Single Mustachians, let's hear your net worth goals!

[MrMoogle]

To be fair though, this thread focuses on singles, the discussion of numbers at the Bogleheads thread have no such limitation and many seem to be for couples and families. But yeah, some very high numbers there, even taking that into account!

Yeah, 2M isn't too unreasonable for a family.  But that's the low end.

[clarkfan1979]

We are currently at 450K. I'm 37 and my wife is 33. Current goal is to hit 500K in 2017. After that, the next goal is to hit 1 million by 2025. I will be 45 and my wife will be 40.

If I lived to be 80, I think I could make it to 10 million.

[Melf]

I'm single and just RE'd a couple months ago at age 50.  My NW at that time was around $670K which I was comfortable with to allow me to accept a severance package from work and walk away into FIRE.  My NW has increased to around $758K now due the severance package and market gains since then.  I'm also waiting on a pension lump sum payment of around $140K within the next month.  That should bump my NW to close to $900K barring no market corrections.  That NW is quite a bit higher than I was originally expecting to have at this point.  My annual expenses are around $24K currently so things are looking fine for now.  Health insurance is the wild card going forward depending on what happens with the ACA.

[ZagNation]

$750k+ in investments...hopefully somewhere between 45-50 years old
Although i have a feeling once i hit 500k i will start looking at the semi-FIRE thing a lot harder...time will tell.

Similarly I am hoping to punch my ticket at ~45 and possibly transition to some PT work in an unrelated field. Heck maybe even a seasonal gig like working at a golf club in the summers so I can golf for free. Instead of a 4% SWR I am gravitating more towards a Perpetual Withdrawal Rate and one day for the sake of self satisfaction it would be nice to join the two comma club.

[markpst]

$1 million + a paid for home.  I'm conservative, (over estimate expenses I don't have a lot of control over, taxes health care etc) and when I FIRE I want to make sure I can stay FIRE'D.

+1

[Tanor85]

Age:31
Status: single
Net worth goal: CAD 400K
Expenses - 2016: CAD 21,600

Other income goal: After FIRE, I want the ability to easily produce a side income when needed, e.g. during market crash.

Notes:
-I will have a small to medium DB pension at age 60 or 65.
-I rent and currently have a housemate. Will not buy a home.
-Don't want kids, don't want to get married.

[HappyMargo]

Married, but keep separate accounts.  No kids.  One dog, one cat.

So my individual goals fall into several stages:
1-- once hit $500,000 in investments, shift down to part-time/ per diem hours (very, very close now!)  The extra free time & lower stress is intoxicating...I can sense it already.

2-- continue easy part-time hours, keeping my professional certifications & qualifications current.  Letting my stash grow to $650,000 investments.  House will be paid off in this time frame.  Plus, DH will have his own separate, but smaller stash to add in.  =  fully FIRE if we'd like to.

3-- FIRE and only work seasonally if we want to for extra travel or luxury or emergency (help elderly parents?)  We don't hate to work, it's the Freedom of choice we are striving for!

[Tanor85]

Advantages of being a single Mustachian
-Easier to predict and control current and future expenses
-Able to put more time and effort into growing income;
-This Journey towards FI feels more empowering (to me) as a single person. Feels  like no one can derail me;
-Knowing that after FIRE, I can travel the world in absolute freedom;
-Not having to make expensive compromises like buying too much house or car;
-Not having to explain your choices and goals.

[marty998]

-Not having to make expensive compromises like buying too much house or car;
-Not having to explain your choices and goals.

That's the unicorn we're looking for, someone who is on the same page as you in terms of goals and finances

[BlueHouse]

$2-$2.6 mm.
If I move to a lcol area, I can bring that number down a lot.

My estimates seem to be based on thoughts that are opposite some of yours. I think my future expenses will be higher because I am single. Some things require help from another trusted individual, and if you don't have that person, you have to pay for the trust part. So I'm factoring that in. It's expensive. Sadly, I don't have anyone in that category that I think will outlive me and that I don't want to be q burden to.   So I'm planning to pay very well for it.

[letired]

Given current expenses, I'd like at least $1M. Given my love of Nice Things, $1.25M would be Really Nice. I'm a pretty long way off from both numbers (lol) and I only have 1 really solid year of expense tracking. I'm hoping that continuing to track and work on my gratitude will give me a better idea of what I need.

I also had a recent experience with a friend's dying parent that reminded me that I probably want to account for heath care and medical needs in a more explicit way than just sort of 'hand wave'. On the other hand, my friends' parents were Terrible with money, and I'm not, so I'll be in a better situation either way.

