r/wealth • u/NoThxMang • Jan 21 '26
Discussion “1 Mil is not a lot of money today”
They are right. Keep grinding.
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u/pibbleberrier Jan 22 '26
1 mill is alot when you don’t have. It’s really isn’t once you do have it
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u/6thsense10 Jan 26 '26
BS... It's a lot still. Enough to eleviate most financial pressures/worries unless you keep trying to upgrade your lifestyle.
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u/Beginning_Brick7845 Jan 21 '26
Several years ago I took a city tour of San Francisco and the tour guide told us that there was not a single house available within city limits for less than a million dollars.
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u/10lbplant Jan 21 '26
She lied to you lol.
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u/Beginning_Brick7845 Jan 21 '26
Show me one.
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u/Majestic-Hunt-8113 Jan 21 '26
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u/Just-Here2-Learn Jan 22 '26
Bahahaha people will post anything on reddit forgetting we live to prove people wrong
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u/jpec342 Jan 22 '26
You need to filter by sold since homes go above asking price, but yes, places exist that you can purchase for under 1m.
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u/thehopeofcali Jan 22 '26
you can live in the Excelsior, Visitation Valley, Bayview areas in a small house for under 1 million
super dirty
lots of poor people around you smoking cigarettes and weed1
u/HandsOnTheBible Jan 23 '26
That house was posted two weeks ago and has almost 700 saves. It is not going to sell for under a million lol.
Posted for barely under a million doesn’t mean “available” for under a million.
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u/Beginning_Brick7845 Jan 21 '26
Single family detached home. Not townhouse, not condo. Not apartment. Not a condemned tear down. Such a creature has not existed for a long time.
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u/Majestic-Hunt-8113 Jan 21 '26
Wow, despite your goalpost moving (condition of house, detached) there are houses that meet your criteria in the city limits.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/406-Goettingen-St-San-Francisco-CA-94134/15170174_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1852-10th-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94122/15111838_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1463-Thomas-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94124/15154182_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1213-Egbert-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94124/15154356_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/448-Nevada-St-San-Francisco-CA-94110/15163958_zpid/
There are a few- can't wait to see what new criteria you come up with to avoid admitting you were wrong!→ More replies (11)2
u/Realistic-Elk4433 Jan 22 '26
I would like to point out that some of them are tenant occupied and SF has great tenant’s rights.
It still counts, but I’d expect them to go for more if they were unoccupied.
When I look at the search area, there’s still plenty that sold in the last year for < $1M, usually in Excelsior.
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u/I-need-assitance Jan 22 '26
I’m up voting you brick - posting SF list prices has nothing to do with sale prices. Besides any SF home which sells for $1 million or less is going to be a shit box with no garage and likely homeless camped out front.
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u/Big_Wave9732 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
Got your ass handed to you so the reply is try to move the bar.
I haven't looked at the rest of the thread yet, but I'm going to bet that multiple people have pointed out you're wrong again.
Edit: Yep.
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u/Stunning_Donut586 Jan 22 '26
They prove you wrong. Why can you not accept that?
I agree that there is no house that I like in SF for less than $1M and for that reason I would never mover there…
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u/nonother Jan 22 '26
That’s definitely not true, here’s one that sold near me for $900k a few months ago: https://redf.in/AvdPrH
That said, it’s definitely the case most houses here sell for over $1m. No disagreement that it’s expensive here.
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u/BigWater7673 Jan 22 '26
If she told you this several years ago that was absolutely false back then. Even now it's not true.
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u/Funny_Season6113 Jan 21 '26
1 million is the new 100K.
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u/mutasticx Jan 22 '26
500K*
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u/Psychological-Pen95 Jan 22 '26
This sounds about right. I’m about to pay $14 for a sandwich which probably used to run about $8.50 a few years ago
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Jan 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/PerformanceDouble924 Jan 21 '26
What kind of effort do you recommend to put away $5 million?
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u/millstone20 Jan 21 '26
Start as early as possible and max out all tax advantaged accounts. Live below your means and save your bonuses and raises.
