What's Your FI Number?

[JessieImproved]

I saw someone ask if this poll had been created, and I couldn't find it, so I thought I'd add it.  What's your target number for FI?  Provide the number per person (if you are working toward FI with a sig, divide by 2, etc).  Curious to see how people have estimated their FI expenditures. 

(Mods feel free to point me in the right direction if this poll already exists ^_^)

[market timer]

Paid off house + $40K/year inflation-adjusted would probably be enough for me and my wife.  Size of nest egg would vary with life expectancy and interest rates.

[NumberJohnny5]

Ours is $600k, family of four. That's the top number too, we could live on half that (but no more restaurants, going to movies, cruises, trips to Disney, etc.).

[arebelspy]

I saw someone ask if this poll had been created, and I couldn't find it, so I thought I'd add it.
...
(Mods feel free to point me in the right direction if this poll already exists ^_^)

About 100 people voted in this poll, but it's over a year and 1/2 old, so a new one is fine.

www.mrmoneymustache.com/forum/ask-a-mustachian/what-is-your-number-how-much-would-you-'retire'-on

[footenote]

Also note that the amount of time you need to fund makes FI number varies widely. I only need to fund 15 years at this point (after which full SS will more than cover our expenses). That's yields a much lower FI number, even for the same annual expenditures, than many here anticipate requiring. (Ex: person is 30, anticipates FIRE by 35 or 40, and must fund 40+ years.)

[avonlea]

Also note that the amount of time you need to fund makes FI number varies widely. I only need to fund 15 years at this point (after which full SS will more than cover our expenses). That's yields a much lower FI number, even for the same annual expenditures, than many here anticipate requiring. (Ex: person is 30, anticipates FIRE by 35 or 40, and must fund 40+ years.)

That's a great tip, footenote!

[smalllife]

I will consider myself FI at the point where basics are covered (and a paid off house) ~12-15K/year.  My plan includes part time work or some other form of supplemental income for the fun bits in life as well as a better cushion at hard times.   To me, FI = I only work because I want to.  If I want to live off Ramen and not work, that choice is available to me.

[galaxie]

With a paid-off house we could probably retire on 1 million, but by the time our house is paid off (our biggest expense by far) we may have more than 2.  So really the "number" is 2027 (I'll be 45). 

[pachnik]

My number is $600,000.00.

I am a late-in-life arrival at the MMM doorstep and I do plan to work some kind of part-time job from 60 to 65 (health permitting).

[Jamesqf]

Kind of depends on your definition of independence.  There is the zone I call "independently poor", in which I could e.g. sell my house and move to a less expensive house that would be paid for with the equity in the current one.  With the paid-off house, independence is around $300K, or $1K/month to cover a decent but minimalist lifestyle.

From there, a paid-off house and $500K or so would be comfortable.  Anything more would be gravy :-)

[starguru]

My comfortable FI number is $5Million.

I'm 36, won't count on SS, and want to make sure I can do what I want.

I'm lucky I like my job, cause i'm gonna have to work for a while to get there. 

All that said, I could probably get by on half that if I am willing to sacrifice on a few things. 

[odput]

My comfortable FI number is $5Million.

FACEPUNCH!!!

What on earth do you need $200,000/yr for?

[cbr shadow]

Someone above said their family of 4 could retire on $300k.. how is that?!  $12k/yr at a 4%SWR is below the poverty line, especially w/ 2 kids.  I'd like details on that.

For myself (and wife) our number is $2.5M.  That'd be $100k/yr at 4% SWR.  It's hard to calculate how long it will take us to get there at the moment because we're going through a lot of change (My pay increasing, wife's high pay is 1/3 commission) so who knows where we'll be in a few years.  I think any way we look at it we have at least 10-15 years of working left.

[ArcticaMT6]

$1.75M in today's numbers sounds pretty good to me. Plenty of budget for traveling, I have a couple hobbies that generate some income, and, hoping that I'm still spry when I'm older, budget to keep doing some of my expensive hobbies like going to the race track/scuba diving.

I'm not as mustachian as most on here, but that doesn't mean that the things I learn from here aren't still useful.

[nawhite]

Paid off house + $40K/year inflation-adjusted would probably be enough for me and my wife.  Size of nest egg would vary with life expectancy and interest rates.

