» Can I retire with 2 million dollars? Early Retirement Extreme: Financial independence, frugality, self-sufficiency, ecology, capitalism, and voluntary simplicity

Published on June 27th, 2008

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This, and various perturbations, is one of the most frequent google search term that hits this site. I think my very general answer would be, that if you have to ask that question then the answer is “PROBABLY NOT!”

If you’re asking if you can retire with 10 millions dollars, the answer is still no.

The problem is essentially scale-less. Asking the question implies that one has accumulated X dollars without any thought towards expenses and jobless income. I posit, that if those things had be considered, the answer would be obvious and the question would not have to be asked.

However, until one figures out one’s expenses and jobless income, the question can’t be asked.

So I can only give a very general answer (provided you don’t ask the question ).

Yes, it is possible to retire with 2 million. It is possible to retire with 1 million. It is also possible to retire with half a million or a quarter million. $50,000 is also solution. And so on. The more you know, the less you need.

8 users responded in " Can I retire with 2 million dollars? "

Retired Syd said, in June 27th, 2008 at 9:10 am

Exactly!

The whole question makes this one assumption–that you are not in control of what you spend. You may not be totally in control of the inflation rate, or exactly how long you will live, or even exactly how high your investment returns are. But you ARE in control of what you spend!

If you are not, you are right, there is no amount of money that is ENOUGH to retire on.

Debbie M said, in June 27th, 2008 at 10:00 am

Good point. I had been wishing I could somehow retire on $60,000 (i.e., today), but of course I can, by moving somewhere extremely cheap or becoming homeless, or some other options I don’t want to try.

What I really want to know is the minimum I can retire on and continue living just the way I am now, or maybe slightly more like a student, for no matter how long I live, and that answer is more like $200,000 plus paying off my house.

DJ said, in June 27th, 2008 at 10:45 am

@Debbie M-
Funny thing. I was doing the same calculation this morning and came up with exactly the same number you did.

Cameron F. said, in June 27th, 2008 at 11:04 am

Right off the bat, it’s never a good sign when someone types a complete sentence into a search engine.

Debbie M said, in June 27th, 2008 at 11:54 am

@DJ- Cool. I see people using the number $2 million a lot nowadays, and we’ll be good with one-tenth that much. It still feels like a huge pile of money to me, though, and not easy to save.

Steve Austin said, in June 28th, 2008 at 5:10 am

Another glaring assumption attached to that question is that the questioner assumes the answerer knows what the questioner means by “retire”.

ERE’s answer reminds me of the stealth Rolls Royce advertising meme: “If you have to ask [how much it costs], you can’t afford it.”

Thus, “If you have to ask [if you have enough], you can’t retire early.” ;-\

Alisa said, in June 29th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

I never thought of asking myself that, for some reason. I think that is because I see how far I have to go and am focusing my energies on taking the steps to get there.

I just started My Stock Market Journey and I am finding it so very interesting. I am hoping to become better at making more informed investment decisions to better prepare not only for retirement but for the financial challenges that life throws our way.

Be well.

David Michael said, in September 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

In a way, I have retired three times in my life with three different careers, taking time off between each one and going back to the university to get a new MA degree. I love learning and teaching and working with college students.

Having recently returned from teaching in the Middle East for four years, we are back once again in the USA and we now live and travel in a 27 foot Lazy Daze 1998 Motorhome. It’s about 200 sq.ft. and my wife and I love it because the design layout (MidBath) with dinette and kitchen in front, and living/sleeping room in the back surrounded by three huge windows. Previously we had a dream house of nearly 3000 sq ft and an office above the garage with an extra 800 sq.ft. I look back at this and realize that the house owned us. Krazy way to live.

We paid cash ($30,000) for the Lazy Daze motorhome, and have no debt. Our monthly expenses average about $2500 for everything during this first year although we expect it to drop to $2000 by January. It could be less but we travel with a canoe and kayak on top, recumbent bicycles on back, and do lots of hiking and biking. In other words, we love to have lots of outdoor fun and we are willing to pay extra to accomplish this.

We had saved $200-300,000 to be financially free and now we are on social security ($2000/month) and rarely touch our investments. We meet people all the time on the road who only live on $1500, although I read where the average cost is $3000 a month for most RVers. Forget the Wall Street types who say you need a million dollars. But…I recommend working long enough to qualify for social security (40 quarters) or sufficient investments to keep you going no matter what the global economy might be. There are lots of work kamper jobs around the country as you travel. We only expected to do this for two years but we are now thinking of going longer. We’re just getting into the routine of life on the road.

The key, as has been said constantly on this site, is to save, get out of debt, and have a plan. Good luck and good planning to all! David Michael

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