[gerardc]

My number has varied between 500k and 1.5M, so I'm confused about what I need / want. Right now I'm thinking 1M to quit FT work and keep hustling half-assingly until 1.5M.

[freya]

55 and single.  I'm close enough to Medicare/Social Security that I can factor those into the plan.  With that backstop, I figured $1.3 million (HCOL) for an extra-safe retirement, or $960K if I run a tight ship.

This is figuring in extra to account for taxes on retirement account withdrawals, medical insurance & copays, increased travel in retirement, and finally an extra 20% buffer.  I'll still have a mortgage, and the magic number includes the mortgage balance.

[gerardc]

This is figuring in extra to account for taxes on retirement account withdrawals, medical insurance & copays, increased travel in retirement, and finally an extra 20% buffer.  I'll still have a mortgage, and the magic number includes the mortgage balance.

How to compute your "number" MMM forum style:
1. Take current living expenses, everything included.
2. Add 40% buffer for health insurance and unexpected life events.
3. Add 20% for entertainment.
4. Multiply the total by a safety margin factor of 2.
5. Take the worst-case, lowest safe withdrawal rate (4%) in the history of the US; multiply by 25.
6. Add paid-off house.
7. Add social security as a bonus.
8. "FIRE" and travel for 3 months, then get bored and get back to work.

:)

[Anon in Alaska]

Goal - $500,000 + paid for condo.
Will spend less than $1,500/month.
Will still sell things on Amazon, earning at least $200/month. (Am earning about $400 month now on Amazon.)

Current savings - $107,000 + paid for condo.
Current spending - less than $1,450/month.

Am 51 now, want to retire before 62. Wish I'd figured this out 25 years ago.

[FIRE_Buckeye]

Net worth goals for RE:
Single: 1.2M w/ paid off house
Married: 2M ''

Pretty admittedly conservative, but I'm fine with that.

[CoffeeR]

This thread is a refreshing read after reading the similar one at Bogleheads: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=207067&newpost=3177367

I couldn't make it far in that.  Lowest I saw was $2M, but $10M was fairly common.  Most retiring 60+ at those ranges. 

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

I found this site from a post in the bogleheads forums. For me the attitude and numbers thrown around in the bogleheads forums are not just crazy they are utterly depressing if you have no counter-balance (and I had none). I have a investable/liquid NW significantly north of $1M with paid of house in a LCOL area and reading bogleheads was depressing, frustrating and sapped my spirit since it seemed I was a failure financially. Finding this place opened my eyes, refreshed my spirit, and changed my outlook on my future.

My number is anywhere between $1.8M and $2.5M. Why so high? My spending/life style are not particularly mustacian, however, since I may walk off my job with short notice, I now know I already have enough.

[Hirondelle]

With my current spending level I'd need around 275k.
However I don't fancy living in a shared flat forever, so I'd aim at 500k.

[Apple_Tango]

I’m glad my numbers are aligned with y’alls. A lot can change, but right now I see my prospective age at 35, with  750k as my number, along with a paid off home. No pension, but I will have a very easily ability to do some contracting work at a high $ rate to supplement as needed. Also I want to live internationally in LOCL places to have some adventure while also growing my stache. It would also be nice to have a rental property or 2 for asset diversification and cash flow, we’ll see how that goes.

And yeah I also stopped reading the boglehead  thread when the poster casually throws out $100 million as a reasonable target. I mean, that’s great!! But wowza...I would be working until I dropped dead and only have less than half of that.

[NinetyFour]

Single, 55 years old.  No spawn.

My NW is at $660K but I plan to work until June 2018.  At that point, I predict that my NW will be $800K, which will include about $120K equity in my house (worth about $300K). 

I may end up selling my house in 2019 or 2020. 

I think my annual expenses in retirement will be around $25K.  Healthcare costs are a real unknown...

To update things a bit...

My NW is now at $827K, and my goal is $950K by 6/30/18.  Stretch goal is $1 million.

[TempusFugit]

Interesting thread.  Glad someone poked it to bring it back up. 

Singleton here, no exes, no offspring.

My numbers are pointing to an FI date of 2022 at something like 1.25M. I also have a smallish pension that begins in 2030.  I should have around 200K in home equity at that time with 5 years left on the mortgage. I'm in a LCOL area, but I do have expensive habits (restaurants) that result in (relatively) high annual spending. 