I'm pretty darn close to this number. We've been going for $750k plus a place to live. If we are renting or have a mortgage at that point, we need the stache for it. Otherwise we need a paid off house/trailer/RV/Car+tent.

[HokieInPa]

$2.5 million in today's dollars is our number. My wife and I would like to retire at 55 and do some extended travel (6 months a year) in some foreign countries. Planning a 40 year retirement to be safe and not counting on any SS.

[Mazzinator]

I picked 250-500k. But i'm not really sure.

My husband will get military retirement in about 8yrs of ~$55k/yr (in todays dollars) so we can live off that comfortably. So our FI amount is more for travel, kids activities/college and housing. I have no clue where we will live or if/how often we will move and we're still paying off debt now. Plus my husband is a bit spendy and "wants to turn the heat up" once he retires. (As in, the furnance during the winter) He's more of a Dave Ramsey type, suck it up now so he can party it up later.

[Chuck]

750k. I have a VA pension that pays 810 a month, but I also have a total house payment of 2000 a month before utilities.

I'd like to retire while still paying down the house, and that mandates around 40k per year.

[dragoncar]

Someone above said their family of 4 could retire on $300k.. how is that?!  $12k/yr at a 4%SWR is below the poverty line, especially w/ 2 kids.  I'd like details on that.

For myself (and wife) our number is $2.5M.  That'd be $100k/yr at 4% SWR.  It's hard to calculate how long it will take us to get there at the moment because we're going through a lot of change (My pay increasing, wife's high pay is 1/3 commission) so who knows where we'll be in a few years.  I think any way we look at it we have at least 10-15 years of working left.

Have you seen ERE?  $6 k/ adult  in the SF Bay Area - move somewhere cheaper and have more for the kids.  Plus, with that income level there will be much government assistance (much his no longer asset tested, especially for feeding chillins).  On the one hand, I'm not sure if you are really FI if you depend on food stamps for survival, but you CAN be retired.

[NumberJohnny5]

Someone above said their family of 4 could retire on $300k.. how is that?!  $12k/yr at a 4%SWR is below the poverty line, especially w/ 2 kids.  I'd like details on that.

I wish I had the numbers I used back then. I just took the base expenses we had to have, padded it just a tiny bit, and used those numbers. I'll try to recreate it real quick, but I'll probably leave some things out by accident.

Monthly figures:

- $200/mo electric and propane; Electric fluctuated from around $75 to over $150/mo, propane might be $50-$100/mo in the winter. I overestimated the average.
- $10/mo property taxes ($110/yr)
- $65/mo phone/dsl; that could be cut out if we HAD to, but that would be our source of communication and entertainment; huge outdoor antenna doesn't pick up squat.
- $100/mo car insurance
- $400/mo groceries; at the time I thought this would be low, but it's what we're paying now.
- $100/mo car maintenance/registration/fuel. If I got a minimum wage job nearby, car expenses would be fairly low. If I got a job 45-60+ miles away this would obviously be higher, but I'd get paid more too.
- $50/mo house insurance; we have this solely for liability reasons. I could just put up some "No Trespassing" signs and self-insure for property damage, and eliminate this cost.

$925/mo, with some fluff (can easily cut out the $50/mo house insurance, drop dsl to $55 or drop altogether, electric/propane usage would probably be closer to $150-$175/mo, etc.). House is paid for, so no rent. Car is paid for, so no payment (it'd need to either last forever, or I'd need to find a cheap replacement before it died; iffy cars can be found for $1k, if you get a lemon just sell it and try again). Medical insurance would be free. Groceries could be lowered (if kids were in public school, they'd qualify for free breakfast/lunch). Oh, and remember we'll get back more from the IRS than we pay in; current child tax rebate is what, $1k per child? Earned income credit, etc.

Heck, take someone in that situation, and they'd likely qualify for food stamps. That's a $400/mo expense we had...so that $925/mo we needed, it's more like $525/mo. And those were padded numbers.

