After a bender of a boys trip to Miami, I'm sitting at my desk hungover, tired, and with a huge case of the Mondays. Don't really feel like doing any work today so been planning my Europe trip for this summer. And it got me day dreaming and thinking about some hypotheticals: What's your walkaway number? If you were to win the lottery or get some inheritance money unexpectedly today, what $ amount would you need to walk away from working forever?
Trending Content
| +32 | Non-Competes Banned | 42 | 6m | |
| +31 | ADHD ! | 15 | 2h | |
| +30 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 3d | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 2d | ||
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 3d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 5d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 3d | |
| +13 | Can someone justify why is million written mm or MM? | 12 | 3s | |
| +13 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 7 | 3d | |
| +10 | What are divorce rates in IB? | 13 | 5d |
Career Resources
$5
Awesome question btw
$2 Million dollars. Assuming I can get a safe 5-10% annual return on this, that means passive income of $100k-200k/year, which should be ok to live on and never have to work again
Yeah, was thinking around the same. I'm only 24 so tons of time for compounded growth as well. I'm very much in the "work to live" rather than "live to work" camp.
the consensus is an inflation adjusted safe withdrawal rate of 4% or less (ideally 3%). talking about returns of 5-10% and just spending all of the return is a surefire way to end up with a) no money and b) inflation eating into your purchasing power.
Yeah but I think no one here would want to "retire" as in "not do anything with your life." But maybe you go pursue a passion project, do something low paying in a lower cost of living area. If you can make 50-60k a year on top of your passive earnings, then you're a lot more comfortable on that 2 million. All of a sudden that's 125k or so before taxes if you're only pulling out your 3% (with the salary, that is). That's a comfortable number to live on.
But yeah, assuming a 5-10% return... who does that anymore? That's why every pension know to humankind is f**ked; they modeled out this crazy growth in order to justify removing dollars for other things and now municipalities have enormous unfunded liabilities. Learn from their mistakes, my man
I feel like a lot of people are going to post from their current viewpoint, without realizing that priorities change when you get older. For example, when you have a family or you develop an entrepreneurial passion. It's not always just about the money.
Young people also forget about the cost of health care as you get older. If you're not working/have employer paid health care, then you're buying private policies or something from Obamacare ... neither of which are cheap. Trust me, you'll be going to the doctor much more in your 40s than you are in your 20s, and way more in your 60s than your 40s. If you think $100-200k pretax per year is going to let you permanently retire early in life, well, I've got a few other ideas to sell you.
Well plenty of people retire on much less than that, so yes it is possible to do so. Plus, you're discounting the possibility of people deciding to move abroad where healthcare can be much cheaper at the point of purchase.
$5 mil, safe 4% real return rate would give you 200k a year
$20MM. The returns off of that would sustain a very comfortable lifestyle. Ideally if we're talking lottery wins, I would probably keep working no matter how much I won. If I won like a real fuckton, like $100MM+, I'd open a nightclub and/or maybe purchase an existing one and really improve it. It would def focus on serious EDM, none of that top-40 bullshit.
Where you going in Europe? I'm hitting Barca for a week this summer.
Barca is lit, you're gonna have a blast. Might pop over there this summer as well.
Thinking Amsterdam>Munich>Krakow
Barcelona is awesome man. I spent a week there last year. Absolutely amazing city. There's just a vibe there. After a night of clubbing, we went to watch the sunrise at Park Guell. Highly recommend that.
Actually thanks a ton for the sunrise suggestion. For personal reasons related to a recent loss, my #1 goal for the trip is to catch a beautiful sunrise. Idk why haha i know its cheesy. And yeah i was abroad there and fuckin loved it. Super pumped to show the city to my friends.
I havent done Munich but Amsterdam is dope and Krakow is actually a really cool city. Sounds like a fun trip.
Highly recommend hitting Thuishaven in Amsterdam - place was magical.
This seems like a horrible idea. Right up there with investing in used car sale lots.
I wouldn't be doing it for the money
I've owned a business for quite a few years now and the burn-out is looming even though I take 4-5 weeks of vacation a year. I really love what I do, but it's just a lot of work lol. I turn 27 this summer and I'm pretty set on reducing my work week down to M-F with a half day on Friday. After you hit 300K a year the money really doesn't matter especially if you're single. I'm not going to give a walk-away number because I can't imagine having no involvement in my line of work anymore, really just looking to free up some more personal time. Everything in moderation I suppose?