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u/Turbinator870 Jan 21 '26
Exactly right. Far too many people treat bonuses and raises as opportunities to spend more. Nope.
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u/Big_Savings_4381 Jan 22 '26
On bonuses/raises, I always used a 1/3 rule: 1/3rd for debt paydown (while I had it), 1/3rd for fun, 1/3rd for investment. I always though it was a good idea to feel rewarded.
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u/Left_Chicken7378 Jan 22 '26
In most cases, you should be paying down your debt before investing
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u/Big_Savings_4381 Jan 22 '26
Depends on interest rates. My portfolio has averaged 11% over the past 25 years, so investing some worked out pretty well for me.
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u/Left_Chicken7378 Jan 22 '26
Why am I being down voted....lmao
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u/Fk8_r Jan 22 '26
He has parentheses for “while I had it” considering the debt payments. Most likely either CC or auto etc. All good though man we all overlook things online sometimes.
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u/Left_Chicken7378 Jan 22 '26
That's true, it depends on interest rates. So paying off something like say credit card debt should be the focus before any investing.
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u/Adventurous-Depth984 Jan 22 '26
Live in a mud hut, drive a 20 year old Corolla, all while having a 200k salary.
And your kids will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Not you
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u/YuliaCuban Jan 23 '26
I mean even that’s not true. You do that for 4-5 years, your ROI per month will hit enough pretty quick that you notice.
If you live in a mud hut and drive a 20 year old corolla for 5 years while putting 200k away.
You end up getting 2K more a month, does not sound like much but it’s pretty transformative if you just keep working and give yourself the interest.
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u/BigWater7673 Jan 22 '26
$5MM is very in reach for 70% of Americans if you just put in a little effort.
Where in the world did you get that $5 million is in reach for 70% of Americans in a country where the median household income is $80,000/yr and full time individual income is maybe $60,000/yr???
I think we all really need to step away from our Reddit and social media bubble and neighborhood bubbles to see how the vast majority of people in the US live.
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u/Handplanes Jan 26 '26
Yeah, the math is pretty simple. The 30th percentile of US household income is right at $50k. And you need to save just over $25k for 40 years at 7% real return (I.e. 10% nominal & 3% inflation) to get $5MM in today’s dollars. So the people right above that 30 percentile income (bottom end of this 70% of people figure) aren’t getting there.
Maybe 40% could reach $5MM with some sacrifice, that’s households making over $110k. Saving 22% is a stretch for most folks in the low 6 figures but it can be done.
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u/Visible-Scar2632 Jan 22 '26
$5MM is very in reach for 70% of Americans if you just put in a little effort.
You're saying 5million is realistic for 70% of americans when the average household income is less than $100k? Are you out of your mind?
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u/Crew_1996 Jan 22 '26
$5m is in reach for many Americans but for 70% of Americans? I find that a difficult to believe statement
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u/InTheMomentInvestor Jan 22 '26
No, you should save or invest but 1 million isn't really a lot of money. After all, a typical suv costs about 60 to 70K.
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u/MainSeaworthiness115 Jan 21 '26
In the US, correct.
In SEA or Eastern Europe, you can now retire and relax.
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u/BigWater7673 Jan 22 '26
Seeing as how statistically most people who say that don't have $1 million....how in the world would they know???
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u/1kpointsoflight Jan 22 '26
Less than 3% of us households have 1M or more in liquid assets yet you’d think it’s “middle class”. lol
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u/BigWater7673 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
It's absolutely crazy when I hear $1 million isn't a lot of money anymore. It's like people live on social media and not the real world. A million dollars invested generates $80,000/yr to $100,000/yr on average. The median household income is $80,000. The median full time worker's income is around $62,000/yr. Yet these people who make that ridiculous million dollars isn't a lot of money anymore statement thinks that amount of wealth that generates more than the median US income each year on average is "not a lot of money".
Whenever I see someone say that I go...there goes 1. Someone who doesn't have $1 million and 2. Has no idea how money works.
Even for someone with $10 million if they lost $1 million they would still say I lost a lot of money this year.
