I’m 55, tired of ‘soul-crushing jobs,’ have $1 million invested poorly. I am single, no debt I can probably live on $3,000 a month. Can I retire now? [I paraphrased this question from another blog]
I’m thinking that if you have to ask that question of others, the answer is probably no, because if you are thinking about retirement at age 55, you should have more answers…and more detailed questions.
Turns out most of that poorly invested million is in low interest bonds, savings and the like. Yeah, that will keep up with inflation.

Of course, there are plenty of people retired and otherwise who live on $36,000 a year, but retiring at 55 and looking for another thirty more years with a bucket of money seems scary to me.
I wonder…
- about taxes
- paying for health care coverage
- if creates a long-term enjoyable lifestyle
- more risk for investments is acceptable?
Kudos on accumulating $1,000,000 though
I agree that the best answer is No — $1M is not enough. If blog-guy improved his $1M nest egg by taking on more risk, maybe Yes.
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Exactly.
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I’m single with zero debt. I planned to and did retire at age 55 with half a million in assets [including my house.] Now after over a decade in retirement, my assets have doubled. The main difference… I live in a less expensive suburban part of the country and can easily live comfortably on less than half as much as that blog guy.
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So Atossa can get by on less than $1500/month? That’s impressive! My Social Security benefit is $2000/month, so I wouldn’t have needed any retirement savings at all!
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The real question…how long can a country keep their interest rates near zero with record deficits…smells like somethings already dead.
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