I voted $500-750k. I know I do not “need” that much but my current expenses require about $750k to retire. I am working on reducing that thanks to you.

I need about $500,000 to retire. The number is relatively high because I intend to stay in New York City.

@gibberade – Figure out the maximum monthly expenses (tax, insurance, … ) you are ever going to need in a month in present dollars. For instance, I have researched health insurance for a bunch of ages. Multiply this by 400 if you want to be sure and you definitely don’t see yourself ever making another dime. Multiply by 300 otherwise. That’s your number. If you had the number right now, you could retire. If you don’t have than number now, that’s NOT the number you need in 10 years because of inflation. It has to do with future value and net present value. The 300 and 400 rules respectively account for this however.

I wish it was what I have in my bank right now. It is funny during the work day I must check your site every couple of hours. It is as if you are going to post a loop hole for me to get me out of this fix right now :).

Well, I voted for the about 300K but I hope to lower that – with the strategies from the book and more social capital.

$625,000-$750,000, but I really want $25,000/year at my disposal. I love lentils, but I can’t eat them everyday. I need sushi once in a while, and my attempts at making sushi have been unsuccessful so far. That number might be a little lower if I learn more about smart investing. I am a dumb investor right now (when mutual funds go down, buy more through my 457 plan; when they go up, pay off more on house and student loans).