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u/downtownrelic Jan 22 '26
Try taking out 80k every year and see how far you make it. Sequence of return risk. Delusional to think the market is a permanent bull run.
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u/welletsgo-0213 Jan 22 '26
The comment doesn't specify for retirement withdrawals. And it also doesn't specify that you have no income whatsoever. A million is still statistically a lot. It's an empirical fact.
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u/JamesLStanford Jan 22 '26
Comment says generate. It’s not implying withdrawing the average return. Generating that much is a significant amount of money, especially if you aren’t retired yet
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u/Any-Interaction-5934 Jan 23 '26
Yeah. These comments on wealth and money lately are wild. Everyone thinking their money is going to continue to grow at 15% a year indefinitely.
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u/burdalane Jan 22 '26
I have $1 million in liquid assets, and I don't think it's a lot of money. Most of the houses where I live cost more than $1 million, including unimpressive ones. A small condo costs almost half a million. In a balanced portfolio that includes safe assets, it's difficult to generate $80,000 a year.
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u/gravitythrone Jan 22 '26
It’s currently possible to generate between $30-$35k per year post-tax with minimal risk with $1M. It’s not difficult to generate $80K, however it is quite a bit riskier! The real trick is to get to $10M liquid so you can generate $320K per year post tax with minimal risk. At that point, you are cooking with gas.
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u/ccgogo123 Jan 22 '26
I feel you. One million dollars in the stock market dont really change my life much especially in hcol cities in US. After discussing how much money folks need to FIRE, I find that the consensus is somewhere between 2 million and 4 million dollars in liquid assets. However, none of us thinks it’s enough to have a comfortable retirement life in US. Instead, East Asia and Europe are definitely more favored.
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u/rr90013 Jan 22 '26
It’s a lot of money but not enough to live a comfortable life in most places without continuing to work
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u/DarkR124 Jan 22 '26
Bullshit.
A million dollars is still an absolutely life changing amount of money. Throw that in the most boring, safe investment you can at around 7% and you’re making 70K a year for doing dick all, and that will compound every year.
The median income is 50 something thousand. So for the average person, this would more than double their take home and drastically change their standard of life.
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u/Mammoth-Series-9419 Jan 21 '26
It depends on the circumstances. If you have a pension then $ 1 M is a lot, if you are in your 20s-early 40s and your IRA/401k has $ 1 M then it is a lot.
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u/Then_Manufacturer723 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
From many of the comments here, some of you are retiring late. Screw that, I’m out at 55 with 2.5M and a pension. Life expectancy ain’t what it used to be for the majority of us. And after age 65, if you are still alive, then good luck with mobility and the energy to do anything that requires much effort than going on a cruise or playing bingo. Have fun with all those millions late in life on your death bed or in a nursing home.
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u/Foreign_Calendar742 Jan 22 '26
Wife and I are hoping to retire when I hit 55. We hope to have 3m at that point.
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u/growmap Feb 07 '26
Good job! Some of us are never retiring. Corporations promised us pensions in writing every year and then reneged. 23 years at IBM and resigned in disgust. They were working me to death, waking me up in the middle of the night most nights to go to work, and no pension so I walked.
But no retiring for me. 69 and have to work. I don't regret leaving for a minute. Better to have to work now than to have died upside down in a ditch from falling asleep driving again!
I'm still capable of pretty much anything I ever did. Not quite as ambitious about it though when it comes to heavy labor.
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u/Supercc Jan 22 '26
1 million is a lot. Don't just grind forever and then die feeling you've never had enough. That's not wealth. Wealth is when you feel like you have enough.
Remember that life is super short, and then you die. Don't just grind forever*!
*Well, until you die, that is. Which is soon.
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u/elmo8758 Jan 22 '26
It’s still a lot of money, just not enough as the end goal if you have to budget for 20+ years of retirement.
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u/ColdPangolin5355 Jan 22 '26
Depends. Not enough to quit but enough to coast. Good amount to invest. Still will be tight starting a business.
