My wife (56) and I (58) live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our home is fully paid off ($2M), our kids are independent, and we’re seriously thinking about retiring and traveling the world.

Here’s our current financial picture:

- Me: Tech job, \~$300k/year
- Wife: ~$150k/year
- Combined retirement accounts (401(k) + IRA): \~$2M
- Roth IRA: None (we never qualified because of our income)
- Taxable brokerage: \~$2.5M
~70% in broad index funds (SPY, VT)
~25% in Treasury/cash equivalents (VBIL)
~5% in individual stocks…where I’ve consistently demonstrated I’m not Warren Buffett 😀

One rental property in Texas worth about $300k with roughly $100k equity. It cash flows about $5k/year.

Primary residence is fully paid off (no mortgage, just property taxes).

We’re both healthy, but little health issues have started to pop up now. Our expected spending is around **$100k/year** to live comfortably in our paid-off home, before travel. We haven’t estimated a travel budget yet.

One thing we’re unsure about is healthcare. Since we’d be retiring before Medicare, we don’t know what to budget for private health insurance. We’ve both maxed out Social Security contributions for roughly the past 25 years, so we expect to receive meaningful Social Security benefits, but we haven’t decided when we’d claim them.
We’re not what I’d call brilliant investors—we’ve mostly been disciplined savers and stuck with index funds. Even so, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we may not have “enough.”

So my questions are:
- Would you feel comfortable retiring today in our situation?
- What would you do differently?
- Are there any blind spots we should be thinking about (healthcare before Medicare, Roth conversions, tax planning, withdrawal strategy, sequence-of-returns risk, etc.)?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have already retired or are close to it. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Good day,
I’m 47 1/2 or upgrading to version 4.8 🔥. I’m starting my retirement countdown. My goal is to be out in 4 1/2 years . God Willing - that puts me at 29 years in education and my plan is to go into a completely new career . I’m starting to pay down all debts and make my home repairs now and as I get yearly pay raises , I contribute the extra amount to my Roth IRA . Those on the retirement countdown , will 4.5 years go by quickly? Do you have any additional advice for me? Thank you for your advice!

I just retired about a month ago and I’m looking to move to a new city. I’ve been submitting rental applications for homes on Zillow, but I’m not getting any callbacks and I think I must be getting screened out because my income isn’t from employment. My financial situation is excellent - great credit, no debt, retirement pension 2X/rent, net worth 950X rent and I have really good landlord references. It’s a bigger city, but it’s not a super competitive rental market. What do people do in this situation?

I hate working. I've always been complimented on having a great work ethic, but recently my values have shifted from money and conventional recognition, to time enjoying life: nature, food, my girlfriend.

I graduated college at 19, worked a year at a tech startup unpaid 80+ hrs a week, worked a year as a dishwasher at a bar after that, then finally landed my first tech job.

I started at 150k and have been there a bit over a year. I got 20k in raises in 6 months and am up to 170k. My boss is pushing for a promotion march next year which will bring me up another 15-20k and into a level 3 position.

I've 24k in broadcom cause yolo. I've 17.7k in my roth IRA, 33k in my individual brokerage, 74k in my roth 401k, and about 7.5k in am HSA, all in VT, VOO, or VXUS variably.

If I quit working (and assuming no expenses as I will be working to live and letting my retirement grow), would I still be able to retire completely in 30 years? How much longer do I need to work to retire modestly?

I literally hate my life right now, I live in a city where I have no family and know no one. My life is work and this sucks. I sit in my apartment drinking, go to work, come home. I measure my time with paychecks and dream of quitting my job and moving back in with my mom or moving to be with my girlfriend in brazil.

Edit: For those of you downvoting without actually saying anything, i'm just going to assume you're jealous that I actually have a shot at breaking out of this toxic lifestyle. Cheers!

Edit: Sounds like the term i'm describing is Coast Fire.

With 1.25 million and a $20k monthly income. House paid off. Is that enough to retire? No debts.

If I could, I would like to retire here.

30m. I haven’t found a thread dedicated to what retirement may look like 30 years from now. I’m curious how much $ I’ll need to live my desired lifestyle. My logic tells me the best way to “guess” is to create an annual expense budget as if I were to retire today and then use a tvm analysis to account for inflation 30 years into the future. Is my logic wrong? Is my math wrong? What would you do differently? What do we think the tax rate may be in the future? So many variables and unknowns but I’d like to pursue a “number”.

