What's the least amount of money it would take for you to retire?

[mistapony]

I voted $10M and hope to retire early, I'm 44 now and am burnt out from the grind. The conversation here actually made me feel a bit better that maybe less would allow me to still retire early.
My big expense though is 5 daughters, which means 5 colleges and probably 5 weddings. I feel like im in a very high expense time for the next 10 years. I hope to have my house paid off in the next 5 years and I don't carry any debt.
My wife and I would like to be able to travel and I'm attempting to get dual Italian citizenship which the potential of buying property in Italy. Anyway, thanks for all the responses its been a quite interesting read.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by geko29

In today's dollars, $2.5M and the house paid off, which will be done long before we retire. We could pay it off today, but at 2.5% why? That would give us $100k/yr plus whatever meager SS we get to live on, with minimal fixed expenses.

How does one spend $100k/yr plus $2500+/mo in SS between two people? That's almost $11k/mo. My God, what are you people buying every month to be needing that much spending power per month? LOL

My 76 y/o mother has a $800/mo house payment and has an income of around $3500/mo with SS and a small pension from my deceased father. She rarely spends all of the money every month and she has plenty in saving/investments as well. Lives in a really nice, new and modern home too.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

How does one spend $100k/yr plus $2500+/mo in SS between two people? That's almost $11k/mo. My God, what are you people buying every month to be needing that much spending power per month? LOL

My 76 y/o mother has a $800/mo house payment and has an income of around $3500/mo with SS and a small pension from my deceased father. She rarely spends all of the money every month and she has plenty in saving/investments as well. Lives in a really nice, new and modern home too.

Between property tax, Healthcare costs, leisure activities, travel, miscellaneous expenses, and probably my biggest expense, cars... I shouldn't have any trouble spending that and more.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

How does one spend $100k/yr plus $2500+/mo in SS between two people? That's almost $11k/mo. My God, what are you people buying every month to be needing that much spending power per month? LOL

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Between property tax, Healthcare costs, leisure activities, travel, miscellaneous expenses, and probably my biggest expense, cars... I shouldn't have any trouble spending that and more.

So based on today's costs, which will only go up:

Federal taxes on $100k, MFJ: $8.6k (my current state does not tax retirement income. If it did add another $4.8k)
Property taxes: $10k
Home/Auto/Umbrella Insurance: $5k
Medicare A+B+D+G, for 2 people: $16.5k (not paying this right now, obviously)

So $40k/yr is already out the door, right from the jump. And I haven't paid my utilities, bought any food, done any home improvements/maintenance, bought any toys, gone on any trips, or done any car-related things.

And since we're on a board dedicated to $100k cars, let's say we want two of those in the driveway/garage. Even if we only replace them every 5 years, there's another $20k/year right there (assuming 50% depreciation). So now there's "only" $40k left for all that other stuff. I don't think we'll actually do this, but just to illustrate how quickly stuff adds up.

I don't know about you, but after working all these years, I intend to enjoy the shit out of having sole ownership of 168 hours per week. I also make no assumptions as to what degree SS benefits will be funded in 25 years. So whatever we get from that (which will also be taxed) is just gravy.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Until your body/mind starts to break down. Ask me how I know. Aging is inevitable.

56 Now so besides the normal wear and tear. I plan on leaving full time workforce in 11-12 years.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by geko29

So based on today's costs, which will only go up:

Federal taxes on $100k, MFJ: $8.6k (my current state does not tax retirement income. If it did add another $4.8k)
Property taxes: $10k
Home/Auto/Umbrella Insurance: $5k
Medicare A+B+D+G, for 2 people: $16.5k (not paying this right now, obviously)

So $40k/yr is already out the door, right from the jump. And I haven't paid my utilities, bought any food, done any home improvements/maintenance, bought any toys, gone on any trips, or done any car-related things.

And since we're on a board dedicated to $100k cars, let's say we want two of those in the driveway/garage. Even if we only replace them every 5 years, there's another $20k/year right there (assuming 50% depreciation). So now there's "only" $40k left for all that other stuff. I don't think we'll actually do this, but just to illustrate how quickly stuff adds up.

Your Medicare costs seem extremely high. My 76 y/o mother isn't paying anything like that and she carries supplemental as well.

I too look at SS as gravy, but it will be there. They've been saying SS might disappear since the 1980s. Nothing as changed. If SS wasn't there, a vast majority of Americans would in serious trouble seeing that most people retire with less than $200K in retirement savings thus most retirees are dependent on it.

Once most are in their 70s, they are driving their last car. Sad, but true. Point being, you've only a small window of buying cars when retired.

Same with insurance and property tax. Many in their 70s will sell their homes and cars and enter retirement communities or elderly care so your insurance and property tax costs disappear.

To me, less is more and that's what probably sets me apart from many on a forum like this and why I think needing $100K per year to live is a bit bonkers. I love cars and have two amazing rides at 48. But I have no desire for super expensive cars and more importantly a big house, a second home, etc. Once our kids are out in 4 years, my wife and I are building or renovating a ~1,200-sq ft 3 bedroom, energy efficient, easy to maintain home on some land that needs minimal maintaining and has lots of outdoor living space. We'll travel a lot too. My wife and I are done with managing "stuff" which consumes so much of one's life.

