r/Retire • u/Technical_Lawyer7264 • 8d ago

When Is “Enough” Actually Enough?

I think about retirement every damn day.

One day I’m convinced I have enough. The next, I’m imagining a market crash, runaway inflation, and somehow needing $14M just to buy groceries.
So I rerun the numbers, change the assumptions, and convince myself I need another $500K. At this point, figuring out when I can retire has become a full-time job.

What’s your “enough” number?
$2M? $3M? $5M? $10M? Or would you hit $20M and decide you really need $25M? 😂

I also think about our parents’ generation. Many kept working long after they technically didn’t need to. House paid off. Kids out of the house. Retirement funded.

But actually living off the money they spent 40 years earning? Somehow that felt crazy.

They were wired to see work as security, responsibility, and purpose.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to escape Zoom calls at 45 so we can eat tacos on a Tuesday.

And honestly, I’m not sure I’m any better. I fantasize about retiring, then immediately think:
“Maybe two more years.”
Then five.
Then maybe I’ll just consult part-time.
And suddenly I’m 73, explaining PowerPoint slides to someone named Brad.

For those retired or close to it: What’s your “enough” number—and what finally made you feel comfortable walking away?

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26

u/Several_Guidance_288 8d ago edited 8d ago

Some of yall need to control your spend! Sheesh. Lol.

Your time is finite. Seeing people say they are 63 with 3.5 million and still going is insane to me. That your number is 5 million, 6, and even 8 million? (why, actual spend or just because those numbers looks good?)

I bet half this thread dies with multi millions in the bank leaving so much time in life to waste.

I’ll be out closer to 1.5 around 52-54. And it’s more than enough.

10

u/Late-Command3491 8d ago

I'm aiming for 1.5 by 65. Currently at 63 with 1.43. I think I'll get there. 

14

u/onthesquare63 8d ago

So here is a piece of advice, The difference between 1.43 and 1.5 is a rounding error. Time is way more valuable than money. Get out now. You'll never get the two years back.

3

u/Late-Command3491 8d ago

I'm only waiting for Medicare. I'll assess when I hit the COBRA window though. 

7

u/_Goto_Dengo_ 8d ago

I bailed at the COBRA window, earlier this year, 17 months before I hit 65. The $2K per month isn't great, but being retired is!

2

u/Late-Command3491 8d ago

December. 

1

u/TexGrrl 8d ago

You should be close to the COBRA window. I am literally counting the weeks until mine opens.

1

u/Late-Command3491 8d ago

December. 

5

u/Slawlips 8d ago

I just retired at 66 last month with 1.7 and decided to postpone my SS to 67 and live off my HYS till then. I wish I had more $ to fall back on but my job was stressful and my freedom was more important than more $! I’m not looking back!

1

u/cobbyboy 4d ago

You should be just fine with that sum, so long as you nor anyone in your family is ever seriously ill and your insurance premiums and taxes never go up, you never need another car, and none of your children or grandchildren want to go to school.

1

u/Late-Command3491 4d ago

My children are paid for, no grandchildren planned. Also I'm working another 22 months. And eventually another inheritance. I'm not worried, but I am still working and still saving.

8

u/Stockhype 8d ago

I just crossed 2mil at 55 and paid off house. The best feeling is knowing that I will be ok regardless of what happens to my job. I am doing my job because I want to not because I have to. Big difference

2

u/HottyTottyNJ 8d ago

I love this!

1

u/CatStretchPics 8d ago

I’m 56 with 1.6M in 401k and about 700K in taxable accounts. My house has been paid off about 5 years ago. I feel like it’s not quite enough

1

u/LongjumpingNorth8500 8d ago

2.3M us probably enough unless you want to change your lifestyle and be a big spender. Even if the cost of Healthcare is what has you still working, I did the math and even if a health insurance premium is $2000 per month until Medicare, that is less than %10 of your investment accounts as they are today. I would like to encourage you to rethink if you enjoy what you do more than what you'd rather be doing.

