pensions or SS, a reasonable person needs $3.2M for this.
You said to budget $4k for health insurance, but that is extremely low. A decent ACA plan plus out of pocket expenses is going to run $15k or more. That will increase as you age. I would say $3.6-3.8M is a good target.
You will get social security. You will get your pensions so $3.5M is a good round, safe number in today's dollars.
Don't forget, your est is post tax spending. Your withdrawal is (most likely) pretax.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 09:27
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Let's break it down:
$12,000 food - groceries/eating out
$12,000 property tax
$12,000 car payments
$4,000 auto insurance
$2,000 auto repair
$3,000 auto fuel
$1,000 mobile phones
$2,500 gas & electric bills
$3,500 household items
$4,000 water, sewer, trash, internet
$3,000 clothing
$2,500 entertainment
$2,000 gifts
$30,000 travel
= $93,500
No pets, no support for adult children, fairly modest but not tight lifestyle. Simple gifts to close family at holidays. Travel is economy with moderate lodgings. This does not include health costs or insurance. At 3% withdrawal at age 55 counting no pensions or SS, a reasonable person needs $3.2M for this.
You said to budget $4k for health insurance, but that is extremely low. A decent ACA plan plus out of pocket expenses is going to run $15k or more. That will increase as you age. I would say $3.6-3.8M is a good target.
You will get social security. You will get your pensions so $3.5M is a good round, safe number in today's dollars.
$12,000 food - groceries/eating out
$12,000 property tax
$12,000 car payments
$4,000 auto insurance
$2,000 auto repair
$3,000 auto fuel
$1,000 mobile phones
$2,500 gas & electric bills
$3,500 household items
$4,000 water, sewer, trash, internet
$3,000 clothing
$2,500 entertainment
$2,000 gifts
$30,000 travel
= $93,500
No pets, no support for adult children, fairly modest but not tight lifestyle. Simple gifts to close family at holidays. Travel is economy with moderate lodgings. This does not include health costs or insurance. At 3% withdrawal at age 55 counting no pensions or SS, a reasonable person needs $3.2M for this.
You said to budget $4k for health insurance, but that is extremely low. A decent ACA plan plus out of pocket expenses is going to run $15k or more. That will increase as you age. I would say $3.6-3.8M is a good target.
You will get social security. You will get your pensions so $3.5M is a good round, safe number in today's dollars.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 09:12
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
why retire at 55, you will be so bored -seriously, maybe leave your current job but find something you are passionate about.
Anonymous
08/06/2025 09:07
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
Anonymous wrote:If we have the following expectations and want to retire at 55 in the DC area, how much do we need to have saved by then? Assume we will budget extra for health issues/long term care separately.
- no mortgage, only real estate taxes on a 900k house
- car payments totaling 1k each month.
- assume 1k for household/yard he’ll
- budget 4K for health insurance
- no pension or SS until we hit appropriate ages, so first decade+ would just be from savings. Pension would only be $30k per year; let’s not count on any SS
- kids will be out of college.
- we would like to make 2 international trips a year plus a couple in the US
- we like to eat out once or twice a week.
- we don’t spend a lot but don’t want to feel tight in our spending.
Sometimes it feels like no amount saved will be enough and others like we have plenty and can ramp down now.
That made me laugh. I don’t think you understand the meaning of “we don’t spend a lot”
Anonymous
08/06/2025 09:04
Subject: How much do we need to retire?
If we have the following expectations and want to retire at 55 in the DC area, how much do we need to have saved by then? Assume we will budget extra for health issues/long term care separately.
- no mortgage, only real estate taxes on a 900k house
- car payments totaling 1k each month.
- assume 1k for household/yard he’ll
- budget 4K for health insurance
- no pension or SS until we hit appropriate ages, so first decade+ would just be from savings. Pension would only be $30k per year; let’s not count on any SS
- kids will be out of college.
- we would like to make 2 international trips a year plus a couple in the US
- we like to eat out once or twice a week.
- we don’t spend a lot but don’t want to feel tight in our spending.
Sometimes it feels like no amount saved will be enough and others like we have plenty and can ramp down now.
- no mortgage, only real estate taxes on a 900k house
- car payments totaling 1k each month.
- assume 1k for household/yard he’ll
- budget 4K for health insurance
- no pension or SS until we hit appropriate ages, so first decade+ would just be from savings. Pension would only be $30k per year; let’s not count on any SS
- kids will be out of college.
- we would like to make 2 international trips a year plus a couple in the US
- we like to eat out once or twice a week.
- we don’t spend a lot but don’t want to feel tight in our spending.
Sometimes it feels like no amount saved will be enough and others like we have plenty and can ramp down now.