I'll be 52 in 2022.   I'm calling it my FI date, since I don't know what my thinking will be at that time regarding actual retirement.  I would like to at least stop working full time and take a nice sabbatical or something.  I might also change professions entirely, as I've grown bored with technology. 

[gerardc]

I have $250K outside of super to live off until 60, with the likelihood of another $50K redundancy; so $300K over 6 years or $50K per year. I have been tracking at around $20K per year spending for the last ten years ($18K for this not-working gap year) so am comfortable with this.

Did your entertainment expenses go up during your gap year? Any reason you spent less than usual?

[Retire-Canada]

Invested at FIRE = ~$1M [~920K - ~$1.1M] or 4% - 5%WR. Single living with GF no kids. NW will probably be +$200K for home equity, but I don't really think in terms of NW since I don't have access to the home equity.

[step_away]

I'll consider myself financially independent at $1Mn though preferably with $500k cushion before I'll walk out on an unbearable job (otherwise I'll wait around for a severance package). 

Ideal number is $2.5Mn which gives me a nice round withdrawal of $50k at 2%, $75k at 3% and $100k at 4%.

[katscratch]

US$500k not including my house.

But would vastly prefer not to still be single at that point.

[gmdv]

Anywhere from 750k to 1M in cash, with a paid off home, at age of 46 to 50. 

There is a bit of a range there since I'm cruising into FIRE instead of rushing into it. Life is good so I'm not in a hurry.

[givemesunshine]

40F single Aussie here, I'm aiming for $750K in non-super investments which will get me through the 12 years between RE and access to super (which will be ~$1.3million by the time I can access them - if things go to plan).

Only 9.4 years to go 'til freedom. Luckily I really enjoy my job so it's still a pleasurable part of my life.

[jlcnuke]

In addition to the income I get before going to work (~$21k/year), my goal is currently ~$800k at age 50 (40 currently).  That should give me enough for $60+k/year spending indefinitely (assuming SS doesn't disappear). Medical is free, so that helps.

However, I'm finding that some of the things I currently enjoy cost a bit more than I used to spend so I may bump that number up (even if it means working another year or two) in order to comfortably afford doing those things.

[ZiziPB]

I was aiming for not less than $1M in invested assets by the time I FIRE at 50 in spring of 2018.  Currently at about $1.4M and will likely end up around $1.5M if the markets hold until next spring.  I have one child but she's all set with college and a masters degree (all fully paid) and earning enough to support herself comfortably.

[Schaefer Light]

Anywhere from 750k to 1M in cash, with a paid off home, at age of 46 to 50. 

My FIRE numbers are roughly the same.  A lot can happen between now and then, though.  My real goal is to enjoy the ride no matter what happens.

[Retire-Canada]

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

Just goes to show you that OMY syndrome can afflict a person with $30M in the bank. People keep finding reasons to not stop working. The societal programming we've all been through is hard to break.

[Tig_]

Single, 29, HCOL

If I continue being single & childless: Sometime around 400k I plan on doing a shift - either going back for a PhD (would only accept a slot that was fully funded), PeaceCorps, etc and let the investments grow over those couple of years and then see how I feel.

Ideally, would not continue to be single or childless.  Have considered having a kid on my own (in 3-4 years) and using current savings to take the first year off, though not sure I'm willing to take that big of a hit in terms of financial growth this young.

...I have a lot of priorities to sort out.

[FIRE Artist]

$1.5MM CND plus 60%+ equity in my house. 

My retirement plan is to try my hand at actually selling my art, which I would hope would cover all art related expenses going forward, if not turning a profit.  I don't want to have to work at any salaried job again after I FIRE.  I hope to go in 2020, but will probably hold off a bit longer if the next market correction has not yet happened. 

[Classical_Liberal]

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

Just goes to show you that OMY syndrome can afflict a person with $30M in the bank. People keep finding reasons to not stop working. The societal programming we've all been through is hard to break.

It's all a matter of perspective.  If your FIRE stash throws off more than 50 USD per person/day, you are able to live at a level in the top 7% of the world.

From my, and many peoples perspective arguing for more than that is ludicrous.  It's like a billionaire arguing s/he can never retire without funds for a private jet, or a couch potato who thinks it's impossible to run a mile. Pretty much everybody lives without a private jet and can make it through a mile jog... Just not from their unique perspective.

 Edit: Another fact from the data, 45% of people in the US (145 million) have less than that... Just to fend off the perspectives of those who think it's geographically impossible in a developed, Western country.