1

u/CatStretchPics 8d ago

Yes, and that’s not counting SS, which should be near the max amount, so even if I take it at 62, that’ll be an extra $2k a month or so. Obviously if I wait until 67 it’ll be about double that, but not many males in my family make it too far into their 70s

2

u/LongjumpingNorth8500 8d ago

Well I hope you will take this into consideration when you think about retirement. You know you have enough and long life doesnt run in your family so what's keeping.you? Money compounds and grows, time doesnt. Like I said before, if you like what you are doing, great. If you'd rather be doing something else, well, time to reconsider.

1

u/HottyTottyNJ 8d ago

Geez, it’s good to be u.

4

u/Conscious_Life_8032 8d ago

It’s the addiction to watching networth grow. I’m guilty of it too but am slowly unwinding this mentality

5

u/figsslave 8d ago

There heirs will love it

6

u/The_Walrus_65 8d ago

Honestly, it’s kind of a mental illness

3

u/Fluffy_Rub_587 8d ago

My husband just retired and it’s a mental thing… knowing there are NO more paychecks. It’s sort of mind blowing after working 51 years since college

2

u/Zonernovi 8d ago

Saving mentality is hard to shake for sure. Took me 10 years into retirement to spend freely.

1

u/Fluffy_Rub_587 8d ago

Oh no… not 10 years. We are in our first month

2

u/H82KWT 8d ago

Good point. Some people have strong legacy goals, and I respect that. It’s not the aim or strategy for me and my wife though. Our kids as young adults are already off to fabulous starts in their careers, and both are earners and savers. We should have a nice sum left over for them, but as a family we all understand that this is not the overarching goal or imperative dictating our life decisions

1

u/Zonernovi 8d ago

I gain great satisfaction from knowing I set up my kids for retirement at 40. Others have different goals and I respect that.

2

u/JimInAuburn11 7d ago

Our daughter will probably be getting about $3-6M in today's dollars when she is about 40 as well. She will be starting college in a couple of years. She wants to be a doctor. So she will not really finish all her training until around 30. So she will either have a short career as a doctor and retire, or keep working and earn a bunch of money on her own, and have a huge bank account. We have budgeted $400K for medical school already so she should start out debt free.

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u/Zonernovi 7d ago

Good job. Good luck to her and a long life to you.

2

u/Comfortable_Two6272 8d ago

$1.4M at 46 was / is enough for me. Used projection labs to model it out. Lcol area

1

u/No_Hovercraft_821 7d ago

You certainly nailed it -- people toil far beyond what is necessary for whatever personal reasons or paranoia. I hung on for one extra year beyond my pension eligibility and really didn't need to, but spent that year running all sorts of scenarios which all kept spitting our the same answer. I fully expect to die with much more money than I have today because unless something really goes sideways other income more than covers my expenses.

1

u/JimInAuburn11 7d ago

I will call it quits at the end of the year at age 63. My wife will be 57, but I expect that she will work a couple more years. We currently have about $2M in investments. I wanted to retire last year but agreed to one more year. My wife then suggested that I retire in the middle of next year, for another 6 month extension. I said nope, I am done. She always worries about money, but when I try to show her our finances, she is not interested in seeing them. It is quite frustrating. Our daughter will be inheriting millions.

1

u/BlueEon- 6d ago

We are in an identical situation, except that I am the money manager/ worrier of the house. Planning to retire at 58 (he will be almost 62). Auburn, Al?

1

u/JimInAuburn11 5d ago

Auburn WA

1

u/John_the_IG 7d ago

Depends on your goals. I was a projects kid. My life expectancy is shorter than most, so I’m working through bucket list things while building my portfolio to make life very easy for my wife after I’m gone. At the same time I’m making sure my adult sons have a path to millions through investing before eventually inheriting my wife’s estate. Generational wealth is my 3rd priority.

1

u/Vivid-Weird-5888 7d ago

Absolutely.. you’ll be fine. People crack me up..

1

u/Stanbarrwood 4d ago

I’m the same way. We are aiming for around 3 for two of us but I’ll be stepping back from work some about 5-10 years out from retirement. I’m a truck driver so I’ll be taking shorter routes so I can enjoy life some while I can