$1 Million - What would you do?

[Taran Wanderer]

"If I had a million dollars..."

Funny you should post this because I've been thinking of posting the same thing.  When I graduated from college, my plan was to save and invest so that once I had a million dollars, I wouldn't have to work again.  Or I could choose to do whatever work I wanted.

Now that we have a million dollars (not including home equity), it's not that simple.  Kids, community activities, and other commitments have us in a stable situation that would be a shame to screw up.  Work is up and down - great boss, great product, great co-workers and team, some drama and difficulty in related groups.  Not perfect, but not terrible.  Mostly I need an extended break sometime soon, but I have more I want to accomplish there, so I'm not ready to leave permanently.

Right now my plan is that I will work at least three more years, we'll invest $75k a year and accelerate mortgage payments by $25k or more per year, and then think about what's next.  By that time, net worth should be closer to $2M, with $1.5M or more in investments.  Kids will all still be in grade school, so we could stick with it and enjoy 6 weeks of vacation a year, paid (non-working) holidays, 5 minute commute, somewhat flexible schedules, and a good lifestyle in our hometown.  Or, we could shift gears.  Travel for a while, perhaps a PhD for my wife, maybe graduate school for me or stumble into something else.  Who knows?

The biggest thing a million dollars does for me is it provides options.  I'm not ready to retire yet, but it is comforting to know that we can leave our jobs and have options.

If the numbers line up and I decide to retire in three years (or earlier), I'm really curious to see the reactions on people's faces.  We have lots of people who retire out of the company in their sixties with 20, 30, or 40 years of service.  But it would be fun to see how people react to someone retiring in their forties with 20 years.

[Camarillo Brillo]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

[CHF]

I would give the  $1 million my GF so that she thinks, she is FI and we can RE together. Now.

[steviesterno]

retire my wife. she doesn't like what she's doing at work, and that would be a level enough for her to just walk the F out. No notice, just leave.

I may still work. I wouldn't try as hard, and I wouldn't go to any meetings I didn't want to. But I like teaching and treating patients, so I would keep that up.

I would also finally build a mobile clinic so I can treat and the wife can cook. like a retrofitted RV, just roll around helping people and serving food. Would be awesome!

[Physicsteacher]

We could easily FIRE on one million dollars given our expenses, but I'd semi-retire for now. I'm thirty, and I find a lot of fulfillment in my job. If I could downshift to a part-time teaching position and still have lots of flexibility during summers, that would be ideal. I'm sure eventually the frustrations of dealing with administrators and administrivia or the desire to do other things might outweigh the joys of interacting with my students, but I'm not yet ready to give up my career entirely. DH, on the other hand, would probably retire from his job as a journeyman electrician and volunteer occasionally with Habitat for Humanity to get his "playing with power tools" fix.

[BFGirl]

Dragoncar only 1/3 would compelety stop work at 1M.  It's not that i want more money to spend.  I want legacy funds.  Making money is easy for me now and I'm addicted.

That's my point, considering the author of this website needed significantly less than $1 million to declare FI, it's surprising that only 1/3 of readers can say the same.

1/3 saying "it takes more than $1M to fund FI" means that 1/3 of readers have expenses >$40k/year.  You want legacy funds, but if your annual expenses were only $40k, then $1 million would be enough to fund FI (just not enough to fund FI, plus legacy gifts). 

Moreover, even if you personally have >$40k/year expenses, you should recognize that it is possible to be FI on $1 million.

I have chosen to live in an area that is more expensive and there are things that I chose to do that cost money.  As a result of MMM, I have chosen to prioritize some things and cut back on others that don't significantly contribute to my happiness, but that others around me seem to think are necessary for a modern life.  My mindset has changed in that I am not working to keep up with society, but to be able to enjoy some of the extra activities that give meaning to my life when I retire.  MMM has influenced me in that I no longer worry about whether or not I'll be able to survive.  I know that I can move into a smaller house in a less expensive area and cut back on some extras and I will still have the things I need and be able to enjoy life.  As a result,  I don't feel that I am trapped any more and I have choices.  If work becomes untenable, then I have the choice to quit and modify my standard of living and I am okay with that.