Of course, a lot of things are missing from that bare-bones budget. There's no vacation (not even a stay-cation). No mobile phones at all. No restaurants. No cigarettes or alcohol. No cable tv. One might say...no fun. Well, that's the point...this is a bare bones budget. But we still have a/c and heat, high-speed internet (and a kind relative letting us mooch off his/her Netflix account), plenty of good food, etc.

Up the budget to $18k/yr, and now we can go out to eat occasionally, have one decent vacation a year (Disney or cruise, or anything at that financial level), we'll definitely have those prepaid phones (probably would at the barebones level too), drive to visit family more often, etc.. Go to $24k/yr, and we're able to go out to eat every week, go on two nice vacations...basically our life now, except without the whole work thing getting in the way.

[jrhampt]

$500k (each) and a paid off house is our baseline FI point.  We're about 2.5 years away from that.  My spouse would like to have more like 750k - 1 million each.  I think a million each is a bit excessive, but we may compromise at closer to 1.5 combined. 

[cbr shadow]

IMO if you're counting on food stamps or govt assistance then you're not retired.  I could do that right now and probably sustain that lifestyle for the rest of my life but I feel like the quality of life would be very low.  Go to Brooklyn and you'll find a huge retirement community.  The rest of us call that the projects.

All joking aside, I understand everyone values different things and if "surviving" with no extra pad or extra money for the rest of your life sounds like a good retirement then more power to you!

My plan might change to require less money and work in "semi-retirement" taking contract or part-time work. 

[jrhampt]

IMO if you're counting on food stamps or govt assistance then you're not retired.  I could do that right now and probably sustain that lifestyle for the rest of my life but I feel like the quality of life would be very low.  Go to Brooklyn and you'll find a huge retirement community.  The rest of us call that the projects.

The other problem with relying food stamps and other govt assistance is that it can get cut at any time, so you are at the mercy of politicians and the political/economic climate.

[NumberJohnny5]

I think you could call yourself retired and be on food stamps. Just not FI. Or to be even more specific, you can't DEPEND on food stamps, and call yourself FI.

And I agree with not depending on programs like SNAP (food stamps), Section 8, etc. Free health care, maybe (definitely if you're in a country with universal healthcare). It'd be ok to count these programs as PART of an emergency plan, but not for anything long-term.

[TS]

$1.7 million plus a paid off house/apartment.

[frugaldrummer]

Paid off house plus $500k.  BUT I also will have a pension worth about 40k (with NO adjustments for inflation :( )  and will likely collect social security (I'm 57 now).

My goal is $60k per year and the $500k figure helps insure that. 
I know that seems like a lot for one person (especially if I can get my house paid off) but I want the wiggle room of being able to do major house repairs if they come up, spend money on travel, etc.  Also want the buffer in case something goes wrong with the pension down the road, or major changes to SS result in reduced benefits, or whatever.  I figure at $60k, I could take a major hit in one of those areas and still be ok.
Also my boyfriend may not have much when he retires, so there will be no splitting of housing expenses etc. to reduce my costs.

Now - I COULD retire today, or at least as soon as my kids finish college, on about $40k - but I really want that extra cushion and enjoy my work, so will probably give it a few more years (3-5).  It's nice knowing that I have the option though.

[_C_]

I'd be happy around $1M. But, my thinking is really in flux. It's somewhere around or above 800K. I'm in my early 30s.

I have plenty of work "skills" but I don't know how I'd translate them into my own part-time gig. If I ever figure this out, that may shift it earlier.

I've made stuff in the past, and that could be a part-time gig, but unless I outsource, it wouldn't be high $$ per hour work.

Obamacare has a big impact, too. It makes it easier, and minimizes my health care concerns.

But from where I'm at, I may take a gap year or something along those lines before reaching FI. It'll depend on my progress over the next couple of years. 

[rocklebock]

I need $800-$900k if my expenses are similar to what they are now. If mortgages are out of the picture, it could be as low as $550k. Fascinating to see how different everyone's numbers are.

[MandyM]

I'm surprised by all the $1million+ per person numbers. My number is about $450k - $500K (2013 dollars), plus a mortgage free rental property. I live in a low COLA and that helps. And I'm just not much of a spender. I should be FI in 3 years or less.