[Sibley]

I still don't have a FIRE target. Don't feel the need to calculate it. I've crossed the $100k net worth line, and honestly didn't notice it for a few months (even with me calculating it!). Right now at least I'm focused on other financial goals, so am using those as my measurements. I figure that eventually I'll be getting enough income in interest/dividends and I'll realize that I'm FI. Seems to be how I roll.

[jlcnuke]

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

Just goes to show you that OMY syndrome can afflict a person with $30M in the bank. People keep finding reasons to not stop working. The societal programming we've all been through is hard to break.

It's all a matter of perspective.  If your FIRE stash throws off more than 50 USD per person/day, you are able to live at a level in the top 7% of the world.

From my, and many peoples perspective arguing for more than that is ludicrous.  It's like a billionaire arguing s/he can never retire without funds for a private jet, or a couch potato who thinks it's impossible to run a mile. Pretty much everybody lives without a private jet and can make it through a mile jog... Just not from their unique perspective.

 Edit: Another fact from the data, 45% of people in the US (145 million) have less than that... Just to fend off the perspectives of those who think it's geographically impossible in a developed, Western country.

From what I could find, only 21% of US households have income below $20k/year ($50/day being $18,250). Where did you come up with 145 million people in the US having less than that?

[Classical_Liberal]

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

Just goes to show you that OMY syndrome can afflict a person with $30M in the bank. People keep finding reasons to not stop working. The societal programming we've all been through is hard to break.

It's all a matter of perspective.  If your FIRE stash throws off more than 50 USD per person/day, you are able to live at a level in the top 7% of the world.

From my, and many peoples perspective arguing for more than that is ludicrous.  It's like a billionaire arguing s/he can never retire without funds for a private jet, or a couch potato who thinks it's impossible to run a mile. Pretty much everybody lives without a private jet and can make it through a mile jog... Just not from their unique perspective.

 Edit: Another fact from the data, 45% of people in the US (145 million) have less than that... Just to fend off the perspectives of those who think it's geographically impossible in a developed, Western country.

From what I could find, only 21% of US households have income below $20k/year ($50/day being $18,250). Where did you come up with 145 million people in the US having less than that?

The info is in the link provided, pew research from 2011 data.  Average household size in the US is 2.5.  50 per person/day means household spending* of around 46K for 2.5 people.  This would be considered rich (ie top 7% worldwide).  This is just under median HH income in US. 

(*)$125 USD for 2.5 people. Spending implies net income or access to credit.

If you want more income data US-centric per earner, here it is

[jlcnuke]

This is when I stopped:

This is a great question. My answer is $100mm. I would have to think hard at $70mm, but I'm done at $100mm actual cash in the bank. Im 51 and have 30 or so mm. Its nice but you need $100mm for true wealth. Maybe at 70mm I woulld change my mind.

Just goes to show you that OMY syndrome can afflict a person with $30M in the bank. People keep finding reasons to not stop working. The societal programming we've all been through is hard to break.

It's all a matter of perspective.  If your FIRE stash throws off more than 50 USD per person/day, you are able to live at a level in the top 7% of the world.

From my, and many peoples perspective arguing for more than that is ludicrous.  It's like a billionaire arguing s/he can never retire without funds for a private jet, or a couch potato who thinks it's impossible to run a mile. Pretty much everybody lives without a private jet and can make it through a mile jog... Just not from their unique perspective.

 Edit: Another fact from the data, 45% of people in the US (145 million) have less than that... Just to fend off the perspectives of those who think it's geographically impossible in a developed, Western country.

From what I could find, only 21% of US households have income below $20k/year ($50/day being $18,250). Where did you come up with 145 million people in the US having less than that?

The info is in the link provided, pew research from 2011 data.  Average household size in the US is 2.5.  50 per person/day means household spending* of around 46K for 2.5 people.  This would be considered rich (ie top 7% worldwide).  This is just under median HH income in US. 

(*)$125 USD for 2.5 people. Spending implies net income or access to credit.

If you want more income data US-centric per earner, here it is

Ah, you're only referring to multi-person households and spending (not just income from the stash), and not doing any COLA. Now I understand where your numbers are from though.

[katstache92]

Currently I'm aiming for 750k.  But I'm guessing this will change once I get more specific numbers around health (ACA?) and decide about housing.  I might also switch to a low key job - something that supplies health care, for at least part of the year, and I find enjoyable.  Also might depend on how long I can put up with working full time.