[fattest_foot]

I'm also surprised more people here wouldn't retire on $1 million (and somewhere in Colorado MMM is weeping) but then I realized it was NW and not passive income producing $$'s. So it might be a paid off $500k house and $500k invested. Enough for someone like me or MMM (and I'd sell the house and downsize if it wasn't) but I can see how it wouldn't be enough income for others - especially with kids at home still or with high housing expenses or mortgages.

The great part for me is that net worth wouldn't change my answer. Even if we for some reason had a monster house, it's paid off in this scenario. We could downsize the house easily, and without a mortgage our current ~$40k in spending dips down to about $25k. Which means the remainder is still enough to live on in perpetuity.

[2Birds1Stone]

I would be done in a heartbeat as this would allow me to live indefinitely on a 3.5% SWR.

[dragoncar]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

Maybe m²?  No that can't be right

[SamIAm38]

I enjoy work, sometimes. Would definitely stop the full time job, but would continue to tutor and program on the side, or anything else that would give me something in return for my effort besides money.

Might disappear for a couple of years and travel before settling down somewhere again.

If I did work full time again, it would be because of wanting to do the job, not for the money, that's for sure.

[aFrugalFather]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

I think the point is that many people in the USA, and particularly overseas, would not consider a 2000 sf house as "fairly modest" - especially given the average small family size here. But if that's what gives people pleasure and they're happy to work longer to have that then more power to them. I'd take my million NW and buy a cute little place somewhere inexpensive and quit work asap.

I agree, however, the sq footage isn't really the issue.  HCOL places like the bay area, you have an 800sq foot house selling for $550K, the land /location is what gets you not so much the size. 

[SeaEhm]

If I was given $1 million in cash, I would not retire. 

I would invest about $900k in different investment vehicles (real estate and the market).  I would take the other $100k and put it in the bank and let it slowly trickle out in the form of different payments towards opportunities I want to partake in.

I have no real interest in retiring anytime soon.  I personally enjoy that my job provides me with structure to get me out of the house.  The cherry on top is that I actually love my job. 

[dragoncar]

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually in the anti-mustachian, want $2 million to retire camp*.  But that's not because I need $2 million, or that $1 million isn't enough for FI, it's because I am a consumer sucka with a "modest" 2200 sqft house in an expensive area.

*$2 million HH net worth -- my "personal" NW is now $1 million and while I thought I could tough it out  until my wife reached FI, she has basically decided that she is not interested in retiring and wants to spend money (mostly related to seeing family in another country, to which I give a pass) while her parents are still in good health.  So I expect to pull the trigger real soon on $1 million and I fully admit I live a life of volcanic exploding wastefulness to the point where I won't even go to a meetup for fear of deservedly getting my face punched.  That's not to say we don't adhere to many tenants of the MMM lifestyle -- old cars, DIY, savings rates of >%50, and so on.  It's just that we still spend a ton of money on things we value, and are willing to work for with eyes wide open.

[SeaEhm]

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually in the anti-mustachian, want $2 million to retire camp*.  But that's not because I need $2 million, or that $1 million isn't enough for FI, it's because I am a consumer sucka with a "modest" 2200 sqft house in an expensive area.

*$2 million HH net worth -- my "personal" NW is now $1 million and while I thought I could tough it out  until my wife reached FI, she has basically decided that she is not interested in retiring and wants to spend money (mostly related to seeing family in another country, to which I give a pass) while her parents are still in good health.  So I expect to pull the trigger real soon on $1 million and I fully admit I live a life of volcanic exploding wastefulness to the point where I won't even go to a meetup for fear of deservedly getting my face punched.  That's not to say we don't adhere to many tenants of the MMM lifestyle -- old cars, DIY, savings rates of >%50, and so on.  It's just that we still spend a ton of money on things we value, and are willing to work for with eyes wide open.

I am in a similar boat in terms of mindset.  I don't want to attend any meet ups because I am not nearly as polar as many of the people here. 

Read my signature and location, haha.

[dragoncar]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

I think the point is that many people in the USA, and particularly overseas, would not consider a 2000 sf house as "fairly modest" - especially given the average small family size here. But if that's what gives people pleasure and they're happy to work longer to have that then more power to them. I'd take my million NW and buy a cute little place somewhere inexpensive and quit work asap.