Strange way to display something in order to provoke envy or admiration, but still somewhat acceptable
You mean "Weird flex, but ok"
$5MM USD would be enough to walk away from corporate life. Would have to find something to keep me occupied and mentally stimulated for 25 hours a week. That amount allows for a nice annual income along with enough cushion against inflation.
Also allows for some currency arbitrage by living in Costa Rica / Nicaragua during the winter.
"More."
Just joshing, I think I would likely go with between $10-20mil. No matter what ends up actually happening, I think I will always want to be working in some regard (though as other posters have said, that will change the older I get), so 20 seems like a good round number for stepping back altogether.
Gonna sound wanky, but £50m. I don't know why, just the number I've always had in mind. I guess it just sounds like a round, solid figure. Although, reading some of the above comments, I agree that £2-£5m in cash would likely do the job. Not sure it would be enough for me to "walk away," but certainly enough to maybe try something else in life.
$100MM, not crazy enough to think I’m getting there no matter what but I do have a path.
$6MM. Have thought about this. Just invest $5MM into various apartment buildings at 40-50% LTV and collect checks. Have $500k in a boring old savings account (like Ally), have $500k in some crazy stuff or trade options for fun.
Use cash flows to start up a charity (have a plan for this), join some boards, travel. Enjoy life.
$15-20M (in today's dollars)
I would continue to work in some capacity even if I had $100 billion.
I tend to agree. The allure of having big money for me is not a nice yacht, but the proper allocation of capital.
I feel that if I had $100 billion, it would be in better hands than if the government had the money (for instance). I want to raise the standard of living and ensure people have the basic necessities in the world. My efforts with this capital would be largely to push these two basic concepts.
The 'how' in using the capital is a constant philanthropic battle. Still, my desire to have 'big money' in this world is less about me being able to 'chill out' with cool whips, and more along the lines of proper capital allocation.
I don't think I would ever stop working. Had my biggest payday yet about a month ago and immediately rolled my winnings into a new deal. Once you start...it really is the most addictive thing.
Maybe once I have $20/30M liquid in the bank I'll semi-retire and stick to a more boring line of work but really far from that now. I think having kids might change my perspective too idk.
Also feel like if you're any good at generating alpha you have a societal obligation to do so and donate the money.
Implying you have that illiquid?
No, just that there's a huge difference between liquid wealth and illiquid wealth. A lot of guys in early-stage have a technical net worth of 7 figures but it's illiquid and they can't sell if they're founders other than small %s in each equity round they do (if they sell too much it's bad optics).
Have a friend with a co. that just raised @ 8 figures for example but he was barely able to pull cash out because the VCs would be alarmed if he tried selling anything beyond $500k/$1M in stock. Sounds like a lot but it's garbage when you account for risk + buddyboi not getting paid anything meaningful for working 80 hours+ a week for years on end.
I don't differentiate work from life. It's all just one ongoing thing. IDK. If I buy my wife enough shit, do you think she'd introduce other chicks into the mix? That's a more interesting question.
I know I'll never make this much in my life time but 250mm would be enough for me to never work again and the reason why is because i don't trust myself with 50mm, most likely I'm going to blow it all away with my new lifestyle. But 250mm is kind of hard to blow off during your life time unless you buy a mega island or a penthouse that cost 100mm in NYC
25M
I can see $1M / year two promotions away in the corporate world (~7 - 10 years?) Would until retirement to hit those numbers and life would be very scripted.
Dreams of becoming an eccentric CTO and taking a passionate idea to exit. That should get me there.
You should pursue the CTO plan NOW while startup valuations are ridiculously high and it's easy to raise money. I've seen some borderline room temp IQ teams raise insane money and then burn it all and gain 0 traction.
Would call it the bar to get into the actually rich (aka UHNW so >$25-30M).
Realistically, most people can save up/invest prudently and end up with a few mil - getting to >25-30 takes something special (i.e. F500 C-suite comp, startup/business exit, lottery winnings, buyside senior investment professional comp, successful sellside MD comp, successful prof services partner comp etc) to do.
