3 million USD. I'd still run my farm but I wouldn't work my job job anymore. Just means I'd upscale the farm a small amount and give away a larger percentage of my products. 3 is genuinely low but I have very little debt as is and a reasonable lifestyle.
this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2026
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Since I’m on the US, it would need to be “whatever I would need to live comfortably” + “another $2-5 million so I don’t bankrupt myself from a large impact medical event”, since we don’t have universal healthcare here.
Sadly that latter number is the largest reason I feel I’m “just okay” rather than comfortable given that I make over $200K. Any other place in the world and I’d be feeling good.
Yeah we're in a similar boat. I think our healthcare system (or lack of one) is very much designed to keep people working longer and also to work for corporations, rather than striking out on their own.
If it weren't for healthcare, I'd consider downsizing and retiring right now. But as is, probably going to have to work for another 20 years.
Half a billion. I would stop working in IT, but I'd be building social housing for the homeless in my neighborhood and across my city. I'd have social workers check up on them and make sure they're okay.
I'd do this until I run out of money or die.
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The question is missing one key variable: how old are you?
Someone my age without that many years left and with the kids out of the house doesn't need nearly as much as a 30-something with a family.
I was just running through this hypothetical with my wife last week. We settled on $5,000,000 USD as a bare minimum.
Roughly a million euros invested would barely keep me afloat. I doubt I'd still stop working though - it's what keeps me relatively sane and forces me outside of the house.
Probably somewhere around $5,000,000. My spending will likely go up as I have more free time.
I would not have it in my bank account. I would invest it and live off the interest. So whatever amount that would be.
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Enough to provide the USA median income of about $85K from investing it conservatively, while keeping up with inflation, plus a little cushion in case of emergencies or adverse economic conditions.
That's about $10M.
You could withdraw 3% forever and should never run out. You really only need 2.8MM to live on that lifestyle.
This assumes that climate change, fascist kleptocracy, and a finite resource crunch doesn't result in accelerated inflation for the rest of the century.
It also assumes that a diversified portfolio will achieve similar returns to the last 50 years.
I expect inflation to average 5+ % for the rest of the century.
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No idea. The problem with having money is that your consumption will go up along with it.
I know people making 500K a year with 8 figures in the bank, who feel they don't have enough money, because their consumption just gets more and more as their wealth increases.
There are ways to mitigate the urge to over spend, like an annuity
2 million euros would be enough for me to live comfortably for 50 years.
I'm shocked at the huge sums people are posting. I agree 2 million is loads. 600k for a house then the rest is 2k per month of disposable income for 60 years.
600k for a house could also mean 15k in yearly taxes or more depending on where you live.
right, here in Australia, where I am annual property taxes are AUD$1800.
2 million is my number as well. Once my house is paid off and my investments hit 2 mill, it's gonna be real hard to keep working.
$3 million. Averaging 10% returns is plenty of money without touching the principle.
Then there's sliding "hmm this is risky" down to maybe $2million. Far below that I don't know if it could tank a market dip or sudden expense.
My work is basically what I’d do with my free time anyway. If I had a mill in the bank, I’d just have better cameras and more woodworking tools than now, and worry slightly less about selling the products thereof, but I’m pretty frugal as it is so I don’t work much and have a pretty easy life already
2 million are enough for me.
But if you give me 5 million, I start working again by taking 2 out of the 5 and build a small business from it, just for fun.
im just going to assume you mean totaly amount of money most of which would be invested. so currently it talke close to 100k to support myself and my wife each year with healthcare being a big expense. I will use it as a nice round number. If you already owned a home and such then I think 2 million.
3 mil (Single, 63, no kids)
-$40,000.
Any lower and I'm throwing in the towel on this honest work and going into a life of crime. I mean, it's still kind of a job, but you set your own hours, unlimited time off, and there's hookers and blow.
£5.25 million.
£250k to pay off my mortgage and then £100k a year for the next 50 years would see me through until death-ish. Although tbh I wouldn't need anything like that. I'm on 52k which is about £41k after tax.
I save a third of that already.
So you save about $14k a year? Don't save that, invest it. After you have an emergency fund built up (most recommendations say 3 months worth of expenses), then contribute 15% of your paycheck to youryour 401k including your employer match if you get one.
If you have more left over after doing that, then open and contribute to a Roth IRA for tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Federal annual max this year is 7,500. Many people don't understand how powerful the tax-free compounding is... This is one of my primary financial regrets of my twenties, is not understanding Roth value. I am 39 now and working hard to make up.
If you have more left over after doing that, then open and contribute to an HSA for pre-tax contributions, tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals. It's the only triple tax advantaged account type. Use Fidelity vanguard or Schwab. Select growth ETFs as your investments, and let the money sit there instead of using it for healthcare expenses. (But of course use it if you actually have medical emergencies, that's what it's for)
If you have more left over after doing that, then open a taxable brokerage account, also through Fidelity vanguard or Schwab. Plenty of others too though like IB, SoFi, etc. Contribute however much to this you're comfortable with after doing your emergency fund, 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA. Personal recommendation is to pick large broad growth ETFs (SPY, VOO, VTI, VXUS, QQQ, maybe a growth industry like SMH)
Man I WISH I understood all this when I was in my early twenties. I would be in a very different financial picture now in my late 30s. I'm doing well for myself, but also the opportunity cost is MASSIVE. But I tell myself "the second best time is now!"
Sorry if that was too much! Love thinking and talking about this kind of thing.
Edit: I see now you're in the UK (£ not $). I think all the same principles apply but maybe there are differences in how 401ks are structured, or Roth IRAs don't exist in the UK, etc. But overall the main point applies to any currency or country, which is take advantage of as much tax deferred and tax-free growth and compounding as you can!
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After purchasing a house and car, why would you need 100k a year? That's so much.
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CHF 10 million.
Use 1% a year, invest the capital and returns above 1% in a medium risk portfolio, so that the capital (and my annual 1%) grows with inflation.
well, you'd die very wealthy so there is that
Rather that than running out of money when I'm old. This approach works regardless of how long I live.
If I had £500k I’d buy a 10-20 acre small holding and make a decent living. Design it so it’s easy to manage, no expensive machinery and rough calculations should net me £50k a year from a handful of products.
Setup a shop so people can order to pickup and you’re only picking what people order so costs are kept low.
But if I had that kinda money, I could live off £5k a year because I’d pretty much have no electric costs and I don’t like going out so if i didn’t have debt, I’d live a comfy life on very little.