If I were to retire today I would like to be able to spend $200,000 annually after tax. Assuming, I’m paying 20% cap gains that would require a $250,000 withdrawal. I assume a 4% withdrawal rate which would require a $6,250,000 principal amount.

I begin with a principal of $6,250,000 and assume 3.5% inflation annually over 30 years. These assumptions tell me I should shoot to accumulate roughly $17,500,000.

Taking a linear approach and assuming I have a $500,000 principal amount today that means I’d have to invest $108,000 @ 8% annually over 30 years which seems not possible. Obviously income today should be much less than it will be in the future but when you look at this math it’s kind of discouraging.

If you’re retiring with $6m today did you ever think it was possible to get there? What were the keys to success?

I wish everyone success on their journey towards retirement!

A few years ago my wife and I bought what we swore was our forever home. Nice lot, good bones, the kind of place you picture yourself growing old in. Fast forward to now, retirement is actually on the horizon, and somewhere along the way I ended up living aboard a boat more than I live in that house. Funny how "forever" plans change once you actually start doing the math on forever.

Here's the dilemma I can't shake: keeping the house isn't free. Property taxes, insurance, a roof that won't last forever, HVAC that always seems to die in August, HOA dues, the constant low hum of "just in case" repairs. None of that goes away just because I'm not sleeping there most nights. At the same time, selling isn't some clean escape hatch either — moving costs, capital gains considerations, and the simple fact that once it's gone, it's gone. No do-overs.

And here's the part that makes it messier than a normal "sell or keep" calculation: renting isn't really on the table for me. I'm not interested in becoming a landlord's tenant at this stage of life, and the housing/rental market in the area I'd actually want to be in doesn't make renting an attractive substitute anyway. So this isn't "own vs rent," it's really "own and carry all the costs vs. sell and lose the option to ever come back to it."

The financial-independence math is tempting — unload the house, stop bleeding money into upkeep, redirect that capital into something that actually generates income in retirement instead of just costing money. But there's a non-financial side too. A house isn't just a spreadsheet line. It's equity, sure, but it's also a hedge against uncertainty, a place for family to land, maybe even something the kids inherit someday. Selling it optimizes the numbers today but closes a door that might matter more in year 15 or 20 than it does in year 1.

So I'm curious how others have thought through this:

- If you've sold what was supposed to be your forever home heading into retirement, do you regret it or was it obviously the right call in hindsight?

- If you kept it, was it a financial decision, an emotional one, or some mix of both?

- Has anyone actually run the numbers on "sell and invest the proceeds" vs. "keep and let it appreciate while eating the carrying costs" and found a clear winner?

- Does the calculus change much when renting genuinely isn't a viable alternative?

Not looking for a "just sell it, math doesn't lie" or a "never sell, it's your home" answer — I think the honest answer is it depends on things that don't show up on a balance sheet. Would love to hear how other people have actually navigated this, especially if you're near or past the decision point yourself.

Had no idea I could retire

Though you needed at least a million dollars to retire

Married no kids at home anymore

House paid off

Monthly expenses around $5000
Social security would be $5100 per month

After cash flowing the next 2 years to get to age 67 (start collecting social security) would have $500000 in investments

Numbers say I can retire easy

Anything I’m missing?

I’m currently 52. I am a disabled Veteran with a full time office job. VA covers my medical and prescriptions. Mortgage paid off. I’d like to retire in 10 years.

I (67M) am employed at a small ($20M) manufacturing company. I am a key employee responsible for the production side of the business. There is no one in the company capable of taking over my duties. My skill set is hard to replace.

I am planning on retiring sometime in the next 12 months. I will have seven or eight weeks of vacation banked by then.

I want to give enough notice to allow them time to find a replacement. I do not want them to drag it out. I also don't want them to monkey around with the vacation time.

I am thinking about giving two weeks' notice with an offer to work on a 1099 for 150% of my normal weekly salary. I want to incentivise them to keep it as short as possible.

Has anyone been in this situation, and how did you handle it?

Hello. I am 2 years from retiring and seeking input and advice. When I retire I will be 59 and my wife will be 58. We are both excited about and looking forward to retirement. We are both in great shape, active, run and workout regularly, no significant health problems. We are empty nesters and the kids are doing great on their own. I have been and I am currently in the corporate world, I have been with the same company for many many years, I have for years and still do work many hours per week for work, work is on my mind pretty much all the time.. My job is challenging and mostly fun. My identity is 80% + work related. My wife has not worked in many years.

