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/foru...ire-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/foru...ml#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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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? Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsme2 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!!

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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


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[purplesky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!! 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.