Anyone semi-retire or retire with just under $1mil for you and your spouse?

[moneymama]

This is a strange question, but....
Has anyone here retire or semi-retire on just about 1 mil for you and your spouse? Early retirement, and I guess for a single person wealth at about $500k saved?

I ask this because if we pay off our home, be debt free.....live under a strict budget -- is it possible?

When I say partial retire....I really mean having a job we actually enjoy (less stress), and no more rat race.

Our dream retirement would be, small house in Florida, non-stress jobs, etc.

My job -- I know for sure is being an adjunct professor....

Can anyone relate?
Thanks!!


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[REWahoo]

This might be helpful: http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-answer-before-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html

 

[jetpack]

I quit my day job with $300 saved, and an Internet business I was running. I since took off, so no need to go back to work ever.


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[Moemg]

I would check the salaries in Florida for the jobs you are considering you may be shocked . I know I was when I moved to Florida and took a huge pay cut .Also house prices are on the rise in Florida so even a small house may make a big dent in your stash. I just went back and read your early posts . the cost of living in Florida is not that much lower than the Northeast . You save a little in taxes but you make it up in insurance costs especially if you live near the water .You also have to deal with termites and bugs and preventing them from destroying your house . Sorry to be a downer but Florida is not a mecca if you need a decent paying job.

 

[Palmtree]

MoneyMama,

The quick answer is yes. People do it all the time. But.....
The correct answer starts with how much do you spend or need, not how much you have saved. Read the link above and you will start to get a better understanding.

 

[crispus]

Well we retired in Florida with slightly less then a million 4 1/2 years ago at age 56. We have lived only on our 72t withdraws from our IRA accounts. We have no debt and live in a small home 1990 sq ft. I won't kid you it's been tough. We budget for everything. It is doable though. For us things will get much easier in a year when we are eligible for early SS.
In Florida the lifestyle is much less expensive than Boston. Things in central Florida are much more relaxed and less stressful. If you need to find employment you will find wages are much lower here than in the northeast. How old are you? I ask this because I think that if we were not so close to SS age we would have tried to work longer.

 

[2017ish]

Not me--we want to spend too much. But it clearly can be (and is) done frequently; it all depends upon what you will spend. I think the best writeup I've seen on this recently is in a great thread started by imoldernu, reflecting on his and his wife's 23 years in frugal retirement: http://www.early-retirement.org/for...s-of-frugal-retirement-62251.html#post1214044

 

[RunningBum]

500K for a single person is not the same as 1M for a couple. Two can't live as cheaply as one, but they can come pretty close.

Certainly people retire on $1M or less. What's important is whether or not you can. Start with REW's link.

 

[FUEGO]

We had about $1.3 million in investments when I quit working. I figured that was enough. DW continues to work, and those paychecks plus the market pushed us over $1.4 million.

We have 3 youngish kids, so wanted a bit more than a million to make sure we had "enough" and to plan for a few small bumps in the road. And some for college.

$1 million plus a paid off house gets you pretty far, especially if you're in line for Social Security that's meaningful. That's not a hugely popular opinion here, but it provides a lifestyle that's roughly in line with what the median household can afford when you back out things like taxes, mortgage payments (or rent), and costs of working. In other words, you have to watch what you spend, but you don't have to live a life of strict deprivation.

Our budget is $32,400/yr (in Raleigh NC), but I figure we can spend $40k/yr at a 3% withdrawal rate. We don't strictly budget and might blow the $32k spending target since we're doing 2 months of overseas travel this summer.

 

[Bamaman]

I would check the salaries in Florida for the jobs you are considering you may be shocked . I know I was when I moved to Florida and took a huge pay cut .Also house prices are on the rise in Florida so even a small house may make a big dent in your stash. I just went back and read your early posts . the cost of living in Florida is not that much lower than the Northeast . You save a little in taxes but you make it up in insurance costs especially if you live near the water .You also have to deal with termites and bugs and preventing them from destroying your house . Sorry to be a downer but Florida is not a mecca if you need a decent paying job.

Have you ever wondered where Floridians go on vacation, and where they yearn to live in retirement? The North Georgia-Western North Carolina-East Tennessee mountains is the answer. Housing is inexpensive for the most part, and the native people are incredibly nice.

 

[itsme2]

I think it is doable

This is a strange question, but....
Has anyone here retire or semi-retire on just about 1 mil for you and your spouse? Early retirement, and I guess for a single person wealth at about $500k saved?

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A big factor is at what age. Assume you two will have SS. If you plan to retire right before you can have SS, having $999k should be sufficient. However, if you plan to retire at 40 and will need to wait 27 years to take SS, you will need to spend a lot less.

Based on my model, if you need $50k per year and you and your spouse’s combined SS will be $30k per year at 67, you can retire at again 50 with $967k.

If you would like to retire at 40, you can only spend $43k with $972k.