[golden1]

I would say $1,000,000-$1,500,000 for me and my husband along with a paid off house.  Once our kids are gone and the house is paid off, I can see us living very easily on $40-50,000 a year combined (no mortgage, one car, some travel) so that leaves something to leave behind for the kids and/or lots of extra cushion.  This should be attainable by the time I am 55, barring all emergencies or a huge tank in the markets.

[stevesteve]

I'm surprised by all the $1million+ per person numbers. My number is about $450k - $500K (2013 dollars), plus a mortgage free rental property. I live in a low COLA and that helps. And I'm just not much of a spender. I should be FI in 3 years or less.

FI is a function of both your level of spending and your risk tolerance.  I put myself in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range because I ultimately want about $1,000,000 and to be able to live off of the dividends or ~2% of my investments.  If all goes to plan that $20,000 (inflation adjusted) or so will begin to be under 2% each year in which case I will have quite a cushion assuming something like the 4% rule holds true over the course of my withdrawal period.

[_C_]

FI is a function of both your level of spending and your risk tolerance.

Yup, this is the big thing. My number is very different if I plan on generating income vs. if I plan to never work again. I'm much more worried about risk in the second scenario.

[ArcticaMT6]

I'm surprised by all the $1million+ per person numbers. My number is about $450k - $500K (2013 dollars), plus a mortgage free rental property. I live in a low COLA and that helps. And I'm just not much of a spender. I should be FI in 3 years or less.

Depends on what you want to do in retirement. For me, I plan on taking a year+ long motorcycle trip across the globe. That is very expensive when you factor in shipping the bike to various continents. I plan on doing a lot of long/far traveling that I simply can't do right now due to working constraints.



Basically, each person has different wants/needs. If you want to retire ASAP, you can do what Jacob from ERE does and live in a paid off RV. You could save up $5M+ and buy new cars every few years and live in a 3000+sqft McMansion in retirement as well. I live in a higher cost of living area, and plan to continue living here in retirement, albeit probably not in the city so it will be a bit cheaper. My goal is 45-50 to retire, which gives me 20-25 years from now.

[starguru]

My comfortable FI number is $5Million.

FACEPUNCH!!!

What on earth do you need $200,000/yr for?

1.  I like to set high goals on the theory that even if I miss Ill end up with more than I would have if I had a lower goal.
2.  I'm not a minimalist.  I don't want to live off 40-50k a year.  I want to be able to do what I want, when I want. 
3.  I want my wealth to build more wealth.  I wouldn't spend all of the 200k, I'd re-up on the unspent portion.
4.  I want a cushion.   You are not FI if a bad investment take you out of RE.  $5M could take a hit and still provide everything my family needs, $1-2M could not.

[Jamesqf]

2.  I'm not a minimalist.  I don't want to live off 40-50k a year.  I want to be able to do what I want, when I want.

ROFL at the idea that living on $40-50K a year is in any way minimalist.  I'm assuming a paid-off house, but even with a reasonable mortage in a not-absurd cost of living area (IOW not NYC or the Bay Area) that would leave me plenty of excess.

[starguru]

2.  I'm not a minimalist.  I don't want to live off 40-50k a year.  I want to be able to do what I want, when I want.

ROFL at the idea that living on $40-50K a year is in any way minimalist.  I'm assuming a paid-off house, but even with a reasonable mortage in a not-absurd cost of living area (IOW not NYC or the Bay Area) that would leave me plenty of excess.

I agree 40-50k a year is not minimalist (so I mispoke) but it wouldn't allow you (the royal you, not you in particular) to do whatever came to your mind whenever it came to your mind. 

Wanna go and travel Europe for year (and not stay in hostels eating street food)?  nope...
Join a country club and play 200 rounds of golf a year?  nope
Need a new car?  shit the only thing in the budget is a 5 year old toyota...
Close relatives needs some cash?  Crap, since I needed  a new (old) car don't have anything to spare. 
Kids in college?  shit i hope they can get some student loans,
etc...

Not to mention disasters like expensive home repairs, health emergencies, etc. 

Plus, while one might be able to save some on 40-50k a year, one wouldn't really be able to accelerate their wealth accumulation (at least I don't think so -- could be wrong). 

My point is at the 40-50k level you are not really the I in FIRE, because independence (at least to me) means that rare but totally within the realm of possible events will not affect your financial situation significantly. 