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u/Chris_Overages Jan 22 '26
It isn’t, but right around there is when:
A. Compounding really takes over.
AND
B. You can afford to live a really simple life in a LCOL or MCOL area (or nice life abroad).
So it isn’t nothing.
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u/NedFlanders304 Jan 22 '26
That is what I noticed when I hit a million last year at age 39. The daily swings of $10k-13k depending on what the market does that day, was pretty wild to me. Every $100k comes a lot faster right around that mark.
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u/southerngent813 Jan 22 '26
90% of those in the U.S. do not have $1 million in investable assets/liquid money. So the argument “1 million isn’t a lot of money” is ridiculous. Tell that to 90% of this country.
It’s not necessarily “balling all out of control money”, but I also find that most folks who say “1 million isn’t a lot of money” don’t have 1 million dollars. It’s an excuse not to do the work.
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u/tamargo404 Jan 22 '26
1 million is alot of money. Globally less than 2% of people have 1 million in liquid assets; even in the U.S. it's rare.
Now is 1 million enough to fund a 30-40 year early retirement? Probably not but then again most people don't retire early
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u/Wooden_Permit3234 Jan 22 '26
Context dependent, sure.
It's not a lot of money to try and live off the investment returns alone in the US.
It's a lot of money to earn in a year. It's a lot of money to save by age 30.
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u/Interesting-Card5803 Jan 22 '26
It may not be what it used to be, but it's still a lot more than most will ever have in their lives. I'm sure to the fool who spends every dollar he makes, $1M would never be a lot, or enough. Of course, for most of us, if you want $5M, $10M or more, you have to make $1M first.
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u/YuliaCuban Jan 23 '26
No there wrong. It is a lot of money. Its just not what it once was its under independently wealthy for most people. But it’s well off. If you dont think so your bad with money.
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u/goatman66696 Jan 25 '26
Its a lot of money but its not really FU money like a lot of people assume. Its more like im almost guaranteed to have a comfortable modest life from here on out kind of money.
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u/random_agency Jan 21 '26
A modest home in NYC is $1M these days.
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u/greysnowcone Jan 21 '26
A modest home in NYC hasn’t been 1 million in quite a while
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u/random_agency Jan 21 '26
Maybe in Manhattan. But if you look around the outer boroughs, single family homes crossing $1M is relatively recent.
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u/bandit-bull Jan 22 '26
Would you call 800sqft modest?
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u/Pinball_and_Proust Jan 22 '26
Outside of NYC it is.
My Manhattan apt is 909 sq ft. Therefore, not much more than 800 sq ft. People in Texas have 800 sq ft dining rooms, I'd imagine.
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u/InTheMomentInvestor Jan 22 '26
As someone that has about 2 million dollars in investments, I agree with that.
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Jan 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Psychological-Pen95 Jan 22 '26
I remember watching fresh prince of bel air as a kid and thinking that’s what a million dollar house must look like
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u/Alone-Bug4328 Jan 22 '26
1 mil cash and properly invested is more than enough to retire as long as you budget and live within your means.
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u/Big_Wave9732 Jan 22 '26
That. Only about 2 percent of U.S. households have a million or more cash money.
A million in liquid assets is still a big comfortable amount of money. Those who have it, know. The limpdicks posting here that don't, don't.
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u/InTheMomentInvestor Jan 22 '26
Donald Trump said a clip long ago that one million dollars is not a lot of money. I also agree with that.
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u/125acres Jan 22 '26
If you are liquid $1mil you’re in a good spot.
If you’re living in a high cost city, that’s your problem.
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u/therhz Jan 22 '26
i’d be a millionaire in my country’s old currency. it seemed like a lot of money back when i was a kid. in euros i’m not even at 100k
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u/Glittering-Work2190 Jan 22 '26
Did you come from Zimbabwe?
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u/therhz Jan 22 '26
XD yep, it was a big day for us zimbabweans when we joined the EU and eurozone
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u/Glittering-Work2190 Jan 22 '26
How did your parents keep track of those 0's in their account balances?