Again, the linked retirement calculator below has been so useful in helping me project out when I can retire. Once we hit $2 million in investment assets and I'm over 52, I'm done working. The house is already paid off and the kids college costs are fully funded and then some. The odds are we'll hardly touch our principal in retirement and kiddos will be quite well off when we're gone and hopefully they can continue to pass it down to their kids and so on.

https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

[dreamingat30fps]

What I have noticed is my expenses just seem to increase the more $$ I make. Even when I don't feel like I'm spending more or doing anything I didn't do before. Then again my health insurance being self employed is now almost $700/mo just for me. They keep raising that shit every year and it's not even that good.

I also think how much you hate your job plays a big roll. If I had to go back to my first job after college which I despised I could probably make it happen right now so I can retire.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Your Medicare costs seem extremely high. My 76 y/o mother isn't paying anything like that and she carries supplemental as well.

The A&B premium are deducted from the SS before it is deposited, so most people don't think about it. Part D can optionally be, and starting this year (or at least it's the first time it's been offered to my 82 yo Father-in-Law), the supplemental plan can be as well.

I took average costs from here.

Edit: So I am off by about $3k, which doesn't dramatically change the example. I took the actual amounts that my FIL is currently paying for D ($785) and G ($3151), and then added the fixed B premiums for an individual with $100k MAGI ($2770), and the total is $6706. So for two people that would $13,412

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I too look at SS as gravy, but it will be there. They've been saying SS might disappear since the 1980s. Nothing as changed. If SS wasn't there, a vast majority of Americans would in serious trouble seeing that most people retire with less than $200K in retirement savings thus most retirees are dependent on it.

I'm not saying it won't be there, I'm saying I expect benefits to be reduced.

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Once most are in their 70s, they are driving their last car. Sad, but true. Point being, you've only a small window of buying cars when retired.

Probably true in a lot of cases, and note that I did say we probably wouldn't do that. Although I should note that my parents are in their mid-70s, and just leased a car for the first time in their lives, so they'll be swapping every 3 years going forward. They're not car people, so over the prior 45 years, my dad only owned 4 cars, and my mom 5.

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Same with insurance and property tax. Many in their 70s will sell their homes and cars and enter retirement communities or elderly care so your insurance and property tax costs disappear.

Clearly you haven't seen what these retirement communities cost. The one in my area has a buy-in ranging from $61.5k all the way up through $400k, depending on the type of unit desired. There are then the monthly fees--I can't find them right now, but they are not exactly cheap. Alternatively, rentals are available anywhere from $2,400 (semi-private room) to $8,000 (2br apartment), assuming specialized care is not needed.

Don't get me wrong--it's a VERY nice place. But from a financial perspective, the property taxes and insurance I'm paying now are way, WAY cheaper.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by geko29

we're on a board dedicated to $100k cars

It would be interesting to know the average price paid by board members. Breaking owners' car purchase prices out by series and model codes might be the most informative.

In today's dollars, the most I've ever paid for a car was $120.0K. That was in June, 1985 for a grey market M6. Including the discount from MSRP, my new 2017 M240i cost me $45.7K in today's dollars ($38.8K in June, 2018). The cars are remarkably similar to this owner of both, and the check for the M240i was 12% less than the one I wrote for the M6. Progress - you've got to embrace and celebrate it!

Another data point: the M240i is at 28.8 mpg since new (89 fill-ups).

[Llarry]

Since I've been retired for many years already, it'd only take twenty bucks for me to go! OK, OK, if you want to quibble, a nickel.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by dradernh

It would be interesting to know the average price paid by board members. Breaking owners' car purchase prices out by series and model codes might be the most informative.

I was just going on the basis that this is the G8X section of Bimmerpost, and those models cost between $75k for a base 6MT sedan with no options, up through $124k for a fully kitted convertible. Port-installed options (like Msport carbon bits) can drive these up even further. So $100k seemed like a reasonable midpoint. I admit I may be biased, as my own base M3 will be just over $93k, with sales tax bringing that to about $101k.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by geko29

I was just going on the basis that this is the G8X section of Bimmerpost, and those models cost between $75k for a base 6MT sedan with no options, up through $124k for a fully kitted convertible. Port-installed options (like Msport carbon bits) can drive these up even further. So $100k seemed like a reasonable midpoint. I admit I may be biased, as my own base M3 will be just over $93k, with sales tax bringing that to about $101k.

Off-Topic is available from any of the model forum so just because someone posts here doesn't mean they own a G8X. I personally haven't even owned a BMW in years.

[TR930]

Your health and your time left on earth are the most valuable things, and no amount of $$ can buy either one.

[nosbocaj]

To retire today, I'd say at least $5m, preferably $10m. I'm only 35. If all goes to plan, I'd like to retire around 55-60, so I'd need a larger amount to bridge that 20-25 year gap.

Anything less than $5m and I wouldn't quit my day job.