What does "enough" mean to you?

[HadEnuff]

a friend of mine once told me that he married his wife so he could have sex whenever she wanted.

 

[kcowan]

However, there is nothing foolish about skiing. I had to call you on that one.

Yes it is the ultimate investment in the child's future well-being.

 

[kcowan]

I thought the same thing. Skiing is a wonderful family activity. Young kids love it and get quite good very fast. Tough for the parents to keep up sometimes.

My youngest son refused to snowplow, It was pretty frustrating but then he started parallel skiing successfully before his 5th birthday.

In one of his stunts, he jumped so high that he knocked his cowboy hat off by hitting a tree limb. One of the few mishaps. Never anything broken, thankfully.

 

[StuckinCT]

I recently eclipsed $10mm in net worth, some of it for the kids education, while simultaneously hitting 99.1% on the firecalc without social security or downsizing in 12 years. I am 46 and for the first time, it felt real.

 

[exnavynuke]

Enough is when our assets produce more than enough passive income to replace W2 income. This should allow for continued annual increases in passive income and assets over time.

Pretty much this, but I'd mention that "enough" only matters if you want to "get out" in the first place. If I loved my job I'd likely do it whether I had "enough" or "ten times enough". I don't, so I'll probably settle for "close enough to enough" at some point... it sounds like you're still a long way from reaching that point though.

 

[HI Bill]

I had a number...it was $1M, then $1.25m, then $1.5M....right now, it's $2.0-2.5M. When considering income levels at various net asset values, I determined that for each additional year I work, I can afford to make 10+ more dive vacations...so it's a tough choice! It's a lot easier to live on $100K than $75K, depending on your budget, location, toys, and travel!...

 

[HI Bill]

I've only got about 15x my living expenses. Never thought of it that way, really, because of course S.S. will change the equation when the time comes -- it's probably more like 27x once S.S. kicks in, if you see what I mean.

I'm at 32x current living expenses (which are very low without travel), but only 18x projected retirement budget with travel included, not including SS. Not retired, quite yet!

 

[gwraigty]

Pretty much this, but I'd mention that "enough" only matters if you want to "get out" in the first place. If I loved my job I'd likely do it whether I had "enough" or "ten times enough". I don't, so I'll probably settle for "close enough to enough" at some point... it sounds like you're still a long way from reaching that point though.

I've been out since getting married in 1992. My husband doesn't have a specific time he's shooting for. He's only said he can't see working past 65. I handle the finances and investing. I can say that our passive investment income is on track to equal my husband's take home pay within a few years. It's close enough that if something happened to his job tomorrow, we wouldn't have to worry.

 

[ER Eddie]

In terms of numbers, it was when I had enough in my pension, IRA, and SS to pay my living expenses, without even touching the money in my mutual funds. It was essentially twice what I really needed.

And I'm still working part-time. Not because I need to, but because I want to.

 

[Freedom56]

Greetings,

I'm 37 years old, married, no children (but we will likely have one child within a year or two). I have real estate investments that produce approximately $85,000 of taxable income per year after business deductions. I live in the Great Lakes region, so aside from high taxes it's a low cost of living relative to most metropolitan areas. Intellectually I know that I could survive for the rest of my life on this amount of cash flow. I find myself pursuing the purchase of more and more rental property with the sole intent of increasing my eventual "retirement income." I live a lot like a retired person right now, but I'm always thinking that more is better and thus continue to buy.

For those who have already retired, what was your "enough" number? How did you settle on that, and how did you reign in the inevitable temptation to increase your passive income--even if you didn't really need it to live comfortably? I don't care about fancy cars or other status symbols, but I do have an unnatural obsession with passive income (e.g. the more the better).

What is "enough" for you? Any advice on how to slow down?

My rule of thumb was when my taxable income stream covered our fixed expenses by a factor of two. The coverage is now a factor of 5 times. We also have zero debt. By fixed expenses, I mean property tax, utilities, cable, maintenance costs, insurance, internet and cable TV but excludes food, travel and entertainment. I had rental properties into my early 40's. But I cashed out because my wife and I were tired of managing them. There were always maintenance and tenant issues. However, I have a close friend that I have known since grade 1 in primary school, that retired in his mid 40's. He has 41 rental units spread over 11 properties. He is in his late 50's now and still seems to enjoy the drama of renting properties (tenants behind on rent, move-in/out, plumbing, heating, and other maintenance issues). My father-in-law is 82 and lives on rental income from 12 properties. He seems to enjoy it. I would personally get your taxable income above $100K per year before retiring to give yourself some extra cushion.

 

[flintnational]

Article about "Enough"

Found this article this morning. Nothing new but it is a pretty good overview of things to consider.

"How to know whether you have ‘enough’ to retire early"

"If you already have your “enough” number in mind, then consider this a method of pressure testing your thinking to ensure you have adequate wiggle room built in. And if you’re just starting your planning, this will help you think about the key factors that determine how much you’ll want to save before you pull the plug."