 

[Terryjm51]

Yes no doubt, I have over 1 53 and insurance is holding me to 55 or 56 then leaving mega corp working till 60 in business with #2 son maybe longer let it grow
Talking with vanguard on a plan


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[brewer12345]

A big factor is at what age. Assume you two will have SS. If you plan to retire right before you can have SS, having $999k should be sufficient. However, if you plan to retire at 40 and will need to wait 27 years to take SS, you will need to spend a lot less.

Based on my model, if you need $50k per year and you and your spouse’s combined SS will be $30k per year at 67, you can retire at again 50 with $967k.

If you would like to retire at 40, you can only spend $43k with $972k.

But OP should be aware your model is wildly optimistic.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

This is a strange question, but....
Has anyone here retire or semi-retire on just about 1 mil for you and your spouse? Early retirement, and I guess for a single person wealth at about $500k saved?

I ask this because if we pay off our home, be debt free.....live under a strict budget -- is it possible?

When I say partial retire....I really mean having a job we actually enjoy (less stress), and no more rat race.

Our dream retirement would be, small house in Florida, non-stress jobs, etc.

My job -- I know for sure is being an adjunct professor....

Can anyone relate?
Thanks!!

Many families live on one income even without $1M in savings, so two people working part-time can support a household in many areas. Or one partner out of two with $100K full time contract type income could theoretically work 50% of the year and make ~$50K, the median household income in the U.S., leaving 1.50 of full time work hours between two adults available to work on low cost living / self sufficiency - credit card hacks, growing vegetables, insulating the house to save on energy, putting in a permaculture yard instead of a time and money intensive lawn, etc.

I suggest to our kids the idea of living a low overhead lifestyle, engaging in high demand contract work, having lots of free time their entire adult lives (not just when they ER) and not becoming typical overworked Americans. The ACA is now making this kind of option a reality for many households, since workers no longer have to work full-time W2 jobs just to obtain health insurance.

 

[Fermion]

We retired this year with about $1.4mil (estimated after sale of house). We were already living fairly cheaply on a $260k salary (paying $80k in taxes, saving $130k and spending about $50k per year) so the transition to living in a van down by the river will not be so hard.

We are in our mid 40s and could have worked another 4 or 5 years and been over $2mil but life gets more valuable the older you get. We are still young enough to have some adventures that don't involve cruise ships, bingo and shuffleboard.

$1mil would be tougher, but with luck it might be possible on a ~35k to 40k budget if you are in your 40s and expect some SS.

 

[Mulligan]

We retired this year with about $1.4mil (estimated after sale of house). We were already living fairly cheaply on a $260k salary (paying $80k in taxes, saving $130k and spending about $50k per year) so the transition to living in a van down by the river will not be so hard.

We are in our mid 40s and could have worked another 4 or 5 years and been over $2mil but life gets more valuable the older you get. We are still young enough to have some adventures that don't involve cruise ships, bingo and shuffleboard.

$1mil would be tougher, but with luck it might be possible on a ~35k to 40k budget if you are in your 40s and expect some SS.

That is incredibly disciplined Fermion, IMHO. The temptation to spend more than 50k off a $260k income would have to be incredibly strong for a typical person I would assume. Just conjecture on my part as I never had/will make that kind of income, but I sure as heck have spent more than 50k on considerably less income.


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[bclover]

I just had dinner with a number of women who are doing it.

I'm 55, during college I lived in a "quad" with 6 other women who have now become my life long friends. out of the 7 of us, myself and one other are the only 2 who are still working full time rat, race "careers".

Now three of them have government pensions but basically they all are retired.
No they don't have 1 million bucks, 2 still have mortgages. they are not living la vida loca but they go on vacations, they eat out occasionally and they entertain.

 

[jim584672]

If you have a decent pension and SS history you really only need enough to get to the magic age where these kick in.

 

[Mulligan]

If you have a decent pension and SS history you really only need enough to get to the magic age where these kick in.

So true. I know several people with negative net worth doing great in retirement.


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[purplesky]

This is a strange question, but....
Has anyone here retire or semi-retire on just about 1 mil for you and your spouse? Early retirement, and I guess for a single person wealth at about $500k saved?

I ask this because if we pay off our home, be debt free.....live under a strict budget -- is it possible?

When I say partial retire....I really mean having a job we actually enjoy (less stress), and no more rat race.

Our dream retirement would be, small house in Florida, non-stress jobs, etc.

My job -- I know for sure is being an adjunct professor....

Can anyone relate?
Thanks!!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Moving to Florida debt free (with a million invested in a diversified portfolio) to make a dream job career change sounds like a good plan.

You won't be actually retired but you will be happy.

 

[purplesky]

We had about $1.3 million in investments when I quit working. I figured that was enough. DW continues to work, and those paychecks plus the market pushed us over $1.4 million.

We have 3 youngish kids, so wanted a bit more than a million to make sure we had "enough" and to plan for a few small bumps in the road. And some for college.

