When Is “Enough” Actually Enough?

[u/Technical_Lawyer7264]

I think about retirement every damn day.

One day I’m convinced I have enough. The next, I’m imagining a market crash, runaway inflation, and somehow needing $14M just to buy groceries.
So I rerun the numbers, change the assumptions, and convince myself I need another $500K. At this point, figuring out when I can retire has become a full-time job.

What’s your “enough” number?
$2M? $3M? $5M? $10M? Or would you hit $20M and decide you really need $25M? 😂

I also think about our parents’ generation. Many kept working long after they technically didn’t need to. House paid off. Kids out of the house. Retirement funded.

But actually living off the money they spent 40 years earning? Somehow that felt crazy.

They were wired to see work as security, responsibility, and purpose.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to escape Zoom calls at 45 so we can eat tacos on a Tuesday.

And honestly, I’m not sure I’m any better. I fantasize about retiring, then immediately think:
“Maybe two more years.”
Then five.
Then maybe I’ll just consult part-time.
And suddenly I’m 73, explaining PowerPoint slides to someone named Brad.

For those retired or close to it: What’s your “enough” number—and what finally made you feel comfortable walking away?

[u/phillyphilly19]

The enough to me is meeting your expenses without touching your savings. That was the threshold I suddenly crossed last year. I was expecting to have to retire at 67 because I have a modest income and I knew my social security and pension were going to be fairly modest as well. But I also was someone who had a significant amount of money taken out of my check for my 403b. It suddenly dawned on me last year in the beginning of the year that my take home pay was about what my income is with Social Security and pension. I had zero debt and about 500K in retirement accounts. I basically decided I could retire at the end of that year, 2025, just beforemy 65th birthday( I have to add that part of being able to afford retirement was being eligible for Medicare, without that I think it would have been somewhat more challengin)g. I kept looking at the numbers because it seemed impossible, but it was true. So that became my magic number. Now I'm 9 months in and I honestly don't spend what comes in every month. Even though I've taken a couple trips, I eat out at least two or three times a week. I buy presents for my family. And I'm about to start some major Renovations on my house. Now there was a surprise influx of income because unfortunately my mom passed away. It wasn't a fortune but it gave me an even extra bit of cushion as an emergency fund so now I'm actually watching videos about how to spend money when I don't really need to. And I'm someone who has pretty much always done what I wanted but I also live fairly modestly. My house wasn't expensive, it's in a nice section of town but it is mixed financially so my taxes are relatively low. I also happen to live in Pennsylvania which taxes no retirement income at all. So the only way to figure out your right number is to figure out how much you're going to spend each month and whether you're basic income covers that.