Fun fact: one million dollars is not enough to retire in many parts of the United States.
The classic retirement rule of thumb is the 4% rule: you should be able to spend 4% of your retirement savings per year. The idea is that safe investments can mostly make up for what you spend, and whatever they don’t make up shouldn’t be a problem in your lifetime. If you plan to retire early, maybe shoot for something a bit more conservative, like 3%.
So by the 4% rule, $1MM in retirement savings is like living on $40k per year. Which is moderately comfortable in some parts of the US and poverty in others.
My life plan:
Fun fact: one million dollars is not enough to retire in many parts of the United States.
The classic retirement rule of thumb is the 4% rule: you should be able to spend 4% of your retirement savings per year. The idea is that safe investments can mostly make up for what you spend, and whatever they don’t make up shouldn’t be a problem in your lifetime. If you plan to retire early, maybe shoot for something a bit more conservative, like 3%.
So by the 4% rule, $1MM in retirement savings is like living on $40k per year. Which is moderately comfortable in some parts of the US and poverty in others.
Better shoot for $2MM.