Fair points. Regarding the 5%, that's my conservative # based on my personal feelings about the economy. The math holds up just fine if you nudge that up to 7

Fair points. Regarding the 5%, that's my conservative # based on my personal feelings about the economy. The math holds up just fine if you nudge that up to 7%. You still go broke (unless you cut your spending, which I certainly would-- I've no need to live rich). 7% is pretty solid for a balanced portfolio. I personally opt for a riskier portfolio than most (I have a few rental properties and assorted mutual funds), but I don't think you or I can pick 'em like Buffet! :-) It IS a hedge against ignorance, which I happily admit that I am (compared to buffet). Interesting stuff, regardless-- I've actually never crunched the #s on big apartments. Thanks for doing it!