9 ms·

$1m is not enough for most people in the US to never work again, unless they are quite frugal. It's barely enough to retire with.

cpursley 8y ago
What bubble/ivory tower part of the country are you in? $1m is enough. Especially with a paid-off mortgage. Most people get by for way, way less than that.
- taurath 8y ago
  If at any point in ones life you’ve made over $300k, I doubt $40k a year would feel like anything other than relative poverty - not that that’s a terrible thing. It’s plenty of money except if you’re used to vacations to Europe in 4 star hotels, nice gym and golf memberships, cars, etc.
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    >If at any point in ones life you’ve made over $300k, I doubt $40k a year would feel like anything other than relative poverty Neither here nor there. The GP was responding to "$1M is not enough for most people to retire on."
- cakebrewery 8y ago
  Not with inflation
- pureagave 8y ago
  In the bay area and almost everywhere on the west coast you are looking at over $1k/month in property taxes for that house with a "paid-off mortgage." In most states you never really "own" your home. You only own it while you pay tax every six months until you are dead.
  - sadris 8y ago
    Why would you retire in a high cost of living area?
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - chipperyman573 8y ago
      Because you like living there
      - EpicEng 8y ago
        The vast majority of people don't get to make those sort of decisions. It's a matter of "where can I live?", not "where do I _want_ to live?" So, the ivory tower remark seems appropriate.
  - cpursley 8y ago
    There's more to the US (and the world) than the West Coast.
    - hinkley 8y ago
      Yes there’s also New York, Chicago, London, Paris... ;)
    - fjp 8y ago
      I think the commenter's point is yes you could cash out and move to nowheresville with a cheap house, but there's no point in playing that hypothetical game because it doesn't end (live in the ghetto! Your house is valued at $10k, aren't those low low property taxes sweet??) They making the probably-fair assumption that these hypothetical people want to live at least close to where they're rooted their lives.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  >$1m is not enough for most people in the US to never work again, unless they are quite frugal. i.e. "$1m is not enough for most people in the US to never work again assuming they want to live to the standard that I have become accustomed to." Which very likely does not apply to "most people". We do pretty well for ourselves and it's easy to forget that "most people" live paycheck to paycheck on far less.
  - sytelus 8y ago
    Florida is popular retirement destination in US and comfort living cost there for 2 people is about $50K annual without taxes. Part of the high cost is that most people in our generation won’t have paid off their mortgage and monthly $1500 expense is expected just for that. Add on the top property taxes, high cost of medical, high cost of smart devices, phone plans, eating out even once a week - etc. If you have kids who are still dependent then you can easily add another significant chunk.
    - cpursley 8y ago
      +1 for Florida. You can buy a 3 bedroom home on a barrier island within walking/biking distance to a pristine beach for $500k. Even less for a nice condo.
- blaisio 8y ago
  $1m + paid off mortgage are probably enough for most of the country. You'll still need to be frugal, depending on your age.
Dayshine 8y ago
Median household income is $60k in the US. So, $40k for 1 person is probably enough.
ljf 8y ago
What is the average household income in the US?
Veelox 8y ago
The 40th percentile income in the US is $43.3k [0], with 126 million households [1], that comes out to about 50 million households that make less than $44k. To put my feelings bluntly, get out of your bubble. [0] https://statisticalatlas.com/United-States/Household-Income https://statisticalatlas.com/United-States/Household-Income [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=us+number+of+households https://www.google.com/search?q=us+number+of+households
- DVassallo 8y ago
  Just my insurance is $20K/year (health, life, disability, home, auto, umbrella). Then $10K/year in property taxes. Then $30K/year in mortgage interest. That's already $60K/year and doesn't include food, utilities, schools, etc.

cpursley 8y ago

What bubble/ivory tower part of the country are you in? $1m is enough. Especially with a paid-off mortgage. Most people get by for way, way less than that.

taurath 8y ago
If at any point in ones life you’ve made over $300k, I doubt $40k a year would feel like anything other than relative poverty - not that that’s a terrible thing. It’s plenty of money except if you’re used to vacations to Europe in 4 star hotels, nice gym and golf memberships, cars, etc.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  >If at any point in ones life you’ve made over $300k, I doubt $40k a year would feel like anything other than relative poverty Neither here nor there. The GP was responding to "$1M is not enough for most people to retire on."
cakebrewery 8y ago
Not with inflation
pureagave 8y ago
In the bay area and almost everywhere on the west coast you are looking at over $1k/month in property taxes for that house with a "paid-off mortgage." In most states you never really "own" your home. You only own it while you pay tax every six months until you are dead.
- sadris 8y ago
  Why would you retire in a high cost of living area?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - chipperyman573 8y ago
    Because you like living there
    - EpicEng 8y ago
      The vast majority of people don't get to make those sort of decisions. It's a matter of "where can I live?", not "where do I _want_ to live?" So, the ivory tower remark seems appropriate.
- cpursley 8y ago
  There's more to the US (and the world) than the West Coast.
  - hinkley 8y ago
    Yes there’s also New York, Chicago, London, Paris... ;)
  - fjp 8y ago
    I think the commenter's point is yes you could cash out and move to nowheresville with a cheap house, but there's no point in playing that hypothetical game because it doesn't end (live in the ghetto! Your house is valued at $10k, aren't those low low property taxes sweet??) They making the probably-fair assumption that these hypothetical people want to live at least close to where they're rooted their lives.
EpicEng 8y ago
>$1m is not enough for most people in the US to never work again, unless they are quite frugal. i.e. "$1m is not enough for most people in the US to never work again assuming they want to live to the standard that I have become accustomed to." Which very likely does not apply to "most people". We do pretty well for ourselves and it's easy to forget that "most people" live paycheck to paycheck on far less.
- sytelus 8y ago
  Florida is popular retirement destination in US and comfort living cost there for 2 people is about $50K annual without taxes. Part of the high cost is that most people in our generation won’t have paid off their mortgage and monthly $1500 expense is expected just for that. Add on the top property taxes, high cost of medical, high cost of smart devices, phone plans, eating out even once a week - etc. If you have kids who are still dependent then you can easily add another significant chunk.
  - cpursley 8y ago
    +1 for Florida. You can buy a 3 bedroom home on a barrier island within walking/biking distance to a pristine beach for $500k. Even less for a nice condo.
blaisio 8y ago
$1m + paid off mortgage are probably enough for most of the country. You'll still need to be frugal, depending on your age.

Dayshine 8y ago

Median household income is $60k in the US. So, $40k for 1 person is probably enough.

ljf 8y ago

What is the average household income in the US?

Veelox 8y ago

The 40th percentile income in the US is $43.3k [0], with 126 million households [1], that comes out to about 50 million households that make less than $44k. To put my feelings bluntly, get out of your bubble. [0] https://statisticalatlas.com/United-States/Household-Income https://statisticalatlas.com/United-States/Household-Income [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=us+number+of+households https://www.google.com/search?q=us+number+of+households

DVassallo 8y ago
Just my insurance is $20K/year (health, life, disability, home, auto, umbrella). Then $10K/year in property taxes. Then $30K/year in mortgage interest. That's already $60K/year and doesn't include food, utilities, schools, etc.