5 ms·

$1M would change your life less than you think. It would help provide some cushion but I don’t think there are many actual lifestyle changes that alone would en

$1M would change your life less than you think. It would help provide some cushion but I don’t think there are many actual lifestyle changes that alone would enable. Invest that, at safe withdrawal of 4%, that’s only 40k/year. I live in SF, and making less than $105k/year is considered low income (according to California’s Department of Housing and Community Development). So yeah it’s a nice boost to savings, but you can’t stop working.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
ionwake 3y ago
I dont mean any disrespect, I apprecaite your input, but I thought someone making 6 figures was going to start saying how its not a big deal. Yeah bro, Im not in SF Im in europe, a million would stop someone slaving until death to pay for a house for their children. The average salary here is like 25k For most people, yes even in 1st world countries, outside of FAANG its not about deciding whether or not one would have to continue wageslaving to mantain an SF lifestyle, property and trips to Cancun,
- poulsbohemian 3y ago
  > The average salary here is like 25k It is in the U.S. too, we just struggle to acknowledge it because then we would also have to start asking hard questions about how Europeans have that average salary but also universal health care, public transportation, and a social safety net.
  - acchow 3y ago
    I agree the US needs much better social services, but median US income is $40k (and median US household income is $70.5k).
lolinder 3y ago
Most of the world is not SF, and in most of the world $40k/year is life changing amounts of money. Your parent commenter replied with their own situation, but it's true in most of the US, too. In the US as a whole, 27% of the population already lives on less than $40k a year—they probably wouldn't stop working but they could! The median income for a black person in the US is $48k/yr [0]. Where I live, $40k a year would be enough to take someone from median income to 80th percentile in a single event. If you don't think $40k/year is very much money, maybe take a pause to consider how lucky you are. [0] https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-276.pdf https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio...
acchow 3y ago
The financial stability of a passive $40k means you don’t need to worry about getting laid off. You can live a better life, follow your curiosity with low stress, and possibly discover a different thing you’d want to quit your job for.
mablopoule 3y ago
Downvoted because holy cow you're out of touch with reality if you think that a $1M windfall, or even a 'meager' 40k/year wouldn't result in lifestyle change for a lot of people. I really don't want to be mean, really, but for most people that wouldn't be just a 'boost' for saving, that would lift tremendous financial stress about the future. At one point in my life I had a financial windfall that was many, many time less than a million, and yet it resulted in me not living month-to-month, and be able to for example buy a new computer if needed, within worring about rent and eating pasta for months.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

ionwake 3y ago

I dont mean any disrespect, I apprecaite your input, but I thought someone making 6 figures was going to start saying how its not a big deal. Yeah bro, Im not in SF Im in europe, a million would stop someone slaving until death to pay for a house for their children. The average salary here is like 25k For most people, yes even in 1st world countries, outside of FAANG its not about deciding whether or not one would have to continue wageslaving to mantain an SF lifestyle, property and trips to Cancun,

poulsbohemian 3y ago
> The average salary here is like 25k It is in the U.S. too, we just struggle to acknowledge it because then we would also have to start asking hard questions about how Europeans have that average salary but also universal health care, public transportation, and a social safety net.
- acchow 3y ago
  I agree the US needs much better social services, but median US income is $40k (and median US household income is $70.5k).

lolinder 3y ago

Most of the world is not SF, and in most of the world $40k/year is life changing amounts of money. Your parent commenter replied with their own situation, but it's true in most of the US, too. In the US as a whole, 27% of the population already lives on less than $40k a year—they probably wouldn't stop working but they could! The median income for a black person in the US is $48k/yr [0]. Where I live, $40k a year would be enough to take someone from median income to 80th percentile in a single event. If you don't think $40k/year is very much money, maybe take a pause to consider how lucky you are. [0] https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-276.pdf https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio...

acchow 3y ago

The financial stability of a passive $40k means you don’t need to worry about getting laid off. You can live a better life, follow your curiosity with low stress, and possibly discover a different thing you’d want to quit your job for.

mablopoule 3y ago

Downvoted because holy cow you're out of touch with reality if you think that a $1M windfall, or even a 'meager' 40k/year wouldn't result in lifestyle change for a lot of people. I really don't want to be mean, really, but for most people that wouldn't be just a 'boost' for saving, that would lift tremendous financial stress about the future. At one point in my life I had a financial windfall that was many, many time less than a million, and yet it resulted in me not living month-to-month, and be able to for example buy a new computer if needed, within worring about rent and eating pasta for months.