I agree, however, the sq footage isn't really the issue.  HCOL places like the bay area, you have an 800sq foot house selling for $550K, the land /location is what gets you not so much the size.

True. I live in coastal SoCal and my dumpy original  little 1950's 1000 sf tract home in a working class immigrant 'hood would go for over $500k. I plan to sell and by elsewhere (or rent) for much much less in a much much nicer area. That's the nice part of being FI and RE - once no longer job dependant you can move anywhere.

Where are you headed?  I have the misfortune of spending most of my life in a high COL area, so I don't have any concept of what "nicer, cheaper" places look like

[GetItRight]

Only one answer that mentions expenses, and 33% of the poll says $1 million is "not enough to retire"?  This forum has gone way downhill

1/3 says they would "keep working and saving". Tail end, that is explanation, of poll choices are very presumptuous. The exact wording was "it takes more than $1M to fund FI". I strongly disagree with that.

With a fairly liquid $1M (i.e. no government prohibition on using it) I would consider myself FI. I am nowhere near traditional retirement age, mostly enjoy my fairly well paying job, and want to have and do certain things in retirement that would be a stretch at $1M. I would keep working the same as I do now and saving, but knowing I could quit at any time and either take a long vacation or just call it quits and adjust my expectations.

My goal is in the $1.5M-$2M range. Given a windfall $1M I'd shoot for $2m and still retire far sooner than starting at my current net worth. I'd like to minimize time to ER, that means doing what it takes to maximize earnings now, then no more work. It would be torture to drag on work part time or in some capacity for years longer than I have to or potentially indefinitely. Delayed gratification, try to make the best of the misery and suffering now but reap the reward later.

[PencilThinStash]

Give it all away immediately because, like your average 4 year old, I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF. I'm a strong, independent man who don't need no handouts!

Not really, though.

Would definitely keep working because I'm currently in the honeymoon phase where I still like my new job, but might cut it down to 3-4 days a week.

The million itself? $200-300k for a house. <$15k for an old muscle car to tinker with. The rest to Vanguard. Nothing too exciting.

[PNW Lady]

$1M net worth would not have much significance to me, other than feeling pretty fancy to know I have a net worth of $1M. I’m 38 (DH is 37 & DD is 8), and our current net worth is $707K, with $271K of that in home equity (home valued around $570K). However, $1M in invested (income producing) assets with no mortgage is my bare minimum FIRE number. Once the mortgage is paid off (hopefully in 4 years), we can live simply but comfortably on $40K annually (property taxes and groceries are neck-in-neck for our highest expenses). Since only $3K of annual travel expenses is included in our $40K “base” budget, we would have to work here and there to fund any additional travel, as well as any other “luxury” purchases (new cars, fancy new clothes, etc.), if we so choose. As an accountant/CPA, I can pick up seasonal tax work (which I quite enjoy), which is probably what I will do once we FIRE. This would give us a really nice annual travel budget, plus the time to actually travel.

My primary goal is to have at least a few “free” years as a family before my daughter finishes high school. If both my husband and I work and save aggressively for the next 6-1/2 years, we could FIRE just as my daughter heads into high school, giving us four “free” years with her. However, both of us working at the levels we do is pretty intense and isn’t optimal for the health of our family. So, we may take the “free” years earlier and I would have to resume working once she reaches 18 (sadly once DH stops working he’s done in his industry at his salary level). The downside of this option is twofold: we would lose years of compounding interest and I would most likely take a hit on my salary re-entering the workforce after being out for an extended period of time, thereby increasing the number of remaining years I would have to work to hit our FIRE number. The funny thing is my husband and I both enjoy working; what makes it so stressful/ miserable is the pull between work and family responsibilities. So, perhaps I won’t mind working nearly as much once my daughter is grown.

In a nutshell, I could comfortably FIRE with $1M + a paid-off house here in Portland, OR (even more so in a lower COL area). If DH was a bit more mustachian, we could probably pull the plug at $900K + a paid-off house.  Any amount above $1M would just increase our comfort and security, but would not be necessary.

[prognastat]

I would not completely stop working, but stop working my current work and instead start purely doing stuff I am interested in trying out and whatever money I would make from that would just be a bonus.

