Page 3 | How much money would you need to quit work forever?

Beezknees · 2022-12-08T08:52:33+00:00

Musing over this as I am on the way to work 😂 Everyone has different circumstances. I would need quite a lot to be able to never have to work again, I'm 33 and don't own a house or have many savings, and only have a small private pension. I think I'd need about £30million to feel comfortable quitting work permanently at this stage of my life.

Original poster

Beezknees · 08/12/2022 10:47

BarbaraofSeville · 08/12/2022 10:44

You're forgetting that you can invest the money so it keeps growing, so will go some way towards keeping up with inflation and provide an income without eroding the capital.

It's said that if it's invested and you withdraw at 4%, you'll never run out of money. So you could take over a million a year out of your £30M, you must have extremely expensive tastes to need this amount to never work again.

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I said upthread I don't know anything about investments. I wouldn't know where to start with all that. No idea what is safe and what isn't, I wouldn't want to invest in property as that's just more work.

OP posts:

Boshi · 08/12/2022 10:49

Well you did say to give up working so I assume an amount that would give you a comparable standard of living as if you were working. If you mean a better standard that’s a different question..the skys the limit!

Iknowhim · 08/12/2022 10:51

5 million for us both to give up work, buy a house and live comfortably for the rest of our lives as we're starting off like the OP with no assets.

10-15 to live a life of a bit more luxury.

Original poster

Beezknees · 08/12/2022 10:52

Boshi · 08/12/2022 10:49

Well you did say to give up working so I assume an amount that would give you a comparable standard of living as if you were working. If you mean a better standard that’s a different question..the skys the limit!

Well I'm on £21k so I'd want a better standard of living than now. If I only had enough to give me the same standard of living that I have now, I'd carry on working. I'd need far more to actually quit forever.

OP posts:

Original poster

Beezknees · 08/12/2022 10:54

And I've got no assets, not much pension so I'd need enough to buy a house outright and see me through retirement years as well as working years. If I already were mortgage free and had savings it would be less.

OP posts:

burgledinParis · 08/12/2022 10:54

I’m 33 and my sums take me to about 8.9 million to maintain my current lifestyle, I accounted for 2.5% constant inflation per year though. Terrifying.

Changes17 · 08/12/2022 10:59

@Iguanainanigloo You don't sound sad at all, the opposite. Curious to know what you do that is so fulfilling. It sounds great.

Mia85 · 08/12/2022 11:02

BarbaraofSeville · 08/12/2022 10:44

You're forgetting that you can invest the money so it keeps growing, so will go some way towards keeping up with inflation and provide an income without eroding the capital.

It's said that if it's invested and you withdraw at 4%, you'll never run out of money. So you could take over a million a year out of your £30M, you must have extremely expensive tastes to need this amount to never work again.

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Exactly this. I am amazed at some of the numbers here. It seems that a lot of people are calculating it by (amount I want to live on)(number of years)(something to allow for inflation). But as BarbaraofSeville says the goal is to invest the money so that over time it will on average grow by an amount that keeps up with inflation and give you an income without eroding the capital.

OP - you might want to read about the FIRE movement and the central idea that you invest your money. There is a lot on the internet about it but the classic starting point is www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/29/how-much-do-i-need-for-retirement/
www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
Those are US based and a little old but explain the central ideas.

Caspianberg · 08/12/2022 11:02

£6million.

That would allow for a £100k income every year for 60 years. That would easily be more with interest added. And would pay off my house, get Ds a house and education covered in future, and a general luxury lifestyle without ott.

ByeByeMr · 08/12/2022 11:04

Iguanainanigloo · 08/12/2022 09:22

I'm extremely sad, and wouldn't give up my job for all the money in the world! I enjoy it too much, gives me a sense of purpose, and something to motivate me to be a better person everyday. Even if I won the lottery, I wouldn't quit my job. I'd potentially do a day less so I could volunteer or do charity work, but I dread the day I can't work anymore, as I really do love having a life at work that's seperate to just being wife/mum/housekeeper. By the way, I don't have a great job, earn just above minimum wage, but I love the people I work with, the atmosphere when I'm there, the actual ins and outs of my job, problem solving and going above and beyond. Everyone says I should ask for a higher wage as I do so much extra, but I would happily do this job for pittance, because I find it so fulfilling and I'm definitely not in it for the money. Could also easily afford for me to not work at all, but I'd hate that! It's my day off today and I'm missing the place already!

What do you do? I'm intrigued

EmmaAgain22 · 08/12/2022 11:05

burgledinParis · 08/12/2022 10:54

I’m 33 and my sums take me to about 8.9 million to maintain my current lifestyle, I accounted for 2.5% constant inflation per year though. Terrifying.