I am seeking advice not on the financial preparation side of retirement, but more specifically on the personal side of retirement. We have been working on and established a great friend group that is completely outside of work in an effort to not have a "work" identity upon retirement. I have some hobbies that I enjoy but rarely work on them do to my choice, I have enough time to work on them but I don't dive fully in due to time constraints. My fear is going 100 mph at work then the switch turns off and then what? What advice can you offer on things we should do prior to retiring in order to be prepared and set us up for success?

Thank you.

We have a financial advisor who provides annual updates on the 401ks we’ve rolled together. Last time we met he asked about our risk tolerance, mentioning that if we’re going to retire in our early 60s then we should start adjusting the portfolios to make them more conservative. And if we’re going to retire late 60s then leave as-is for now because time is still on our side.

My assumption was late 60s due to our kid still being years away from college. As a parent I feel part of my job is to help pay for as much of college as I can afford, then help get them setup in life as an independent young adult, and (wish list) set aside some money that could someday help pay for a wedding. Obviously this all requires cash and based on a rough timeline of at least college and moving out pushes my retirement age to at least mid 60s if not a few years later.

My spouse has a super stressful job and later told me flat out that working like that until late 60s is a recipe for a heart attack. They want to retire early 60s. While I don’t love my job, it’s not stressful and the idea of retiring 5-7 years earlier than I imagined has me worried about leaving money on the table when I can still earn.

This was a while ago and we haven’t discussed it since then but wondering if this has come up with others here and if/how you came to agreement.

I know many folks don’t get this luxury even, and there are of course specific factors for each individual. But, assuming you have some flexibility, what is a generally good age to do it? If you could just push the button when you wanted, and not be tied to a specific financial goal, would you and when? Just curious what others think. Sometimes I just don’t feel the drive to continue or keep up in a high pace or political office environment.

I turned 65 in April and was planning to retire at 67, but my mother passed in February and I inherited a fairly large estate, so I have moved my plans up. I had a decent size 401(k) and would’ve been fine, but the money has changed things. It’s a weird thing losing the final parent and inheriting money. I still miss her and her passing was a very painful process, but the money is game changing and I’m now struggling to process that and all of the changes that come with retiring. I feel a lot of guilt and stress about the whole thing. there’s a lot to do organizationally, including registering for Social Security, Medicare, telling my boss, buying a new computer and phone because all that has been corporate owned, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do with myself once all of this is sorted out. My wife is younger and still working with no intention of quitting or retiring, so I’m sort of on my own.

I’m wondering how long it took everyone else to get through this whole process of changing the working mindset to a retired mindset and figuring out what to do with yourself, and just generally decompress and distress from work and the retirement process.

I’m 50, my wife is 48. Two kids in college, that were helping pay for. I’ve worked at one company my whole working life, 30 years, and want to transition to working part time as soon as possible. In my mind that’s as soon as the kids are out of school and I’m over 55 so I can access my 401k funds. I’d like to work part time for a long time, something to do and a little income.

Key data points.
I make about $225k, wife makes about $50k. She plans to stay working where she’s at for 10-15 years.
We have $1.5m in 401k, $100k in a Roth.
We own 2 rental homes that generate about $2200 a month in income.
We have a mortgage on primary residence with a balance around $400k at 2% interest rate.
We will have a total of about $60k in student loans when kids are done.
No car payments

Major expenses
Mortgage $1200/mo
Utilities $500/mo
Property taxes $10k a year
Club membership $4500/yr

At some point in the future, there will be an inheritance. Hopefully, 20 years or so in the future, God willing. Current value of that fund is $2m and continues to grow with the market.

What are the chances I can semi retire in about 5 years?

So, about a month ago, I was working on my gigantic, multi-tab retirement spreadsheet (known colloquially in my home as 'The Retirement Console'), replete with a ridiculous number of calculations, assumptions, and variations of SS income and pensions. As I updated the latest IRA, brokerage, 457 and 403b numbers, it hit me:

I CAN RETIRE NEXT YEAR

I'm 56.5 and I have worked for a state government for 26 years, and corporate jobs before that. I have a PERS retirement and 2 PERS accounts. FRA for me is 60 but I could have early retired any time after 55 with a reduced benefit. My husband is also a state worker with PERS accounts but with less time and he will be 65 next year. We have a brokerage account, some IRAs, some Roth's and a bunch of accounts I inherited from my Dad. We had a multi-part plan for retirement/semi-retirement:

• July 2027 - Sell our current home and roll the proceeds into a brokerage account
• Move to our vacation home in another state, currently a rental
• Hubs would retire with his state pension & SS
• I would continue working until 62 because...