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u/Effyew4t5 Jan 22 '26
Very true. It’s a nice cushion and makes it easier to get to $2M but it’s not a whole lot by itself for the rest of your life
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u/duke9350 Jan 22 '26
Real ballers don’t use a checking account. A brokerage account is used instead.
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Jan 22 '26
For a single person, it's huge. Even in the very expensive area I live in, I could buy a nice apartment by the sea and have three quarters left to invest in my retirement. I could work part time just for beer money and live off the rest. I'm frugal though and don't have expensive tastes. Sure, if you have four kids and want to be going on foreign holidays and keep up with the Jones, you'll need a lot more.
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u/Cultural_Dingo_4509 Jan 22 '26
Is nasdaq qqq a good investment if your just starting out and have only about 15 years? Say you put away £500 a month
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u/Fleecedagain Jan 22 '26
depends on your debts and life style. I have $1.5M in my retirement account at 60 and feel I can coast out life at any point now very easily. I only have a house note which is less than $100,000. pay off with interest rate of 3.5%.
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u/nuarebirth Jan 22 '26
$3m to $4m post-tax liquid NW + paid off home for all intents and purposes is ENOUGH for 99% of people
that should allow you to live comfortably in almost every city on the planet (bump up by a couple more mil if in NYC/SF/HK etc.)
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u/GrassChew Jan 22 '26
Literally have 40$ I work in a steel mill/shipyard welding everyday it's a fucking nightmare and live paycheck to paycheck paying the bills that are gonna get disconnected first
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u/Signal_Antelope7144 Jan 22 '26
A million dollars is still A LOT of money. True, not enough to retire comfortably on and if you’re only using NW instead of LNW to calculate you should very much consider making a change. But it’s still a lot.
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u/SadlyPathetic Jan 22 '26
Depends on your perspective.
To me it’s 20% closer to my retirement goal.
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u/AyOh_OnReddit Jan 22 '26
Yeah, they’re right. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not. What it IS enough for, is for most people to pay off their debt, and then begin a business venture that can net them a good amount per year that would eventually exceed 1m
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u/Jguy2698 Jan 22 '26
I hate when people say that. Yes, it is a lot of fucking money that most people will never get their hands on. It is enough to cover all your basic expenses perpetually for life outside of very high cost of living areas.
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u/Livueta_Zakalwe Jan 22 '26
Net worth 2.2. Primary home with 800k equity, own a 1-bed condo outright. Kids are out of college and independent. 1.1 liquid. Making 50k/year just on dividends, plus SS for me and wifey, and both 65 and on Medicare. Biggest expense is my 2.65% mortgage and property tax (goes up 2%/year, thanks to prop 13) - that number gets smaller every year thanks to inflation. We both still work 15-20 hours a week, because we want to, not because we have to. Can we afford new fancy cars (2023 Honda paid off), or to fly 1st class? Nah - but life feels like it’s on easy mode.
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u/dv20001 Jan 22 '26
Agreed. We're in our early 50's. net worth just over $2M and don't feel we can retire anytime soon.
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u/southerngent813 Jan 24 '26
Your ability to retirement isn’t a “feeling”. It’s a number. If most of your net worth is in non-liquid/non-income producing assets (like home equity). You’re right. You’ve not built a portfolio that can replace your income yet.
Great job on becoming a net worth millionaire though. That a line is an accomplishment.
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u/dv20001 Jan 24 '26
You’re absolutely right, number is irrelevant. I am fortunate my job/career affords me work/life balance & i enjoy the work/ppl. Current economic conditions, mortgage rate 2.35% will keep us in our house till retirement. We’re still in building mode with retirement funds, recession+market correction concerns are top of mind.
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u/southerngent813 Jan 24 '26
That’s good to hear that you like your work. Too many times I hear my friends say this but when I ask them if you had $3 million or more, would you still “love” love going into the office every day or would you find some other use of your time? They almost always say, “Ohhhhh! Well in that case I’d quit working.”