$1 million plus a paid off house gets you pretty far, especially if you're in line for Social Security that's meaningful. That's not a hugely popular opinion here, but it provides a lifestyle that's roughly in line with what the median household can afford when you back out things like taxes, mortgage payments (or rent), and costs of working. In other words, you have to watch what you spend, but you don't have to live a life of strict deprivation.

Our budget is $32,400/yr (in Raleigh NC), but I figure we can spend $40k/yr at a 3% withdrawal rate. We don't strictly budget and might blow the $32k spending target since we're doing 2 months of overseas travel this summer.

Your wife works and you are a stay at home dad with 3 small kids.

So how do you consider yourself retired? Raising 3 kids is a full time job.

 

[FUEGO]

Your wife works and you are a stay at home dad with 3 small kids.

So how do you consider yourself retired? Raising 3 kids is a full time job.

Ha ha! She's not working again till August and maybe not for long after that.

The oldest 2 are in school most of the day. The youngest isn't really that hard to take care of. But, uh, yeah, uh, raising 3 kids is a full time job.

And I was raising 3 kids while working - retiring had nothing to do with the fact that I'm raising 3 kids. Even when DW officially gives notice, we'll still both be full time parents raising 3 kids. Will neither of us be retired at that point? Gosh this non-retirement gets harder daily!

 

[Totoro]

I ask this because if we pay off our home, be debt free.....live under a strict budget -- is it possible?

When I say partial retire....I really mean having a job we actually enjoy (less stress), and no more rat race.

I can relate. NW roughly 700k usd (in Europe though - healthcare!), semi-retired since end of last year. Single, no kids.

Semi as in I haven't had a single dollar/euro coming in since november last year, and not really actively looking for work.

It may turn out to be a sabbatical though, I find my energy levels keep going up and feel like picking up some things to do professionally. Thinking about starting my own company (again) or doing some free lance work on the side, through clients I served before or professional network.

Is it possible for you? I think so, especially if you plan to still work for some income at much better terms like you say.

Money wise living in an expensive city with a high travel&entertainment budget might be tough. It all depends on what you mean with "a strict budget"

Financially speaking I feel I only have to work to finance said (semi-expensive) city living, travel and whatever silly thing (building a tesla coil?) I'd like to do that costs money. All of that is nice, yet I can do without it.

Kind of a neat feeling, all work is essentially optional. It agrees with me .. also fits in the "be flexible" attitude you'll need anyway if you "retire" really young (<55y?). No-one knows what the future will bring.

Temptation to work again high-intense for higher cash is also there (work x years, then REALLY be free), depending on the day of the week When I see my brother racing from A to B 50+ hours a week, not so much.

Postponing fun in life is all good, we've all done that to some degree, yet one won't live forever. Where is your balance?

In short: Yes, you can. Do the math, if it fits, go for it. YOLO and all that

 

[imoldernu]

The decision to retire @53 was based on the thinking that, on paper, the numbers were close. Give it a try, and if it didn't seem to be working out, we could adjust with part time or fun w*rk... just enough to satisfy our needs, until SS kicked in.

Our situation might have been a little different, as health issues made it risky to continue with taking on risk to grow my own business, and leaving DW with an impossible debt, should my cancer return.

While we don't do cruises, world travel, or lived in a monied society... and we drive older cars and shop at Aldi's, we have been incredibly happy and never stressed about money.

Key to what we consider to be our success, is being on the same track... working together with plenty of give and take, and enjoying what we do, together. 57 years together, four sons, and now, no wages in the past 25 years, life has been very good.

We're not alone in this. In our Florida MFG Home community, there are many who have done the same thing. While the mantra is to "Live below your means", our choice was to find a lifestyle where the community builds a social structure that accounts for the income and spending level of those who live there. And so:

Potlucks and picnics instead of expensive restaurants.
Hoseshoes and billiards instead of golf. Activities membership $6/yr.
Pontoon boat flotillas, instead of Cruise ships.
Skits and talent shows instead of Theatre
Day trip caravans to Daytona Beach instead of Hotel vacations
Shorts and sandals instead of suits and dresses.
Community of mutual help and assistance instead of paid services.

It's not that we wouldn't have liked to travel, and lived a more opulent lifestyle... and yes, we'll never take that trip to Europe or Japan... never get to sit at the Captain's table on a cruise... or even spend a week at Sandals....
At the same time, seeing others living their own dreams gives some vicarious fascination and enjoyment.

It was a different time, but with far, far less than a million dollars, a wonderful retirement and never during this time, did we ever feel "poor". Today, in our retirement community... regular house in a CCRC, the subject of money never even comes up. While there are residents who have less than us, there a many who are very wealthy... impossible to tell the difference.

 

[aja8888]

Even when DW officially gives notice, we'll still both be full time parents raising 3 kids. Will neither of us be retired at that point? Gosh this non-retirement gets harder daily!

It's called retirement with lots of current responsibilities and commitments!