I don't think I'm the type of person to stop working though even if I had a SWR spending power of $500k-1M+ - would rather just reinvest the money into some new project or venture or charitable cause.
~$20mm in today's dollars. I figure a 60/40 stock/bond portfolio should produce ~5% return over the long term. If inflation averages 2.5%, I can take 2.5% out of the portfolio without eating into the principal ($500k / year). I'd like my children to grow that principal further, so I'm not looking to spend it; call it a multi-generational effort to build real family wealth.
I think the concept of being a "millionaire" is really dated since it became a thing back in the late 1800s, but if you inflation adjust from ~1880 to now that implies needing $25-30mm to hit that same level of "F-you money." So I think that's a relevant data point too.
Hit it over the head. I probably would even say a higher number just because there are a number of philanthropic/religious pursuits I would also want to help build with that money on the side.
This is definitely a personal aspect of me as well, I've spent a considerable amount of my time so far working in or for nonprofits and foundations, and I would definitely have to make well over $20-30mm before I stopped trying to accumulate more. There are so many organizations out there that could benefit from a $1mm donation doing truly good work to improve the world, and a good number of them that I know on a personal level, that I would need to be beyond a nine figure net worth before I felt content with my position to extol my contribution and legacy to the world as money.
First, I don't think it's healthy to stop working. If you have the ability to add value somewhere, even if its at a non-profit, mentoring, coaching little league, etc. you should do it. It can be flexible, but I am a big believer in contributing all that you can to the community around you.
That being said, my walk away number would be $8-10mm. With that, I could put away $2-3mm in retirement investments and savings for a family, put $1-2mm in high dividend investments for passive income, start a charity/foundation with $1-2mm, and use the rest for business ventures and riskier investments. It's not a ton, but the charity and business ventures would probably give me 20-30 hours of good solid work a week and allow me to do whatever else I want.
Probably 10m. Give 2m to my parents (make sure they can retire off it and invest it wisely for the long term) and then for myself stick 2-3m in investment in portfolio, start a community service consulting thing and do free consulting for people. Otherwise remaining time will be spent flipping property - seen it on TV and looks interesting. Also gives me something to do and can generate money as cash.
$5M
where do they allow you to take "summer" vacation and how long you been for the company?
About 10 years ago, I was playing around with a retirement calculator and for some reason came up with $4.54 million liquid with the house paid off. That number has been stuck in my head for a long time now. And I'm just about there. Just a little work to do to push a few things over the top. I may come in a little short (closer to $4M) if my startup equity zeros out, but I'm good either way. Still killing it at work, but just about ready to slow down [unless that Google recruiter finally tempts me to take a job there]
more.
Out of curiosity, what would you all do if you did not have to get up for work in the morning? I'd go crazy...
lol
look at the date on ur comment
i knew that i was going to lol at his comment before it was even posted
Two chicks at the same time
A
A “walk away number” isn’t nearly as important as your walk away quality of life. A million will carry you a VERY long way of high-end living in Malaysia or Thailand, etc. of coarse, You are no longer in the United States and as such, you no longer enjoy the protection of the United States Constitution.
I have been semi retired for several years and I am 51. The number isn’t as magic as the situation you find yourself in. If you are completely debt-free, choose to live a somewhat frugal lifestyle and have managed to save at least Lowe’s seven figures, chances are you will be just fine when you decide to turn it in.
On the other hand, if you would like to travel the world first class, see the seven wonders of the world and do all of the other wish list items that are on big spenders lists, that million bucks will not last you very long.
What I did is chose the lifestyle I wanted, then I worked towards meeting the financial goals it would take to afford me that opportunity.
$150-200MM
Some of these comments are incredibly sad. This is the exact reason why we have a mental health issue in this country. Have fun working forever because you need $20mm+ to walk away
Also some of you really need to get hobbies if you truly believe that you can't fully quit and stop working. There aren't enough years in a lifetime for me to do all of the non-work things I want to do...and 90% of them cost very little
Maybe we'd find your hobbies to be pretty gay. Just because you like building model airplanes doesn't mean there is any value or higher purpose in it.
Building a biotech company that saves lives is much more rewarding to me than any hobby ever could be.
I'm not sure whether I want to quit my job. I have many hobbies but I can't live without my job. Nevertheless, I would like to get some free money to start my own business.