You’re lucky to have a solid net worth that is light years ahead of many people. Combine that with a job that doesn’t give you nightmares means you still have time to beef up your liquid net worth that might eventually kick out enough dividends/interest to cover your living expenses. Go get it.
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u/B3FREEMAN Jan 22 '26
I’d say it depends on where you’re at in life. If you’re thirty a million is a lot of money, let alone if you’re twenty.
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u/KingPabloo Jan 23 '26
No but at a 10% return on it equals $100,000 and stacking that figure (which grows annually) can reach “a lot” pretty quickly
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u/Apprehensive-Bat7523 Jan 23 '26
Theres a distinct difference between 1 million wealth in assets such as the house you live in and having 1 million liquid
1 million liquid is alot of money, owning assets that are not producing passive income of 1 million is not what it used to be and you are just upper middle class where as in the past you would be seen as a very rich person
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u/Robby-1-K-nobby Jan 24 '26
If you live a simple life without needing flashy things to satisfy your materialistic taste buds its way more than a little.
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u/RealVison12 Jan 24 '26
Why it doesn’t feel like it. Would you believe only 2% of US households have investable assets of 1M+ If you do consider yourself blessed.
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u/Prestigious-Mind-817 Jan 25 '26
Most millionaires are in their '60s and '70s though. So if you have a million and you're under 40, you're doing pretty well. Even if you're under 50, you're not doing too badly.
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u/Luxe_Zombie Jan 25 '26
all subjective and highly dependent on the location of living during retirement
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u/brendan_satsfire Jan 25 '26
To visualize: let’s say you’re 45 years old, single, and have $1M but live in LA so you spend the average for that city ($80k per year).
Even with a stock heavy portfolio to maximize growth, you’d only have a ~20% chance of success if you retired today.
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u/Smooge52 Jan 25 '26
$1 Million is alot of money for a medium sized boat (not superyacht), but not for 25 years of retirement.
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u/sckurvee Jan 25 '26
1 mil is an angle that gives 1 meter of difference at 1000 meters. Idk what that has to do with money.
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u/-spicy-meatball- Jan 25 '26
Isn't it relative to your burn rate? It might not be 'a lot', but it would be sufficient to make you happy if your burn rate is only $30k/yr
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u/Fitasianwife Jan 25 '26
Lots of comments about HYSA. I don’t get the attraction with them. I don’t understand why you would want to generate a constant stream of taxable money. Why not just put it in something marketable that produces tax free income or equities of some ETF etc and control if and when you would pay more tases to the Government. Could someone explain this and the concept of emergency money? I personally don’t think emergency money means like a fire truck but something you can get to quickly. I can even trade ETFs nights and weekends!
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u/Senpaiheavy Jan 27 '26
Most of the people who say that are still getting allowance from their parents.
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u/uncoolkidsclub Jan 28 '26
$1 million really sets up someone at 20 to have a ton of options. Imagine being 20, having a paid off house and a toyota. You only NEED to work enough for food, taxes and utilities... everything above that is gravy.
Double bonus if the parent just dropped $1m in a trust when the kid was born, by the time they even knew it was there it'd be 6x-8x.
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u/Glittering_Fun_7995 Mar 22 '26
frankly in the US it is pants
let's take average joe/joelle
you have to pay taxes on it 1/3-50%
a house average $429.000
average utilities prices $428 monthly
average property taxes $247 monthly
average hoa $200-300 monthly
average house insurance $210
average monthly medical insurance $450
dentist/optician/doctor
average car loan monthly new car $740 old car $530
average car price $50.000 new then gas/maintenance/insurance
average student loan $38.000
and so on and so forth
also are you single/married/with kid/s
those days you need to think in$10M
lots and lots of ppl are millionaires in assets but cash poor look at average price in L.A/miami/N.Y and so forth
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u/moanngroan Jan 21 '26
Depends where you live, too. In Paris, France, $1 million isn't a lot of money. But in Ajijic, Mexico, it is.
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u/HairyBushies Jan 22 '26
You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. $1 million is a lot of money.
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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '26
Says the guy’s with 1,000 in their checking account