[Villanelle]

1 million at 35 is a lot different than at 55.  Also without knowing expenses the equation can't be solved.

Only one answer that mentions expenses, and 33% of the poll says $1 million is "not enough to retire"?  This forum has gone way downhill

Just out of curiosity, what was MMM's net work (not stache, but net worth)  when he retired? 

[dragoncar]

1 million at 35 is a lot different than at 55.  Also without knowing expenses the equation can't be solved.

Only one answer that mentions expenses, and 33% of the poll says $1 million is "not enough to retire"?  This forum has gone way downhill

Just out of curiosity, what was MMM's net work (not stache, but net worth)  when he retired?

Around $720k, including home equity*.  Around $860k in todays dollars.

*based on  my reading of http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-of-the-stash-how-we-saved-from-zero-to-retirement-in-ten-years/

edit, he is also quoted as saying

At the time of retirement, we had it split up with $600,000 of investments ... and then a house that was paid off that was worth about $200,000

.  So that would be almost $1 million total NW today.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/man-mr-money-mustache-retired-30/story?id=30989572

[Dancin'Dog]

Good thread.

Retirement doesn't seem as important to most folks replying as I would have expected. 

I would have thought more people wold have said that they would relocate to a place with lower cost of living to and enjoy being FI and retired. 

I've seen too many of my family members work too many years and later realize that all they had to show for it was a pile of money.  Don't forget that "Life is for living".  I keep hearing folks here say "I really enjoy my job, so I'll just keep working.".  You may live to regret that.

Regardless of what you do, work is still "work".  What do you think you enjoy about it?  Haven't you had dreams of some kind of adventure or experience that you used to think about doing?  Are those dreams gone now?  Has your life of obligations and commitments made you forget your dreams?  What do you do for "fun"?  What if you could do that all the time now? 

You realize that each day take you closer to the days when it's "too late" to do those things.  I see old folks who wish that they could travel, or whatever, but they can barely walk now.  Don't forget how short 20 years really is.  You will be old much quicker than you realize, because time really flies. 

Is chasing those extra Dollars really what you want to do?  Making life easier for your kids sounds like a nice thing to do, but consider what you are trading. 

(I'm watching my Dad fade away, after chasing the Dollar for too many years.  He is leaving my brothers and me fortunes, but he never learned to enjoy life.  He can't buy better health or more days.  I feel sad, (and would feel guilty if he'd really amassed the money for us, but he really just loved the money and we just happen to be the heirs in line).
I'm helping him all that I can, but my brothers aren't doing much.  We aren't obligated, and neither will your kids. 

My point is don't sell yourself for the sake of leaving a fortune to your kids.  I'd be happier knowing that my Dad had had a "good life".  Your kids probably will too.   

 

[LAL]

We're past that in cash and net worth.  DH wants to work so he is.  I'm going to find my zen. LOL.  We're 37 and 38.  He wants to give it to the kids.  We'll likely inherit a hefty amount.  And right now he's on a sabbatical to find his zen.  So it's sometimes not about the money.

[pdxmonkey]

If I were handed 1 million after tax dollars I would definitely drop to 4 days a week immediately. And I'm thinking they would be about 7 hour days. I'd take more (unpaid) vacations as well and see how much money I actually spend on them. In other words I would let a bit of lifestyle inflation happen, but still cut back the work. I've never done part time work when I did not also have school obligations so I'd like to see what it's like. 4% of 1 million would cover all my current spending and a decent amount of lifestyle inflation as well. I'd like to move closer to downtown and if I found that there was some wiggle room left after the lifestyle inflation or found that part time work is more enjoyable than full time work I would likely spend some of the money to do so. If the work was still not terribly enjoyable I'd pull the plug and stay in my current home. Currently day 5 of the work week is tolerable,but far from enjoyable. Similar for the 8th hour of the day. I currently work the 5th day of the week because it seems like a better option than the # of years it would tack on to my fire time when I look at a 4 day week

[soccerluvof4]

If it were just my DW and I then for sure 1 Million would of been more than enough BUT with 4 kids when we fired we made sure our house was paid for and were more than double that. We have 2 in HS and 2 in middle school so we have a ways to go and Health Insurance is a concern of mine. Still we were able to Fire at 50 and 47 so see how things go. We did downsize significantly to save alot of money on taxes etc.. but we spend alot on sports with the kids and travel so while our day to day life is extremely modest the kids stuff is what we werent willing to give up. 2 Kids have already received scholarships so that will help but when all 4 are moved on then our spending will be maybe 60% of what it is now and perhaps even less.