Wow...what is your current lifestyle?!

gruffalosbrother · 08/12/2022 11:08

Nobody, but nobody, is going to stick £30m in a current account and just withdraw it. You would take advice from a decent wealth manager (you'd do that on £1m if you had any sense) and you'd never even need to touch the capital so you're being totally ridiculous to say you need £30m

PositiveLife · 08/12/2022 11:08

£1m would do me.
In fact, I'd consider it on less than that but would probably just be too worried to completely give up work.
Mind you £100k would be life changing for me and that's really not all that much.

icanwearwhatiwant · 08/12/2022 11:13

Around 800,000 I'll have a decent pension at 67, I'm 49 now so it only really needs to get me through 18 years and pay off £38000 mortgage.
Plus if I gave up work now I'd happily supplement my income with little bits of work.

burgledinParis · 08/12/2022 11:16

@EmmaAgain22

I live in Paris -forgot to specify euros. Earn around 90k net a year. Not a fancy life style. Still renting at 1.9k month. single. Would need to buy a flat - equivalent flat goes for round 1.5 million. I don’t have a car.

I did account for french taxes though and for living till 95 with the last ten years in an expensive old peoples home.

1.5 million to buy flat leaves 6.2 million.

Even without tax or bills or inflation that leaves 62 years at 100k a year.

Of course I’d have no mortgage and would be able to buy to let if I got a lump sum … but if also stop contributing to pensions if I didn’t work.

seems like a shitload of money - but given that last week I went to a not posh supermarket and got a the most basic roll of tinfoil and it cost me 5€20 ..: well - I’d be cautious!

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 08/12/2022 11:18

blimey, a mil would do me fine.
Stick the whole lot in a fairly basic 3 year savings account and it would still generate more in interest than my gross wage currently. So I'm confident that I could with right advice make better investment decisons.

MajesticWhine · 08/12/2022 11:19

I have paid off the mortgage and I have a few investments already.
I would want to live very well, so 3 million would be workable.

SantasFlaws · 08/12/2022 11:21

£3m.

That would get me a nice house with some land and ra reasonable standard of living for the rest of my days.

That's my minimum for quitting work.

EmmaAgain22 · 08/12/2022 11:22

burgledinParis · 08/12/2022 11:16

@EmmaAgain22

I live in Paris -forgot to specify euros. Earn around 90k net a year. Not a fancy life style. Still renting at 1.9k month. single. Would need to buy a flat - equivalent flat goes for round 1.5 million. I don’t have a car.

I did account for french taxes though and for living till 95 with the last ten years in an expensive old peoples home.

1.5 million to buy flat leaves 6.2 million.

Even without tax or bills or inflation that leaves 62 years at 100k a year.

Of course I’d have no mortgage and would be able to buy to let if I got a lump sum … but if also stop contributing to pensions if I didn’t work.

seems like a shitload of money - but given that last week I went to a not posh supermarket and got a the most basic roll of tinfoil and it cost me 5€20 ..: well - I’d be cautious!

I think we have different definitions of fancy lifestyle! 😂

Cailleachian · 08/12/2022 11:30

People typically use the 4% rule for this (you can take out 4% of a lump sum out of a well invested portfolio each year without a substantive impact on the capital)

£100m nest egg would mean that you had a pre-tax "annual income" of £4m, which is a pretty big jump from £21k @Beezknees

Somewhere around £500k would provide you with an investment income at the same level of your salary.

pigonalipstick · 08/12/2022 11:39

OP £30m is an income of £500k a year for 69 years I know you don't know anything about investments, but you know you could get advice on that right?!

I'm your age and earn £60k a year which is a comfortable life. I'd need 3,5m to keep that going for another 60 years, without investment. So let's round it up to £5m for a cushion, and £10m for fun!

NotToBeShaked · 08/12/2022 11:43

55k a year for approx 40 years = 2.2m

antipodeancanary · 08/12/2022 11:45

DilemmaDelilah · 08/12/2022 09:11

£1m would do - it would cover my pay until I get my state pension and top it up after that.

This. I'm 60, no mortgage.

Claudia84 · 08/12/2022 11:51

Okay but say you reckon and income of £80k a year is enough to live comfortably for the rest of your days and you're 30 now.
80k x 60 = 4.8 million
That's also £80k sitting in bank - not £80 gross.

So that's without investing anything. Say you'd like a 2 million house on top of that

7 million?

How do you get to 30million??

JustJammyJoeys · 08/12/2022 11:52

Hmmm... Somewhere between 750k and £1.75 million... That would take me somewhere I want to be. Ideally though £5 million because I would want to get involved in philanthropy and work/volunteer/donate to organisations close to my heart and I would want the means to do something helpful... and it would help DC onto the property ladder as well as do some travelling... Hmmm now I'm think £10 million might be better....

750k to give up the job I'm in though - no doubt. Anybody want to buy my position let me know!