[steveo]

2.  I'm not a minimalist.  I don't want to live off 40-50k a year.  I want to be able to do what I want, when I want.

ROFL at the idea that living on $40-50K a year is in any way minimalist.  I'm assuming a paid-off house, but even with a reasonable mortage in a not-absurd cost of living area (IOW not NYC or the Bay Area) that would leave me plenty of excess.

I have 3 kids and live in Australia which I think has a higher COL than other countries and we spend about 38k now. I'm budgeting for about 40k when we retire and I think that is plenty.

Each to his own though.

[starguru]

2.  I'm not a minimalist.  I don't want to live off 40-50k a year.  I want to be able to do what I want, when I want.

ROFL at the idea that living on $40-50K a year is in any way minimalist.  I'm assuming a paid-off house, but even with a reasonable mortage in a not-absurd cost of living area (IOW not NYC or the Bay Area) that would leave me plenty of excess.

I have 3 kids and live in Australia which I think has a higher COL than other countries and we spend about 38k now. I'm budgeting for about 40k when we retire and I think that is plenty.

Each to his own though.

How do you do it?  Where I am (Virginia) day care alone is >12k a year for 1 (and we chose one of the cheaper options in the area).  Do you save for your kids education?

[Jamesqf]

I agree 40-50k a year is not minimalist (so I mispoke) but it wouldn't allow you (the royal you, not you in particular) to do whatever came to your mind whenever it came to your mind. 

Wanna go and travel Europe for year (and not stay in hostels eating street food)?  nope...
Join a country club and play 200 rounds of golf a year?  nope
Need a new car?  shit the only thing in the budget is a 5 year old toyota...

But we're in different territory now: not independence, but luxury.  And $40-50K isn't enough to allow me to do whatever comes to mind.  Buy a private jet, or a ranch in Montana?  Ain't gonna manage on that amount.

Of course some of it is personal taste.  I much prefer staying in hostels (or camping) when I travel, would never want to play golf, and would regard a 5-year old Toyota (or any car) as excessive.

Bottom line is that I do live quite comfortably, by my standards, while spending quite a bit less than $40K/year.

I have 3 kids and live in Australia which I think has a higher COL than other countries and we spend about 38k now. I'm budgeting for about 40k when we retire and I think that is plenty.

Except that is not $40K for YOU, it's $40K for you plus 3 kids, plus (maybe?) spouse.  What would be a reasonable number for you alone?

[Russ]

I agree 40-50k a year is not minimalist (so I mispoke) but it wouldn't allow you (the royal you, not you in particular) to do whatever came to your mind whenever it came to your mind. 

200k wouldn't allow me to do whatever came to mind whenever it came to mind either (if I were of the mindset that living that sort of life would be rewarding in the first place)

[Dicey]

Ours is $1M. House is paid for and worth about the same. DH and I will both have good SS and he will get a pension with excellent medical coverage. He loves his work and plans to work for ten more years for max health coverage and pension. I retired early-ish last year. We still have 1 adult kid at home (full-time student) plus DH's mom, who has Alzheimer's. We're planning on having her live with us until we just can't. She's otherwise healthy and relatively young, so we have to make sure her resources last for a long time, too.

My reason for responding is this: Neither of us were huge income earners, but we were both able to manage our wants, avoid consumer debt and pay ourselves first. We bought houses with long mortgages, making steady payments (no prepaying for us) as we steadily filled our retirement and investment accounts. If you're young, my advice is to avoid consumer debt and don't pre-pay your mortgage (assuming a low interest rate unless and until you stuff as much as you can into retirement and non-retirement investment accounts. The amount we actually saved versus what we have now is incredible. Letting your money earn its own money over a long period of time is a powerful financial tool.

[steveo]

How do you do it?  Where I am (Virginia) day care alone is >12k a year for 1 (and we chose one of the cheaper options in the area).  Do you save for your kids education?

I think I should clarify my numbers a little. I don't consider interest payments on the mortgage or payments to the mortgage as expenses. I also don't consider daycare as an expense but I take this away from my wife's income. This might be fuzzy logic to you and I get that but it works for me when I work out our expenses.

