I don't neglect to think about it, I do it on a daily basis, lol. The market is far more complex than stating it's a "ton" more than that. Why don't you quote the investment gains in 401's/403's for the years 2008-2009? The losses those years meant that retired people were having to pull money out at a loss, thereby losing equity that can never be replaced even if the market goes back up, because the stocks had to be sold to survive.

You don't need low risk. You need no risk. Any possibility of negative swings = can't do it. This is your money for the rest of your life. Explain how you are going to put your 1M in a 401k when you're 21 and live off the interest? WTF?

50k/yr is not even close to enough. Maybe if you're happy living with roommates your whole life and having basically no luxuries it's doable. All while having 1M+ in the bank, lol. Completely unrealistic. You are either trolling or a complete fool.

Keep in mind 5% growth with no risk is EXTREMELY optimistic, and you are not factoring in inflation.

Not only that, there's also behavior risk. It's easy to say "invest get 5% ez mobnies lol" but what happens when another 2008 occurs and your investment loses half its value or more? Are you going to ride it out or just close your positions while accepting the tax burden and the opportunity cost of not being invested?

I was just quoting the 401K, wasn't saying that's actually where I'd put the money.

Just saw your location and I see where you're going wrong. I wouldn't live in NYC. Let that one sink in then maybe you'd be able to figure out how a single guy can live off more money than a very good portion of the families in America make.

And 1.5 is actually significantly different than 1. I'd probably need the 1.5 to mitigate some risk. But it's totally doable. Without question.

Right. If that happens your life is over and you're basically busto. Which is why you need more money than 1M and a better plan than investing all your money and living off the interest.

LOL Goodie.

Well, I'm going to have to go with your being insane then, because the term "above average" includes my lifestyle quite handily. My choice isn't dependent on how many others living lesser lives, I'm saying the minimum amount for me to be set for life (Hint, it's the not working for however many years that I have left that is the real cost, not my houses.) is just over ten million. I'm glad that you can accept less.

I am more interested in the fact that all it takes is a million bucks for Goodie to abandon his wife and kids.

Dude, you are not making 50k a year. You are making that number up. It is not feasible on 1M with no risk.

I'm not denying you could live in Ohio or something on 50k a year. My buddy lives in Cleveland and makes a little more than that. He does fine. But he also lives in ****ing Cleveland and is miserable. He's not going to set up shop and live there forever.

Not to mention you are theoretically not working during this time period. Your burn rate of money will increase when you are not working. Plus inflation, good luck living on 50k a year (which is a fictitious, unachievable number given 1M) in 2025, blah, blah, blah.

Nicely done.

You guys are seriously underestimating my desire to not work. And it's 1.5 million, not a million. That's the option I voted for and it's definitely the top end of that option.

I'd buy a condo south of Boston for 150K (which these days would buy and pretty nice condo), buy a car, and live off the interest of the rest. I'd have minimal bills and live a very low key lifestyle. With no mortgage and care payment, 50K would be plenty, more than plenty. I could get by on a lot less.

Really don't understand how you guys think that can't be done. You guys wouldn't choose that path and that's fine, but I would.

And I'd live a very above average lifestyle as far as what I've seen.

650k for a house
100k for furnishings
150k 3 cars
50k wardrobe
50k electronics / toys
300k first year living expenses
150k immediate traveling
1 mil college fund for kids (2-4)
300k given to family members
100k to friends, strangers, charity
1 mil for aggressive investments
500k poker bank roll
100k to pay off all debt
500k misc / other spending
150k emerg fund
350k vaca home
600k xtra to round it out to 6 mil up to this point
10 mil for conservative investing to create 400 k annual revenue ROI 4%.
- 300 k of this used for yearly living
- 100 k to grow the 10 mil

16 mil to feel set for life

I'd be quite happy with $50k post-tax annual income. My hobbies are inexpensive or free and I have zero desire to live in an expensive city or dine out frequently or drive anything other than a cheap Japanese grocery getter type of car. I probably couldn't spend $3000 in a month if I tried, even paying $1200/mo for my share of rent at the moment. Somewhere between $3-$5 million would suit me.

Goodie isn't as crazy as he sounds, though I don't quite agree with his thoughts on investment risk.

I get there would be bad years but there would also be great years (my bro's 401K gained like 20% this year). If I was smart and reinvested anything above 50K on the good years, it should be able to offset the bad years.

I'm going off the exact scenario that the OP put forth (single and would remain so). As a single guy, I don't need much at all to make me happy. Good friends, good family, good food, and I'm good.

Don't have kids.
Don't waste money on cars.
Stop buying pointless crap.
???
Profit.

Now Goodie wants 1.5 mill and he's still not giving a red cent to charity.

$100

Would be hard at first, but pounding out some micros and nascar props, and within a year be back to dime + units. Makes life easier when you actually want to continue what you are doing making money for as long as possible.

I always enjoy seeing how people caught up with capitalism and jobs are simultaneously looking to end their misery by retiring, or having enough to "be set."

If I have to think about if the money would be enough it's obv not enough, 10mill+ baby.

there is like 3% inflation. So with 5% your netting 2 %.

I'd give my time to charity. Much more valuable.

Except you aren't making 50k, LOL. And you need health insurance. What happens if you start having car problems? You need to start dipping into savings. Another hurricane hits the east coast and your house gets messed up? GG you're busto.

Basically anything besides you sitting in your house watching TV and eating rationed delivery food all day and you're busto. Even then you might have risk because you're stupid enough to make risky investments when you have a million dollars to live on forever.

Okay you seriously have to be a troll. I cannot believe anyone can possibly be this stupid. You can't have ANY bad years. And you're seriously suggesting what is basically martingale with your remaining funds after a bad year? JFC.

Well, I hope the right answer is 2M, cause that's when I hang it up.

What you think you need now and what you're going to need when you hit 58, like I just did are very different. I'll have 2M in my pension, about 60% stocks 40% bonds, and I'll pull about 4% a year. Assuming I get SS, which may be a big assumption, 100K a year with my house paid should be good. I'll have good and bad years, but if you have 2M and the market goes down 20% (which would be pretty historically bad) you still have 1.6M, and you get 80K the next year. And so on.

But we have no kids or parents we have to support. We like to travel, but we don't stay at Ritz-Carltons when we do. No really bad habits. I don't have any ambition to leave a gazillion dollars when I go.

YMMV

And I suppose I should note that I'm not going to be dumb enough to let my license lapse, so if things really go in the tank I can always go back to work. Doing what I do, working two days a week still brings in a significant amount, so I could weather a downturn if needed.

MM MD

People always say this. More valuable to who? Because if this is true, why not work for the charity? They pay for that, you know.

He might as well volunteer there and observe the lifestyles because he'd be eating in the soup kitchens 25 years down the road in most simulations of his life with his "plan"

apartment with a view in monte carlo, monaco - $9,000,000

a million dollars worth of cocaine - $1,000,000

--------------------------------------------------------

10m


the rest should fall into place quite nicely.