[EmpireOfDirt]

Good thread.

Retirement doesn't seem as important to most folks replying as I would have expected. 

I would have thought more people wold have said that they would relocate to a place with lower cost of living to and enjoy being FI and retired. 

I've seen too many of my family members work too many years and later realize that all they had to show for it was a pile of money.  Don't forget that "Life is for living".  I keep hearing folks here say "I really enjoy my job, so I'll just keep working.".  You may live to regret that.

Regardless of what you do, work is still "work".  What do you think you enjoy about it?  Haven't you had dreams of some kind of adventure or experience that you used to think about doing?  Are those dreams gone now?  Has your life of obligations and commitments made you forget your dreams?  What do you do for "fun"?  What if you could do that all the time now? 

You realize that each day take you closer to the days when it's "too late" to do those things.  I see old folks who wish that they could travel, or whatever, but they can barely walk now.  Don't forget how short 20 years really is.  You will be old much quicker than you realize, because time really flies. 

Is chasing those extra Dollars really what you want to do?  Making life easier for your kids sounds like a nice thing to do, but consider what you are trading. 

(I'm watching my Dad fade away, after chasing the Dollar for too many years.  He is leaving my brothers and me fortunes, but he never learned to enjoy life.  He can't buy better health or more days.  I feel sad, (and would feel guilty if he'd really amassed the money for us, but he really just loved the money and we just happen to be the heirs in line).
I'm helping him all that I can, but my brothers aren't doing much.  We aren't obligated, and neither will your kids. 

My point is don't sell yourself for the sake of leaving a fortune to your kids.  I'd be happier knowing that my Dad had had a "good life".  Your kids probably will too.

In the same way you are shaped by your experiences, others are shaped by theirs.

Some people enjoy work, full or part time.

Some people won't be inheriting a single penny, and instead will bear a large part of the costs of supporting and caring for loved ones as they age.

Some people pursue a combination of financial security, family life, leisure, travel and a wide range of other goals. You don't have to choose just one.

[elysianfields]

Office Space has the best answer to this question...

You mean: take half of it and invest it in mutual funds, and take the other half of it to Asadullah who works in securities?

[KarefulKactus15]

What I did do when I hit around that mark is feel confident enough to start my own business that is structured around like how I like to work, not worrying so much about how much I made.  Funny thing is it has grown and I make more now than before.  Whenever this business winds down or I start disliking it for any reason I'll retire, but until then may as well keep building the stash.

I hope / feel like this will happen for me.   I have so many things to do, and so little time due to working all the time for someone else....

[Mikila]

Work part time at something interesting.  Ease into FIRE. 

[iluvzbeach]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

I think the point is that many people in the USA, and particularly overseas, would not consider a 2000 sf house as "fairly modest" - especially given the average small family size here. But if that's what gives people pleasure and they're happy to work longer to have that then more power to them. I'd take my million NW and buy a cute little place somewhere inexpensive and quit work asap.

I agree, however, the sq footage isn't really the issue.  HCOL places like the bay area, you have an 800sq foot house selling for $550K, the land /location is what gets you not so much the size.

True. I live in coastal SoCal and my dumpy original  little 1950's 1000 sf tract home in a working class immigrant 'hood would go for over $500k. I plan to sell and by elsewhere (or rent) for much much less in a much much nicer area. That's the nice part of being FI and RE - once no longer job dependant you can move anywhere.

Where are you headed?  I have the misfortune of spending most of my life in a high COL area, so I don't have any concept of what "nicer, cheaper" places look like

Ha! If I only knew ;-). Have a thread going on the "ask" forum about mountain/ski towns so probably something like that. Not exactly LCOL in most areas but maybe somewhere close to that kind of stuff. Otherwise I'll probably meander around and rent once I sell my house until I find a good place. Back up plan if all else fails is to move back to my old mountain/ski/lake town of Big Bear Lake, CA and rent a cheap cabin for awhile

Spartana, check out Southern Oregon. Not LCOL, but great whether and skiing in the area. Crater Lake nearby as well as the coast and redwoods. You could buy a place in a walkable area for less than 500K.

