# What's a MINIMUM amount you'd consider to be more than enough to live out the rest of your life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665 "2016-01-10T02:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/21 "2016-01-10T14:09:02Z")
I think you guys saying \< 1M are kidding yourselves, unless you’re 65 and have some sort of retirement income. There’s a decent chance you’ll live to 90, and that you may need reserve for significant medical care or perhaps assisted living at some point. For me, it was 5M when I jumped ship from the corporate world, but I still work as a consultant because I enjoy it and it does bring in some nice cash (no generous stock options, though). ---
**Author:** ![TheSpeculationElucidation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@TheSpeculationElucidation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSpeculationElucidation)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/22 "2016-01-10T14:25:55Z")
I am 25 and in relatively good health, aside from chronic pain from a car accident and one health condition that is manageable. I’d say I have 60 years or so left in me, since most of my relatives live to be around 70-85. I don’t want fancy material things, but if it was a perfect life I’d be able to travel in abundance. I’ll say 3mil. The interest on that alone is more than what I make now. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/23 "2016-01-10T15:27:17Z")
I’m 39. All of my grandparents lived at least into their late 80s; two of them are still alive, one with round-the-clock helpers and the other in assisted living. I’m not doing it for less than five million unless I _also_ get a guarantee that I can commit assisted suicide whenever I choose. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/24 "2016-01-10T15:38:01Z")
I’ll be fairly greedy and say I want half a million per year for the rest of my life (a million just isn’t what it used to be; nowadays that’s merely “well off”). Say I live another fifty years, 25 million. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/25 "2016-01-10T15:56:06Z")
I’m 77 and I already have it, so no lottery winning would be necessary. A million is not very much. A worker making ten dollars and hour would make (and spend) a million in a lifetime, almost half of it on health care. It currently costs a quarter of a million to raise a child to age 18. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/26 "2016-01-10T16:05:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think you guys saying \< 1M are kidding yourselves, unless you’re 65 and have some sort of retirement income. There’s a decent chance you’ll live to 90, and that you may need reserve for significant medical care or perhaps assisted living at some point. > > For me, it was 5M when I jumped ship from the corporate world, but I still work as a consultant because I enjoy it and it does bring in some nice cash (no generous stock options, though). I don’t have much chance to live until 90. I don’t even want to live until I’m 90. But I planned to work 5 more years tops and with that I’m well settled in on retirement funds. So less than a million for younger people, that would be tough. The cost of living well won’t be going down, there’s a lot of inflation to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/27 "2016-01-10T16:17:46Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It currently costs a quarter of a million to raise a child to age 18. :dubious: have any info on that? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/28 "2016-01-10T16:21:43Z")
3 million That I’d invest in rock solid A+ stocks and protect in a trust fund. The income from that trust fund would easily be enough for a comfortable life. I only need 40k a year in income. Any extra income would be reinvested into the trust. My 2 kids would inherit the Trust fund and they’d have to split the income between them. Protecting the money with a trust fund would be essential. Never touch the principal investment. Live off the earnings instead. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/29 "2016-01-10T17:28:22Z")
$200k but I’m old and used to a simple lifestyle. That and I just enjoy working (at least most days). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/30 "2016-01-10T17:32:20Z")
I thought about this the other day. About $4 million, after taxes. It wouldn’t support a lavish lifestyle, but I would be very comfortable. And I could afford a modest airplane. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/31 "2016-01-10T18:28:51Z")
My husband and I are old, and our expensive daydreams are long gone. There’s not much we want or need. However, I know that a nursing home is definitely in the future for one or both of us. A home health care aide and then nursing care is expensive. So I guess a couple of million depending on how long we linger. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/32 "2016-01-10T19:06:11Z")
I’m going to assume I have 40-50 more years. I could probably get by fine on 1 million after taxes. Real estate is cheap here, and I could easily buy a decent place to live and invest the rest in index funds, real estate, etc. Of course it dpeends on how you mean the word ‘enough’. I could always get a 3 bedroom condo in the midwest and rent out 2 bedrooms. I’m sure I could cut my monthly living expenses to well under 1k a month with that, which means 400k after buying real estate would be enough. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/33 "2016-01-10T19:17:55Z")
I’m 49, and as a single man who has worked shifts my life expectancy is below the norm. Still, my father’s line is long-lived, so I expect to see 80 but not 90. So, 35 years. An income of £25k a year will do me; £40K would be very nice. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/34 "2016-01-10T19:50:09Z")
I could live happily on $1 million properly invested. Given taxes and expected banking/professional fees, that would require something like $2 million of lottery winnings. However, that gives me insufficient cushion for unexpected expenses like illnees, a bad investment market, a family member in need, etc. The question doesn’t ask about whether I’d continue working. I still have some time before retirement and if I keep working, even something like 400k would have me feeling good. That would be sufficient to pay off every debt I have and get my retirement savings boosted up a bit. And, yes, I absolutely would keep working regardless of lottery winnings. Even if it was only part time/part year in my profession, I can’t see making less than $30k/year. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/35 "2016-01-10T21:38:40Z")
My standard answer is about 8 million. Currently GE is paying about 3.3% dividend so if I invested the whole amount I’d get a little over 200k/ year forever and it would adjust for inflation. I’ve got 70 years left to live probably 3 kids to put through college and my wife and I would like to buy a new car a piece once a decade. We’d like to buy a 500k house. So just from that we’d need 2.5 million then we need salaries to pay for day to day life. Once cars, house and college are take care of we need a minimum of 2k per month or 24k per year or another 1.5 million so that moves us to 4 million. With student loans and 70 years of unexpected expenses 5 million would be a true minimum. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/36 "2016-01-11T05:34:29Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > :dubious: have any info on that? Sure. [Average cost of raising a child hits $245,000](http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/18/pf/child-cost/) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/37 "2016-01-11T06:00:19Z")
Let’s see. I’d want a million straight up to set myself up comfortably. Then I could live on around a $100,000 a year. I’ll estimate I’ll live another fifty years so that’s five million. But checking inflation, I see the value of the dollar has dropped to a seventh of what it was fifty years ago. So let’s plan on giving myself a $100,000 annual raise every decade. That adds up to another ten million. Let’s throw another two million in there to cover some good health insurance. This adds up to eighteen million. Let’s round it up to twenty million to cover unexpected contingencies. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/38 "2016-01-11T06:06:11Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > My needs are few, ours is a small and simple life. My house is near to paid for, our government pensions will cover our utility costs and food. Nothing extravagant, of course. We have some small savings and investments to fill any gaps that should crop up. Plus, we live where universal health care keeps us from being bankrupted by illness or medical treatment. I assumed the question was _“How much money would you need, as a one time lump sum, to live on for the rest of your life?”_ not _“How much money would you need on top of the money you currently have and the income you expect to receive?”_ ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/39 "2016-01-11T10:47:27Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > :dubious: have any info on that? [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741018) a thread on that very subject, about a year ago. I think the consensus was the 250K number was a little small. I went thru our expenses for our two (grown) kids and came up with much larger total, including the larger house, additional clothes, insurance, college, etc. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665/40 "2016-01-11T12:35:37Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I plan to live for 60 years. At that time, $100,000 would feel roughly like $30,000 feels today. Well, sucks to be you then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-minimum-amount-youd-consider-to-be-more-than-enough-to-live-out-the-rest-of-your-life/742665.md?page=3)