[washingtonismoney]

[quote author=stupac2 link=topic=14712.msg158173#msg158173 date=1457547400]
$11M is absolutely enough to retire on, unless you want to lead a stupidly extravagent lifestyle. My wife and I have calculated it and our number, including our house in the crazy-expensive Bay Area, is around $2.5M. Assuming you get ~5% annual real returns (which isn't insane), $11M is giving you over half a million dollars a year. You can't live on that? I sure could!

Granted, he's probably got less than that, but say he has $5M in the bank, that's still ~$250k a year! My wife and I make a bit over half that. It's plenty to live on.

Remember 5% returns have to be above inflation, or you start eating into your principle.  These days, that a minimal concern, with inflation running at about 1%, but it won't be that low forever.  And returns aren't what they used to be, what with negative interest rates being all the rage.
[/quote]

But of course this is a contradictory claim. If inflation goes up, interest rates will go up and returns will too.

[washingtonismoney]

[quote author=stupac2 link=topic=14712.msg158173#msg158173 date=1457547400]
$11M is absolutely enough to retire on, unless you want to lead a stupidly extravagent lifestyle. My wife and I have calculated it and our number, including our house in the crazy-expensive Bay Area, is around $2.5M. Assuming you get ~5% annual real returns (which isn't insane), $11M is giving you over half a million dollars a year. You can't live on that? I sure could!

Granted, he's probably got less than that, but say he has $5M in the bank, that's still ~$250k a year! My wife and I make a bit over half that. It's plenty to live on.

Remember 5% returns have to be above inflation, or you start eating into your principle.  These days, that a minimal concern, with inflation running at about 1%, but it won't be that low forever.  And returns aren't what they used to be, what with negative interest rates being all the rage.
[/quote]

But of course this is a contradictory claim. If inflation goes up, interest rates will go up and returns will too.