[carlo319]

I voted "FI baby!" but I think this mode ovelaps with the second choice "partime job".  If I will be on FIRE, I will still work part time / seasonal, for a more meaningful life...

[CBnCO]

This question looks to be assuming that 1MM is your number to FI.. which is when you'd make a choice of whether to continue working or do something PT or fully RE.

Also, I don't believe a "net worth" of 1MM (or your magic number) is what counts. net worth could include your house (which could be 100K to 500K+).
But that money is your house and not investible and does not generate any income.

"Investible net worth" is what we should be looking at IMO

Good point; but, you could always sell your house and downsize to something/somewhere cheaper. So, what type of house and where you live definitely play into the decision of what you would do. In fact, given that we currently live in a fairly expensive real estate market, this topic comes up regularly

[CBnCO]

Why do people still cling to arbitrary numbers like $1M?

I agree it's entirely arbitrary; but, I saw, yet another, article claiming that $1M was no longer enough to retire comfortably and it occurred to me that the MMM crowd might have some interesting insight.

[eyePod]

Pay off mortgage. Retire. Work on pet projects and ideas that I don't have time for. List more on eBay because I love doing it from two perspectives - saving things from the brink of destruction to get them to people who want them and to get one more item out of the waste stream (I'm a hippie at heart).

[WGH]

Not enough to just stop working though it would cut the retirement date down to 10 years or less from 20.

Personally my number is at least $2M in investments and a paid off house before I would feel comfortable. But that's only because I want to spend a buttload on travel once I FIRE.

[Bateaux]

WGH I'm pretty much on the same plan.  Get as close to 2M as I can and travel a lot.  Not planning  to pass 50 though so that gives me 3 more good years to ramp up.

[Guesl982374]

Dragoncar only 1/3 would compelety stop work at 1M.  It's not that i want more money to spend.  I want legacy funds.  Making money is easy for me now and I'm addicted.

That's my point, considering the author of this website needed significantly less than $1 million to declare FI, it's surprising that only 1/3 of readers can say the same.

1/3 saying "it takes more than $1M to fund FI" means that 1/3 of readers have expenses >$40k/year.  You want legacy funds, but if your annual expenses were only $40k, then $1 million would be enough to fund FI (just not enough to fund FI, plus legacy gifts). 

Moreover, even if you personally have >$40k/year expenses, you should recognize that it is possible to be FI on $1 million.

I voted for to keep working. Its the way the poll is worded. I know I would be FI if I was instantly given a $1M however, there are other reasons other than my personal (or family) consumption that I want additional money for. There wasn't an option for "Keep working because you love it" or "Keep working to be able to donate lots of money" or "Try a new industry/start a world changing business" just "Keep working and saving, it takes more than $1M to fund FI".

[JLee]

I would gtfo of Jersey and be back in the desert so fast...

[JoeBlow]

I chose the first option.  I am pretty close to 1m now and I am only spending 20k a year in expenses so I am FI from that standpoint.  I am just not hating my job enough to call it quits at the moment and would like to create more of a buffer since the markets seem really be out of whack at the moment with the low interest rates.  The last thing I want to do is call it quits and have the market tank 50% UNLESS I was at less than a 2% withdrawal rate currently.  I would rather wait until the next major correction and subsequent recovery.

[MisterTwoForty]

I would be done.  My currently plan to be done between 37 - 40 and live in an RV.  I will need about 20k/yr to fund that lifestyle.  I'll have right at or near 1MM after cashing in home equity invested.

[Spitfire]

I could live off the the $1 mil but I would likely work for myself part-time or seasonally. I don't really have a plan on what I will do with all my extra time, so until I found something that really interests me I'd fill up a little of my time with work.

[2lazy2retire]

Someone here described a 2000 sqf house as "fairly modest".  ???  That's two and a half times the average size of a new 3 bedroom home in the UK.  <snip>

Seriously?  A new 3 bedroom house in the UK is 800 sqf?

