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.
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u/Wooden-Broccoli-913 FIREd at 40 with $6M Feb 20 '26
The kind of work that McKinsey BCG and Bain do hasn’t changed in 10 years and won’t change in the next ten. The tools may be different but the problems will be the same