My oldest 2 kids go to school and I count their expenses. We spend though 15k per year on my youngest kids daycare. So in reality our expenses are like 53k. This ends in 2 years time and at that point I think we will put that money straight into savings or the mortgage. I think the mortgage though will be close to done by that point.

I don't save for my kids education as I expect them to put themselves through university however in Australia this is for free but you go into debt. I don't think it is anywhere near as full-on as America. I won't spend on fancy schools.

As for the rest of our expenses. We live well. I don't buy coffee at work. We don't go out to restaurants much at all. I might buy my lunch once per week. I walk to work but sometimes I have to travel to a different location. We have 2 cars but we don't overspend on them. We shop at Costco & Aldi. We pay for cable but a small amount. I don't have expensive hobbies but I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 3-4 times per week for a cost of $1,050 per year. The older kids go to swimming lessons and the boy plays soccer whereas the girl does gymnastics. I feel we spend plenty but at the same time we spend a lot less than a lot of people. I don't go out drinking at the end of the week - I go and wrestle. We go and see a movie say twice per year. We don't go on expensive holidays. We don't buy lots of crap.

[arebelspy]

I think I should clarify my numbers a little. I don't consider interest payments on the mortgage or payments to the mortgage as expenses. I also don't consider daycare as an expense but I take this away from my wife's income. This might be fuzzy logic to you and I get that but it works for me when I work out our expenses.
...
My oldest 2 kids go to school and I count their expenses. We spend though 15k per year on my youngest kids daycare. So in reality our expenses are like 53k.

53k + your mortgage.  So I'm assuming at least 60k+.

A lot more than the "38k" you said - though the 38 makes sense in your head, you may want to qualify that since most would count those expenses.  :)

(Or count it as "60-whatever-k now, but 38k will be the spending in FIRE, once daycare and mortgage are no longer expenses.")

[steveo]

Except that is not $40K for YOU, it's $40K for you plus 3 kids, plus (maybe?) spouse.  What would be a reasonable number for you alone?

I think a realistic number for myself and my wife is $25k per year but I will budget for twice that. I expect at that point the 2 oldest kids will have to start taking care of themselves whereas the youngest one we will have to provide for completely. I would never kick my kids out of home and they are welcome to stay however I won't be buying them cars, phones etc. I should add that the $25k is based upon having a paid off house.

My wife wants to go on overseas holidays but I think that is a little unrealistic for a while anyway as I aim to retire within approximately 10 years and my youngest kid is 3 years old now. I think 10-15 years is the maximum time frame assuming I don't lose my job. There is always the possibility of getting a job that pays 200k or more (I'm not stating that will happen) or my wife earning more (she earns 45k now) and either of those options would really push us towards FI quicker. I don't see any lifestyle inflation really happening any more in the future. I have everything I want and replacing things won't be that expensive. If anything we will need less - for instance I really don't like 2 cars at the moment and I will upgrade to an electric bike at some point. The cost might be the same initially but the on-going costs will be significantly less.

Its hard for me to come up with a reasonable number for myself only as I would have to live somewhere. I assume for me 15k-20k would be more than enough if I owned my own property. This isn't half the amount because I figure the costs of maintaining a house are about the same whether there is 1 of you or 10 of you.

[steveo]

I think I should clarify my numbers a little. I don't consider interest payments on the mortgage or payments to the mortgage as expenses. I also don't consider daycare as an expense but I take this away from my wife's income. This might be fuzzy logic to you and I get that but it works for me when I work out our expenses.
...
My oldest 2 kids go to school and I count their expenses. We spend though 15k per year on my youngest kids daycare. So in reality our expenses are like 53k.

53k + your mortgage.  So I'm assuming at least 60k+.

A lot more than the "38k" you said - though the 38 makes sense in your head, you may want to qualify that since most would count those expenses.  :)

(Or count it as "60-whatever-k now, but 38k will be the spending in FIRE, once daycare and mortgage are no longer expenses.")

I get what you are stating. If I included interest payments on the mortgage it would be 63k. We pay $2700 each fortnight into the mortgage and about 11k per year into retirement accounts. The mortgage will be paid off in 2-3 years and my youngest will be out of daycare in 2 years.

