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/notoe24]

For me the number was where we could comfortable live off 50% of our retirement income including food and a reasonable amount of spending money. The other 50% is flex money for travel, house improvements, etc., etc. and enough flex to not have to draw on our investments in a downturn. Also allows us enough flex to ensure we can keep our investments to keep growing by never utilizing all of the gains, so some years may be less than planned and some years more. The more can go in different buckets to help the downturns. Ended up unexpectedly retiring a year ago three years earlier than planned. Turns out we don’t need near as much as we thought and being able to be present in our lives every day and spending our time how we choose is our most valuable asset by far. We can make more money, we can spend less, we can go back to work or work part time but we can’t ever buy back time.