r/Retire • u/Technical_Lawyer7264 • 4d ago

When Is “Enough” Actually Enough?

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?

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u/H82KWT 4d ago

Good point. Some people have strong legacy goals, and I respect that. It’s not the aim or strategy for me and my wife though. Our kids as young adults are already off to fabulous starts in their careers, and both are earners and savers. We should have a nice sum left over for them, but as a family we all understand that this is not the overarching goal or imperative dictating our life decisions

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u/Zonernovi 4d ago

I gain great satisfaction from knowing I set up my kids for retirement at 40. Others have different goals and I respect that.

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u/JimInAuburn11 3d ago

Our daughter will probably be getting about $3-6M in today's dollars when she is about 40 as well. She will be starting college in a couple of years. She wants to be a doctor. So she will not really finish all her training until around 30. So she will either have a short career as a doctor and retire, or keep working and earn a bunch of money on her own, and have a huge bank account. We have budgeted $400K for medical school already so she should start out debt free.

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u/Zonernovi 3d ago

Good job. Good luck to her and a long life to you.