At those points both of those costs are simply not there. Of course there will be school costs for the youngest however there is a massive cost differential between daycare and school costs.

I still think 38k is excessive for a FI level of spending. It is the 3 kids that add to our expenses significantly. They need to be fed, clothed, there are school expenses and recreational expenses plus little extras like birthdays etc. This is not a complaint as I love the kids and simply accept those additional costs. I don't want to be too cheap with them but at the same time I'm not buying them new phones and phone plans or new computers or games etc. They do get some of this stuff but not an excessive amount. Myself and my wife could easily live off 25k however in my opinion this wouldn't include overseas holidays or regular restaurant spending or additional luxuries. It would allow a great lifestyle though.

[Jwesleym]

We will FIRE in 7 years with about $750,000 as long as the market maintains about 8%. The date is set in stone because of my military service. I will retire with 25 yrs of service and take in about $3000/mo inflation adjusted. That will add up to $65000/yr to build a house on our land. We will start the mortgage when we retire, so that is part of the reason for the high income requirement. The time is based on finishing on a shore tour, so I will have time to prepare for my separation. It will also make sure my retirement pay is maximized.  I will be 43, a little older than I wanted, but it will work.

[Jwesleym]

 

Wanna go and travel Europe for year (and not stay in hostels eating street food)?  nope...
Join a country club and play 200 rounds of golf a year?  nope
Need a new car?  shit the only thing in the budget is a 5 year old toyota...
Close relatives needs some cash?  Crap, since I needed  a new (old) car don't have anything to spare. 
Kids in college?  shit i hope they can get some student loans,
etc...

Not to mention disasters like expensive home repairs, health emergencies, etc. 

Plus, while one might be able to save some on 40-50k a year, one wouldn't really be able to accelerate their wealth accumulation (at least I don't think so -- could be wrong). 

My point is at the 40-50k level you are not really the I in FIRE, because independence (at least to me) means that rare but totally within the realm of possible events will not affect your financial situation significantly.

Facepunch

Here is a better website for your retirement planning www.suzeorman.com ;)

MOD EDIT: link fixed

[Gray Matter]

Oops--I voted before reading the instructions.  I put in for both me and spouse, so the $2-3 million category.  Would be less for just little ole me.  This highish number is because:

• we haven't managed to get our lifestyle expenses down to a mustachian level (facepunch, I know, but working on that),
• my husband is from another continent so expensive travel will always be part of our budget,
• we live in an old house that requires lots of maintenance (doing my part to prevent urban decay, though these expenses would go down if retired and did more work ourselves),
• we live in an area with high property taxes (9K/year) and do not intend to move,
• we will always have more pets than is frugal (we rescue dogs, often special needs with regular vet bills)
• I am not counting on social security or Obamacare always being there.

[starguru]

 

Wanna go and travel Europe for year (and not stay in hostels eating street food)?  nope...
Join a country club and play 200 rounds of golf a year?  nope
Need a new car?  shit the only thing in the budget is a 5 year old toyota...
Close relatives needs some cash?  Crap, since I needed  a new (old) car don't have anything to spare. 
Kids in college?  shit i hope they can get some student loans,
etc...

Not to mention disasters like expensive home repairs, health emergencies, etc. 

Plus, while one might be able to save some on 40-50k a year, one wouldn't really be able to accelerate their wealth accumulation (at least I don't think so -- could be wrong). 

My point is at the 40-50k level you are not really the I in FIRE, because independence (at least to me) means that rare but totally within the realm of possible events will not affect your financial situation significantly.

Facepunch

Here is a better website for your retirement planning www.suzeorman.com ;)

seems like a span link.  I get redirected for 10 seconds and end up on a page about Multiple Sclerosis.

MOD EDIT: link fixed

[chasesfish]

I'm surprised by all the $1million+ per person numbers. My number is about $450k - $500K (2013 dollars), plus a mortgage free rental property. I live in a low COLA and that helps. And I'm just not much of a spender. I should be FI in 3 years or less.

That shouldn't be a big surprise, if you have 700k at 31, a family, and don't have a paid off house, it starts getting really tight.  SS and Pensions are a long ways away at this age.

In my opinion, the marginal increase in lifestyle from $30,000 to $40,000 per year is significant.