How much money to retire?

When we first retired a very good friend kept asking me...how much money to retire?

My friend was and still is wealthy by the standards of the world.

Since 16 years later he is still working, I never could answer that question well enough for him.

I certainly wish him well, but he is swapping years of his life for dollars...at the expense of his health.

He could hit the lottery tonight and he still would not retire.

I propose there is no right answer to the question

When John D Rockefeller was close to the end of his life he was asked how much money is enough...His reply..."A little bit more"

Here's the point,there is never enough, there is always room for a little more and for competitive, driven people there never is enough money to feel safe and retire.

Now don't get me wrong, John D Rockefeller and Standard Oil , has and have provided a good living for thousands of families, he was a generous philanthropist, without such people's drive and determination, America would not be the great country it is now. Our society needs entrepreneurs like Rockefeller.

However, for these fine people there is never a good answer to the question, "How much money is enough?"

To enjoy retirement, either early or not, requires a mindset that says It is more important for me to retire with what I have now and learn how to live cheaply, than to swap time for dollars.

The question, How much money to retire, does not take into account how old you are

This will not surprise you but as you get older you gradually become less and less able to do the things you enjoy. We are not trying to be funny...we are asking you to stop and think about what is important to you.

If you want to play golf 7 days a week I suggest the sooner you retire the more you will enjoy the golf.

I know at 64 I could not do some of the things I did 10 years ago living aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean. We could still go back to the boat life now and live very well and live cheaply. We would not be doing as much island hopping as we once did.

What's more important to you, working longer acquiring more wealth or retiring and enjoying the remaining time you have?

Factor time into the question "How much money to retire?"

The longer you wait to retire the less time you will be retired. Now I realize that is not very profound...but you will never hear it from a financial planner.

How many people do you know that can run faster now than they could 10 years ago? What good does "enough money to retire" do you if you cannot do the things you enjoy? Why do not more and more people stop and realize this simple fact of life?

The answer...what you have right now

Since 72% of Baby Boomers say they will work after retirement. Why not retire now and start enjoying yourself? The worse than can happen is that you may have to return to work...the best thing that can happen is you stay retired.

Our goal is to get you to stop and think about what you can do now vs what you might be able to later. We propose that the answer to how much money to retire...it is a lot less than you think.

Return from how much money to retire to guide to living cheap

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