$4k/mo post-tax ~ $6k/mo pre-tax == $72k/yr. There are a lot of programming jobs in the US that don't pay that. And those jobs are going to want you to work, s

$4k/mo post-tax ~ $6k/mo pre-tax == $72k/yr. There are a lot of programming jobs in the US that don't pay that. And those jobs are going to want you to work, so a better comparison is to a pile of money that throws off $4k/mo post-tax. If that pile of money is invested in blue chip dividend-paying stocks with an expected return of 5%, you'll need around $1m to generate $4k/mo in passive income. (Obviously tweak your expected return and the corresponding principal required to fit your assumptions of market performance.) $1m may not be FU money to you, but others will disagree.