Suze Orman - You need 20M to retire early

I used to joke that she was bought and paid for by the Social Security Administration, because she kept harping on that work until you're 70 jive.

She's definitely fallen victim to hedonistic creep, or whatever they call it. If Google is to be believed, her NW is around $75M, so naturally to her, another $2M either way is chump change. It's one really good (or bad) day on the stock market.

But to the majority of the population, it's still an awful lot of money. I think she does make a good point that it's not as much as many people probably think it is, though. For instance, for a family consisting of two parents and two young kids, if the parents decide to retire in their 30s, in a high-cost area, that money probably isn't going to last as long as they think it will.

She needs to work on her hyperbole, and phrase things differently. But, scare-mongering works so much better, if you want to manipulate your audience.
 
Wow, so many thoughts...

1) They wrote an article in Feb 2024 solely surrounding a podcast from 2018? Wow, they must be pretty desperate.
2) Speaking of desperate, this article makes Suze sound desperate for attention & validation in a world that no longer values her advice. (which might be 100% accurate)
3) Sounds a whole lot like fear-mongering. We should definitely expect 25% unemployment by 2030, and therefore nobody should ever retire.
4) Also sounds alot like ol' Suze is telling everyone that the only way to be happy is to be fabulously wealthy & have the assets to spend anything you want, just like her.
5) Seriously, what editor read this article & said "Yes, definitely, publish this right now." The writer has an entire article lambasting the idea of FIRE, then in the closing 3 paragraphs basically says "Buy yeah, this FIRE thing is totally do-able, you can do it!"
6) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .... <breath> ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
7) ......awwww, nuts........ I just fell for the oldest clickbait trick in the book..... Lead off with something totally ludicrous to draw people in, throw senseless blathering onto a page, and watch the clicks/ad revenue pour in..... I'm suddenly ashamed of myself.
 
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Oh no, I'm heading back to work now, thanks Suzi for warning me!
 
I clicked so that I can get more AI-driven articles about her.

What was I thinking?
 
I'm not gonna click and add to her NW. Can someone summarize please.
 
LateToFIRE said:
I'm not gonna click and add to her NW. Can someone summarize please.
Click to expand...
Summary:
In 2018, Suze Orman said positively frightful things about retiring early, so now in 2024 we're going to read about it. If you have $20M or $100M, then fine, you can retire early and live a properly lavish lifestyle. But measly pocket change like $2M? You're definitely gonna run out of money & starve, there's no possible way to handle all of the unknowns in life with such a pittance. The only reasonable choice is to work forever. Also panic -- definitely panic ... because unemployment will be 25% by 2030. Just remember, with smart planning and good choices, even you can retire early & live your dreams while you're still in your prime.

:popcorn:
 
Adding to the choir. Suze is full of herself. This article is complete trash; it's beyond-superficial. And, FWIW, in the article she doesn't say you need 20M, just that if you had 20M you could FIRE.
 
I guess it all depends on your life style needs and wants.
 
I decided a while back that Suze Orman was the reason the MAGI for IRMAA was created. She happily lived on tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds. Now quite not so tax exempt. But still close.

LateToFIRE said:
I'm not gonna click and add to her NW. Can someone summarize please.
Click to expand...

Kork13 said:
Summary:
In 2018, Suze Orman said positively frightful things about retiring early, so now in 2024 we're going to read about it. If you have $20M or $100M, then fine, you can retire early and live a properly lavish lifestyle. But measly pocket change like $2M? You're definitely gonna run out of money & starve, there's no possible way to handle all of the unknowns in life with such a pittance. The only reasonable choice is to work forever. Also panic -- definitely panic ... because unemployment will be 25% by 2030. Just remember, with smart planning and good choices, even you can retire early & live your dreams while you're still in your prime.

:popcorn:
Click to expand...
Thanks. I also didn’t want to feed the clickbait. I wouldn’t have read it regardless.
 
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Well then, as per the OP, we are definitely starving then and living under a sheet of tarpaulin drinking slop.
 
Seventeen years of retirement in the books. Doubt I could find a job at this point except maybe a Walmart greeter. I'm going to roll the dice and stay retired.
 
Well, apparently inflation raised her number from "$5 million or $6 million, maybe $10 million" to $20 million in under a year. She's laughable now more than ever. She must be upset that Dave is getting more headlines than she is with clickbait titles.

I know we discussed this here, as did most other FIRE boards when she said it last year.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/t-lost-compounding-suze-orman-120000501.html

During an episode of the podcast Afford Anything, Orman was asked what she thought of the FIRE movement. That's FIRE as in "financial independence, retire early."

Her blunt response — “I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it." — set off a firestorm among the FIRE faithful at the time.

But she explained that it would take a lot of money to make retirement work at, say, age 35.

"You need at least $5 million, or $6 million," she said. "Really, you might need $10 million." In her opinion, anything less wouldn't offer you enough protection from a potential financial catastrophe, like an expensive illness.

"You will get burned if you play with FIRE," Orman told her interviewer.
Click to expand...
 
Now, now. If you work long and hard, and budget very carefully, you could probably squeak by on 10 million.

At least that it what my former boss used to tell me. :LOL:
 
It's a silly article based on something she said 6 years ago.
I agree, 20m is crazy. But if I were talking to a 25 year old new in the workplace talking about ER - today - I would not tell them to aim for 2M, but much higher, since they are planning to FIRE in 30 years.

Even today, 2M is only a good target if you also have a paid off house. 2M with a mortgage of $700k is not remotely the same.
 
Yahoo would do much better if it interviewed the Administrators of this site. They could provide a wealth of knowledge on what it takes to FIRE. They are living it and have for quite some time under changing economic conditions. Now that would be a valuable article for its readers.:dance:
 
Aerides said:
It's a silly article based on something she said 6 years ago.
I agree, 20m is crazy. But if I were talking to a 25 year old new in the workplace talking about ER - today - I would not tell them to aim for 2M, but much higher, since they are planning to FIRE in 30 years.

Even today, 2M is only a good target if you also have a paid off house. 2M with a mortgage of $700k is not remotely the same.
Click to expand...
Makes sense to me, assuming you are also 60+. Of course it depends on a lot of other things too... Is that money in IRA's/401k's or is it tax paid, do you have other income streams, like a retirement annuity and/or SS, do you live in a 300 to 500k paid off house or in a tent, how are you invested and the big one, what are your future lifestyle plans.
 
I think I better go stock up on Ramen noodles while they are on sale today. That savings should offset some of the $20 MM I don't have.;)
 
Aerides said:
It's a silly article based on something she said 6 years ago.
I agree, 20m is crazy. But if I were talking to a 25 year old new in the workplace talking about ER - today - I would not tell them to aim for 2M, but much higher, since they are planning to FIRE in 30 years.

Even today, 2M is only a good target if you also have a paid off house. 2M with a mortgage of $700k is not remotely the same.
Click to expand...

Exactly, Retire Early is not defined. What position are you in? No debt, health insurance, children still in school, HCOL area...etc. There are so many factors, when will you get SS and Medicare? What are your expenses? Are you 30, 40, 50 years old? How many years? There is the hour-long YouTube video but who wants to listen to that rant?
 
$20M:confused: I guess I’d better tell the boys we’ll have to move in with them.
 
$20M if you decide to buy and maintain a yacht or a private jet.

Much cheaper to charter of course. Then you can get by with a few less millions.
 
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