4 ms·

Ask HN: What is a life changing amount of money for you?

4 points by TekMol 5y ago

dataminded 5y ago
$9 million
- TekMol 5y ago
  That's a lot!
  - bnt 5y ago
    Depends. Some spend that in a weekend.
elmerfud 5y ago
Being instantly gifted $1-$10 million would be what I consider a retirement changing amount of money. The higher end would start bordering on life changing as it would allow for earlier retirement. To get to the point of, instantly transform my life right now, I'd need $50+ million... Even then it would still be something that must be budgeted wisely to avoid exhausting it. A million dollars may sound like a lot but when you can spend 2/3-3/4 for a nice suburban home, and the rest gets eaten up by ancillary costs with having something like that. You can see it quickly vanishes... You have a net negative change in your life. This is why I have to think big numbers for immediate change. Small numbers are all about putting things in place for probable future life changes.
- tharkun__ 5y ago
  Couldn't agree more (HN does not allow me to upvote more than once ;) I wonder how far away we are from the point in time when someone "being a millionaire" doesn't really mean much any longer. It used to be that being a millionaire meant you made it and you were set for life. Like you say, that's not really true any longer. Even a regular house eats up a lot of that money and the rest (or even the 1 million) isn't enough to 'just retire' without ever having to worry again.
gusestrella 5y ago
Depend so much where in the world you are . And your age. In the US cities, say around 30 years old - most likely $5 million. Rural areas $2 million
mindcrime 5y ago
It's hard to pin that down exactly, but let me put in these terms... the dollar number I've long had in mind as "I could quit working, live on savings/interest, and do more or less whatever I want with the rest of my life, without living a lavish lifestyle" is $14 million. If I, say, sold a company for enough to where I walked away with that much (after taxes, for the sake of argument) I'd buy a house (not a fancy house either), a car or two, a bass boat, and the rest would go in various mostly long-term investments. I think I'd be pretty settled at that point.
gcheong 5y ago
$10 million and I would feel comfortable knowing I wouldn't need a job again. Less is certainly doable but just doesn't "feel" like I'd be safe mainly because I'm in the US in San Francisco and healthcare (prior to Medicare age) and housing expenses can easily eat up your savings if you're not careful.

4 points by TekMol 5y ago

dataminded 5y ago

$9 million

TekMol 5y ago
That's a lot!
- bnt 5y ago
  Depends. Some spend that in a weekend.

elmerfud 5y ago

Being instantly gifted $1-$10 million would be what I consider a retirement changing amount of money. The higher end would start bordering on life changing as it would allow for earlier retirement. To get to the point of, instantly transform my life right now, I'd need $50+ million... Even then it would still be something that must be budgeted wisely to avoid exhausting it. A million dollars may sound like a lot but when you can spend 2/3-3/4 for a nice suburban home, and the rest gets eaten up by ancillary costs with having something like that. You can see it quickly vanishes... You have a net negative change in your life. This is why I have to think big numbers for immediate change. Small numbers are all about putting things in place for probable future life changes.

tharkun__ 5y ago
Couldn't agree more (HN does not allow me to upvote more than once ;) I wonder how far away we are from the point in time when someone "being a millionaire" doesn't really mean much any longer. It used to be that being a millionaire meant you made it and you were set for life. Like you say, that's not really true any longer. Even a regular house eats up a lot of that money and the rest (or even the 1 million) isn't enough to 'just retire' without ever having to worry again.

gusestrella 5y ago

Depend so much where in the world you are . And your age. In the US cities, say around 30 years old - most likely $5 million. Rural areas $2 million

mindcrime 5y ago

It's hard to pin that down exactly, but let me put in these terms... the dollar number I've long had in mind as "I could quit working, live on savings/interest, and do more or less whatever I want with the rest of my life, without living a lavish lifestyle" is $14 million. If I, say, sold a company for enough to where I walked away with that much (after taxes, for the sake of argument) I'd buy a house (not a fancy house either), a car or two, a bass boat, and the rest would go in various mostly long-term investments. I think I'd be pretty settled at that point.

gcheong 5y ago

$10 million and I would feel comfortable knowing I wouldn't need a job again. Less is certainly doable but just doesn't "feel" like I'd be safe mainly because I'm in the US in San Francisco and healthcare (prior to Medicare age) and housing expenses can easily eat up your savings if you're not careful.