Maybe m²?  No that can't be right

No, it's close enough to be been right, a lot of american homes have space just to fill with sh!t -I mean WTF is a Great Room

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/10909403/British-homes-are-the-smallest-in-Europe-study-finds.html

[Nustachio]

What if we wanted to make this actionable...
If $1 million is your number, what do you wind your Asset Allocation to once you hit it?
If $2 million is your number, what's your new AA upon getting to $1 million (or pick any goal number, what's your AA once you get halfway there)?

[Tyson]

If I came into a million dollars I'd pay off the house.  That would get us down to 700k or so.  I'd keep working till I was back to an even 1 mil.  Plus I haven't fully optimized my life yet (but making progress!).  I view work years as a great time to implement lifestyle optimizations while still having a bit of wiggle room for mistakes (hey, they happen, and I learn from them).

[GuitarStv]

What if we wanted to make this actionable...
If $1 million is your number, what do you wind your Asset Allocation to once you hit it?
If $2 million is your number, what's your new AA upon getting to $1 million (or pick any goal number, what's your AA once you get halfway there)?

Why would your asset allocation change?  My AA stays constant no matter what amount of money I have.

[slugline]

If I accept the definition of net worth as factoring in the value of my own home then I absolutely would be ready to declare myself FI at $1 million NW because I'd suddenly have a paid off home plus $750K liquid assets.

In another scenario, if I lived in a $2 million house but had only a $1 million net worth, then there's still work to be done . . . although maybe I should just wise up and sell the stupid place. :)

[dragoncar]

What if we wanted to make this actionable...
If $1 million is your number, what do you wind your Asset Allocation to once you hit it?
If $2 million is your number, what's your new AA upon getting to $1 million (or pick any goal number, what's your AA once you get halfway there)?

Why would your asset allocation change?  My AA stays constant no matter what amount of money I have.

Having more money does make new allocations possible.  For example, some people might not even have the option to pay down a mortgage, and I do consider home equity and debt as part of my asset allocation.

[GuitarStv]

What if we wanted to make this actionable...
If $1 million is your number, what do you wind your Asset Allocation to once you hit it?
If $2 million is your number, what's your new AA upon getting to $1 million (or pick any goal number, what's your AA once you get halfway there)?

Why would your asset allocation change?  My AA stays constant no matter what amount of money I have.

Having more money does make new allocations possible.  For example, some people might not even have the option to pay down a mortgage, and I do consider home equity and debt as part of my asset allocation.

Gotcha.  I tend to consider money for my home as not really an asset . . . because it doesn't exist until I sell the home, but I'm not planning on selling the home in the near term.

[CBnCO]

As the original poster of this poll and thread, I thought I'd comment on the vote totals and some of the other comments:

First, I was a little worried at first; but, looks like the MMM site is still true to its roots with $1M being enough to FI for many. I was surprised how even the voting was and later have realized that FI and working PT on something you like are a bit ambiguous and overlapping.

And, using the $1M net worth/cash was a bit confusing; but, what I meant to imply was that we all can make the decision to sell our houses anytime and I was trying to envision standing with $1M in your hand and not other assets or obligations. You could then choose to live in an RV, $150K house, or $500K house with the allocation between real estate and other investable assets your choice.

In our case, we've surpassed this number; but, are, admittedly, scared as hell to pull the plug on a couple of less than inspiring professional careers that pay well and provide health insurance benefits. All of the historic numbers (we'd be operating at about 3% SWR)would suggest we could be free as birds; but, the last market crash, the immense national debt (we are in the U.S.), the federal reserve fueled markets, and the comedy of our political leadership are not exactly a confidence inspiring backdrop when considering early retirement. So, as we contemplate our path forward we continue to try to balance careful planning and badassity!

thanks all for taking part and for your thoughts!

[MMM98]

As others have mentioned, there is more than the number to be met.  For some of us there is a defined benefit (pension) which waits for us in a reasonable few years, maybe even with healthcare benefits. 

Reaching a million net worth did not make a bit of difference to me, I can’t even brag about it for fear of being targeted for loans or other scams.  Much better to play like a regular indebted working stiff….