8% is pretty high. Look at the 10 year return rates for these portfolios[1]; the best is 6.96%, with the median being 4.89%. These involve a certain amount of r

8% is pretty high. Look at the 10 year return rates for these portfolios[1]; the best is 6.96%, with the median being 4.89%. These involve a certain amount of risk; if you want something guaranteed, you're looking at about 2-2.3% return for CDs. Likewise, assuming that people spend $20 a day on avocado toast is a bit extreme. A sandwich with avocado in it shouldn't set you back more than $6-8 in most places. And it's not like you have the choice to not eat at all, so compared to a $2-3 dollar super-cheap lunch (either cheaply made and brought from home or a couple dollar menu items at McDonald's) you're only paying an additional $3-6 dollars. Let's be fairly generous with these numbers and say $10 a day, with a return of 5%. That's a return of $47,203 after 10 years. But after factoring in inflation, it's $39,104 (actually less when you factor in taxes). Use more realistic numbers ($6 a day, 4.89% return) and you get $23,323 (not figuring in taxes). [1] http://www.marketwatch.com/lazyportfolio http://www.marketwatch.com/lazyportfolio