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Tier 3 - everything else including where I am living right now ( Medium Sized city in NC 1 hour away from Raleigh ) ~ 2.5 million ( 500 k for house , 1.5 million for 60 k passive income , rest the same )
So, take a look at this chart and depending on your situation in life and where you want to live , start pilling up ...!! Even if you are lucky enough to be making big bucks, live way below your means and retire rich ...!!.
I am between Tier 2 to Tier 3, definitely need more than 1.5M to thrive. Based on my calculation, I need 3M. That's my goal.
I am looking at this thing from a financial standpoint exclusively. Of course these other things y'all listed matter also. I can't factor them in when posting a thread like this can I ?
If you don't find some way to factor these things in, you will just be advising people to go live where it's really cheap while disregarding the fact that it's also really awful.
The way I see it , you have to have a " number ". During your working years , do everything legally and humanely possible to achieve that " number ".
Y'all might not agree with me here but I basically divide the U.S into 3 zones when it comes to retirement -
Tier 1 , Tier 2 and then everything else.
My hypothetical retired couple fulfills the following conditions - quite healthy , has no dependents , a paid off nice but not over the top house , two very nice luxury but again, not extravagant cars ( again paid off ) and of course a very comfortable passive income on top of all these.
Tier 1 - Coastal CA , LA, Beverly hills , Bay Area, Upscale parts of the Tristate area ( NY, NJ, Connecticut ) , Hawaii, Maybe even some expensive parts of Florida ( South beach etc ) - I figure you need ~ 7.5 million dollars ( 3 million dollar house, 4 million for 160 k passive income and the rest for emergency funds , cars etc )
Tier 2 - Major cities in other states - I cannot list all of them but just to give some examples - Austin, Tx , Dallas , Tx, Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Triangle area , NC , Seattle, WA etc. - I figure you would need ~ 5 million ( 1.5 million house, 3 million for 120 k passive income , rest the same )
Tier 3 - everything else including where I am living right now ( Medium Sized city in NC 1 hour away from Raleigh ) ~ 2.5 million ( 500 k for house , 1.5 million for 60 k passive income , rest the same )
This lifestyle would be very comfortable but still not " flying first class, country club membership " comfortable. And to be frank , 97 % of americans would kill for this lifestyle in retirement so it's good enough.
If you really want to go Rural or remote - maybe 1 million would do it. ( and this amount is more than what 90 % of Americans have anyways ).
So, take a look at this chart and depending on your situation in life and where you want to live , start pilling up ...!! Even if you are lucky enough to be making big bucks, live way below your means and retire rich ...!!.
Is this for the future or now? 1.5 million dollar house in Orlando, Atlanta, or Dallas would be a McMansion. I guess if that's what you want to take care of in retirement go for it. I'd much prefer a 250-350k home in a city like that and the ability to travel more.
If you don't find some way to factor these things in, you will just be advising people to go live where it's really cheap while disregarding the fact that it's also really awful.
The next time I post something like this I will make sure to track down everyone on City data and interview them about their personal situation in detail. Then I will compile all that data together and work on it for maybe 1-2 years and then come up with another post that takes these things into " factor ".... Oh wait , I have a life.
Is this for the future or now? 1.5 million dollar house in Orlando, Atlanta, or Dallas would be a McMansion. I guess if that's what you want to take care of in retirement go for it. I'd much prefer a 250-350k home in a city like that and the ability to travel more.
Well , that's your preference then , and the way I see it , it's more about the overall net worth than individual breakdowns. For all I care, you could rent a room in a Motel 6 for your whole retirement and fly off to International Vacations every month...Lol ...!!
But seriously, rather than thinking about my post as a dictum, think of it as a general guide of how to go about it FINANCIALLY... That's all.
A couple of people replied that I did not factor in the family/friends and social connections that they have made in the area. I understand that stuff is important , I am not a Sociopath , but I cannot comment on that stuff obviously. Money is objective, people's preferences and life situations are not.
So do a lot of other people, and moving away from those lives over cold and sterile financial factors may not be quite their cup of tea. By the time they are ready to retire, many people have set down roots that run very deep. Those may well have value that mere dollars do not have.
My sisters and I were talking about this a few days ago and we all think it's how you were taught. All of us saved because our parents saved. My husband is a saver, as were his parents. Same for my one sister's husband. Other sister's husband -- EX -- was a big spender. She's much happier -- she finally has stability in her financial life.
In general, people who are able to save do so. The number of people whose purpose in life is to fritter away every spare penny they get is very small indeed. And they don't tend to live very long anyway.
Get death threats on my voicemail from angry husbands (cuckolds) when they find my number on their wife's phone.
And I put chemicals in my body that should have killed me 10 years ago.
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