On the very, very low end: $2MM. Then I'd move back home, buy a decent house (RE is basically free where I'm from), and live off the interest. There wouldn't be much room for a fancy lifestyle, but I wouldn't have any problem living that way. Could become challenging once kids are introduced, but I could make it work.
Mid-range: I'd say $5MM. That would afford me homes in two cities, decent amount of travel, and living the good life.
$10MM and I'd live like a baller.
Probably as little as $2MM but more realistically $5MM would make me feel better. In my spare time I would get extremely good at golf and try to win some amateur championships.
$10mm would be my low end to stop working for someone else, because that's about what I think I would need to run my own CRE development shop comfortably. I don't think I could ever retire, not really my personality type.
Natus delectus ut nihil recusandae sint. Necessitatibus neque voluptatem rerum sint distinctio itaque omnis corporis.
Officiis distinctio omnis dolorem. Qui placeat dicta expedita a cumque minus unde. Dolores repellat ab odio rem aliquid quia dolor omnis.
Sint accusantium accusantium eum ipsam ad asperiores. Voluptate reiciendis dolores et dignissimos quis consectetur. Et sint et aliquam doloremque nesciunt ea eligendi id. Veniam quod qui omnis optio voluptatem corrupti inventore maiores.
Voluptatem eaque quia aut quia sed. Quam quo excepturi quibusdam dolorum sed. Hic minus provident voluptate sed quae. Praesentium quo vel et exercitationem maiores ipsa repudiandae.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Rerum explicabo dolorum facere commodi dolores voluptatibus. Assumenda fuga numquam debitis voluptatem accusantium est reiciendis voluptatem. Et sed repudiandae cumque illum dicta. Atque voluptatum vitae et culpa. Quaerat labore harum et nostrum. Deleniti in in quia excepturi ab voluptas corrupti.
Aut culpa fugit ratione animi. Incidunt deserunt ipsum architecto tenetur praesentium atque et. Consequuntur deleniti et iure illo aut necessitatibus voluptate. Est id fuga praesentium laboriosam. Eum est aut odio quisquam. Velit distinctio quisquam sed quis sed suscipit laborum.
Dolorem et ea exercitationem sit. Provident sed nihil totam sunt. Odio atque sed nesciunt. Architecto sit et voluptatem iure nostrum dignissimos.
Rem pariatur cumque id distinctio maiores expedita. Aut deleniti vel voluptas non. Sit sequi est eius omnis. Perspiciatis perspiciatis id incidunt sed. Maxime ut asperiores tempore dolorum. Voluptatem placeat eligendi dolorem ab modi.
Sed recusandae cum error quis rem minima provident. Ab cum natus veritatis velit incidunt et asperiores. Eveniet animi explicabo numquam quae non.
Ad sequi mollitia perspiciatis officia. Repellendus totam qui iure ut officia illo iste commodi. Est reprehenderit fugit vero exercitationem earum. Laudantium dignissimos animi ut molestiae beatae corrupti.
Delectus eveniet incidunt est. Repellat quas necessitatibus distinctio veritatis reprehenderit tempora voluptas exercitationem. Ratione optio dolorem voluptas amet officia sequi. Reprehenderit soluta dolor reiciendis vero iusto eveniet qui. A illum adipisci enim asperiores molestiae quae. Autem sapiente quasi molestiae minus.
Voluptatum nam dignissimos est alias qui voluptatem dolor. Id voluptatum error voluptates quidem suscipit ab. Molestias minus doloribus dolorum consequatur eos. Molestiae inventore fugiat enim dolorum repellendus. Accusantium voluptates vel sunt numquam aut beatae. Velit rerum adipisci dignissimos.
Voluptates vero dolor quasi deserunt occaecati voluptas ipsum quia. Omnis at reprehenderit distinctio unde. Sunt quos autem expedita dolorem qui maxime delectus. Voluptate quia consequatur et necessitatibus aspernatur. Sunt maxime possimus alias omnis iste consectetur qui.
Hic qui perspiciatis quidem sit aliquid ducimus. Hic sequi qui rerum animi accusantium fugit.
Odit fugit ducimus sint eum velit. Aliquid explicabo sunt soluta aspernatur. Quis voluptas placeat aliquid et nisi dolores.