Yea, the assumption in this article seems pretty heavy on the “2.3 million might not be enough omg!” Which is confusing given his passive income stream. Maybe I’m just not experienced enough, but it seems like he has plenty?
There is the analytical, math-driven “do I have enough to retire under most plausible scenarios” and the psychological questions that come when one quits their job, including ‘what do I do with my life’ and the unfamiliar territory of relying on your assets rather than from a job.
Yes, he unquestionably has more than enough to quit his job given his savings and the additional $6k/mo after expenses of rental properties. He wouldn’t have to change his spending one iota and he’d still be well under any “safe” WR. Better still, their children have their college expenses already accounted for, his mortgages (if he has any) will eventually go away, and he will have additional streams of income from SS in less than two decades.
In other words, while he is obsessing over the amount of money he might need, in my reading that’s not what’s driving his underlying fears. EVen if he assumed absolutely 0% real returns (i.e. held everything in a bond fund) he’d be just fine, as his existing ‘stache would far outlast him and his wife.
