"How to Retire Happily for Under a Million Dollars... - Page 5

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@Puzzle Piece wrote:
@Leelee1123 wrote:
wow and here I was thinking a milllion was not enough! Im from NY though!
Same here I live in Los Angeles. A million isn't enough.

I agree. I live in Indiana, and a million is nowhere near enough to retire on.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

granny me · ‎09-05-2014

My daughter says she sees retired older people in her job that have a considerable amount of money, a home paid for, investments and it mean nothing if they get to the point where they need 24/7 care. She says they will often have to spend that money down to be placed in a care facility, because what seems like a lot when your healthy isn't much when you are sick.

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

I planned for tomorrow, but don' t worry about it. I worked in a classroom for many years. Who would want to continue working forever. A district would never let a teacher make major $.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@Nuttmeg wrote:
I planned for tomorrow, but don' t worry about it. I worked in a classroom for many years. Who would want to continue working forever. A district would never let a teacher make major $.

I don't know what you consider major money but the teachers in my local school district do pretty well. They are making well into six figures. A friend of mine who recently retired was a teacher in our district and was making 108K a year plus her husband who was also a teacher was making the same income...over 200k for the two of them...not bad at all!

In addition their pensions are generous as well.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

Too late. I already retired happily for under a million dollars before the article came out. Lot's of people do it.... no big deal.

My life is still full and I can do what I want to, not what I must do. My hobby is traveling and I will travel often until I get called to that place where no ticket is needed, but travel is only one way.

sueinsf · ‎03-13-2010

I remember many years ago a friend of mine was told by her accountant to have 2 million when she retires and I was shocked. But it also depends on what age you are when you retire, your lifestyle, where you live, etc. If you're 62 and plan to have 30 or more years of money to live on, particularly in a major city like NY, LA, SF, Chicago, you're probably going to need a significant amount. You want to do more traveling, that is an another expense. And good point about having money for additional care in your later years, which can be quite costly. If you don't have long term care insurance (which I imagine most people do not) then that can potentially eat up hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I don't think suggesting a million is out of line at all.

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

So much depends on the lifestyle you want after you retire and the cost of living where you live. I'm with those of you who like to take short trips and work on house projects so while we want to be comfortable, one million won't be needed.

Quse · ‎09-05-2014

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@Quse...you sound like my DH and me....he is well above retirement age, I am close. We are self employed, and really enjoy working. No hobbies.
We would probably kill each other if we were home together every day.

We have worked together all our married life, but being retired together scares me to death.

@Mom2DogsSounds like my mother-in-law. Once my father-in-law fully retired, we joked that her full time job started.

Quse · ‎09-05-2014

@SeaMaiden wrote:
@hoosieroriginal retiring on a small amount of savings is fine....but, what if you get sick( which is mist likely going to happen) and , what if you live way beyond your savings amount. Many people live longer than the average lifespan. If you retire with just enough to get by....you are probably going to run out of money. My Husband I have well over a million for retirement now , and I still worry about things that could at might come up and if we will have enough.

I often think of Frank.
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, when I was a teller in a bank, Frank worked from time to time in our branch. Frank was the annuity salesman...and he WAS a salesman. Personable, loved to talk about his grandkids and horses. Frank loved life, loved living, spent as much time as he could doing things he loved. His job was to help people plan financially...always looking to the future..would they have enough $$, etc...but Frank lived each day as if it was his last. HE didn't actually live like he constantly planned for the future, he just lived. (of course, he DID plan for the future, he just didn't get rankled about it)
Frank finally retired. I don't remember the exact age he was when he retired, but he was fairly young, probably mid to late 60's. Although in fairly good health (he also liked dining and all that comes with it), just a few months after he retired he had a massive aneurism and died. Had he planned all of his life, like so many of his clients did to start living when he retired (I'll have more time to ____ when I retire) he would have never lived.
I was young at the time and his life and death had a profound impact on me.
I think of Frank often.
Plan for the future, but live your life as you go.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@AuntG wrote:
So much depends on the lifestyle you want after you retire and the cost of living where you live. I'm with those of you who like to take short trips and work on house projects so while we want to be comfortable, one million won't be needed.

Also, if you live somewhere that requires a million dollars to retire you most likely have an income appropriate to be able to save a million dollars.