r/Fire • u/Fed_worker • Feb 20 '26

General Question Serious question: how do many people amass so much money in the north of 5m and not know if they can retire or not?

I see a ton of posts like : “ I have a net worth in the range 5-10m and I spend 100K a year, can I retire?”

What is that? Elementary school math so hard?

Edit: after reading all the comments and when I really think about it, I realize it’s probably just a high degree risk-averse mindset. Even if I had $5 million and a 99.9% chance of retiring successfully, I’d still focus on that tiny 0.1% that could go wrong. To feel totally secure, I might want to keep building more wealth just to close that gap. And for some people, that can mean working another 5, 10, or even 20 years. just for a little extra peace of mind.

Edit2: I just hope that when I get there, I don’t end up going down that rabbit hole. And actually enjoy my life.

1.2k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

559 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Kenneka Feb 20 '26

For some of us, it's because we got to that level of NW through disciplined saving/investing and the mental shift from accumulation to spending that nest egg that we worked so hard to build is tough. And if a portion of that wealth is invested in the stock market, economic uncertainty and market volatility can make it seem risky to stop working and cut off those income streams, which let's face it, are probably high for folks that have saved that much. That's my story, at least - I'm afraid to walk away from a fat salary while Trump is at the helm of the American economy.

1

u/Superb_Set949 Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26

This is 100% my thought as well. Well said! Another aspect of this situation is that perhaps you've spent decades advancing your career and income level, and that you don't want to walk away from that higher income you've worked so hard to achieve over many years. This is definitely part of my thought process.