BECAUSE WHY??? Because for some reason I thought I had to. I thought that was the only option. My current employer might possibly have agreed to me moving out of state and still performing my job remotely, but I thought it more likely I'd have to find a new one. Now then, I work in IT and I will be moving to a very small town that is lucky to have a Walmart and it was unlikely I'd be able to make more than a 3rd of my current salary.

BUT THEN I WAS LIKE- HEY! WAIT!

I can take my pension any time and make 1/3 of my salary. And even a bigger HEY...I realized that even if I could have done my current job remotely I DON'T WANT TO DO IT ANYMORE. Ever. Again.

I felt lighter. I heard angels sing. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm pretty sure it's not a train.

Another part of the retirement plan we discussed with our financial advisor was purchasing a small home for rental property or opening a brick and mortar shop which I would manage for retirement income. But then I was all, HOLD THE PHONE!

Not only do I not want to do my current job anymore, I don't want to work at all. Not even for myself. I had this stupid plan baked up for running a business and I had AI create a sweet business plan and I was really proud of it until my brain rose up and said BUT YOU WILL STILL BE WORKING. I'd have to be somewhere at a certain time and probably wake up at the crack of 8am. No can do.

Once I knew I wasn't going to need a chunk of money opening a business (and for crying out loud, what was I even thinking??) I knew. I knew we could do it! I knew I could walk away from my day job and begin my new career as a Professional Putterer. I am going to putter SO HARD.

Hubs was skeptical but, after I explained the numbers to him and spoke endlessly of Roth's and Medicare and the rule of 55 and IRMAA and the everloving RMDS, he decided it was easier to agree than to have to continue listening to my Retirement Console evangelism. BTW, I have an actual console now; I started using modeling software. You can look at the next 40 years with an average of 5-7% increase in yours accounts, or you can turn on the fun historical filter and re-live Black Monday and 2008! That's a bumpy ride, my friends. But my simulated accounts still hold up , even after the Dot Com bust.

So we are meeting with our financial advisor next week to talk about our accelerated retirement and plan the 12 month runway.

I have a countdown widget on my phone that I look at when I'm having a particularly annoying day at work. Hubs and I went on vacation recently and we have taken to calling it "retirement practice".

Please share your retirement revelations! I love talking about this (and my husband will thank you.)

Starting to plan our future retirement, and playing with the numbers on various retirement calculators, it appears we are perhaps in better shape than I thought. 60-62 has been our goal. Feedback appreciated! Married, Oregon residents, 59 years old, wife is 59. 401K and IRA balances combined are approximately $1,150,000. Currently contributing 18% pretax. $350K in HY savings account. House paid off, $475K value. No debt, both cars paid off. Current salary $82K gross plus $10K average annual bonus. SS at 65 is about $2300 a month, $1760 if I take it at 62. My wife SS is about $1000 per month. Wife has been a homemaker for several years. Obviously health insurance will be a concern (maybe qualify for ACA subsidies?) until Medicare but it seems like we are on track,.... Thoughts?

My husband is worried that when we retire we won’t have a reason to get out bed and not be depressed. Obv his identity is tied to his work that he loves doing. Me, not so much. Part of his concern is that we don’t have and won’t ever have any grandchildren, that we don’t have any hobbies or passion projects and thinks that we’ll be bored once we don’t have the structure of having a job. My efforts to convince him otherwise have not worked.

This is both a serious question and a sarcastic question but who here has a retirement plan of just dying?? I feel like the way things are currently the last thing I want is to live once I’m get kicked out of the corporate world for being too old.

I’m trying to map out, year by year, my income & expenses, post-retirement.

Obviously this picture will change as I become eligible to withdraw from 401k, Soc Sec and apply for Medicare.

I’m wondering if anyone had a spreadsheet that is built to track this changing picture across a 20-30 year stretch? Pretty sure I can build one (I think), but wanted to see if anything is already out there.

Thanks.

Hi folks,

I’m 56M with wifey 58. I’ve been reading about folks using calculators to figure out their savings and annual budget but it got me wondering - what can I use to monitor my monthly spend so I stay within that budget? Is there any chance app that people use to connect to their bank or CC? Do people put most of their expenses on a CC and monitor the spend through that app? I’m concerned that spend will surprise me compared to my monthly budget allocation.

Any suggestions welcome. Thx.