Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and live

Discuss issues related to business, finance, taxes, investments, cost of living in different countries, etc.
Post Reply
chanta76
Experienced Poster
Posts: 1946
Joined: February 11th, 2008, 7:56 am

Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and live

Post by chanta76 »

I know every country is different but what would be the minimum amount you need to retire and live in another country? Let say I have about million dollars and I'm in my 40's. Decide to retire and move to south East asia like Philippines or THailand. Would that be enough?


Meet Loads of Foreign Women in Person! Join Our Happier Abroad ROMANCE TOURS to Many Overseas Countries!

Meet Foreign Women Now! Post your FREE profile on Happier Abroad Personals and start receiving messages from gorgeous Foreign Women today!

User avatar
Yohan
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 6121
Joined: April 2nd, 2014, 10:05 pm
Location: JAPAN

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Yohan »

chanta76 wrote:I know every country is different but what would be the minimum amount you need to retire and live in another country? Let say I have about million dollars and I'm in my 40's. Decide to retire and move to south East asia like Philippines or THailand. Would that be enough?
If you are only 40 and expect to live up to 85, it would be

USD 1.000.000 /45 years/ 12 months - this means about USD 1850,- per month. In Thailand this is about THB 60.000,-.

A bit critical if you ask me, if you consider for example medical fees, buying a nice condominium, and we foreigners cannot live cheap like locals, we have to consider some different food, also some security issues, sometimes visa fees, airtickets... There are also some other expenses, like women or cars...

If you are alone, healthy up to your death, maybe OK, but we do not know our future...
User avatar
Zambales
Experienced Poster
Posts: 1516
Joined: August 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Zambales »

Easily - if you're smart enough. :wink:
User avatar
Yohan
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 6121
Joined: April 2nd, 2014, 10:05 pm
Location: JAPAN

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Yohan »

Zambales wrote:Easily - if you're smart enough. :wink:
Not so easy, just my experience. I met men who arrived in Thailand with not so little money, they got yellow fever and left after a few years with nothing...

Generally said, baht 60.000,- is not so much money in Thailand for a foreigner, if you like to own your nice rooms, like to have a small car, go out sometimes for dinner, invite sometimes a girl to join, need occasionally a medical doctor, prefer not to eat the cheapest meals etc. etc.
User avatar
Contrarian Expatriate
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 5415
Joined: December 2nd, 2009, 9:57 pm

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Contrarian Expatriate »

Yes, so long as you are single and have not debt. If you are married with children, it might become necessary to rely on additional income to purchase a house, second car, tuition for kids, etc.

To put it in perspective, 1 million dollars puts you in the top 3% in terms of world wealth. That being the case, a million of liquid cash is more than enough to live on if you have most of it invested in passive income producing vehicles. Those can be tricky in a low interest rate environment like today, but overseas they can be easier to find.

I encourage people to read the book, "The Millionaire Next Door" to absorb just how easy it is to achieve a million when you live below your means and invest your disposable income early and long term.
User avatar
Zambales
Experienced Poster
Posts: 1516
Joined: August 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Zambales »

Yohan wrote:
Zambales wrote:Easily - if you're smart enough. :wink:
Not so easy, just my experience. I met men who arrived in Thailand with not so little money, they got yellow fever and left after a few years with nothing...

Generally said, baht 60.000,- is not so much money in Thailand for a foreigner, if you like to own your nice rooms, like to have a small car, go out sometimes for dinner, invite sometimes a girl to join, need occasionally a medical doctor, prefer not to eat the cheapest meals etc. etc.
Invest some of the money like Contrarian said to create a passive income.

You could use 25%-30% of the million to buy a property in your home country, rent it out, and use that income for the essentials in SE Asia. What you have left could be invested further or you could use the interest accrued to pay for the non essentials. It'll be a nice problem to have but it's definitely achievable.
User avatar
Yohan
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 6121
Joined: April 2nd, 2014, 10:05 pm
Location: JAPAN

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Yohan »

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/872db09b-1 ... go-in.html
How Far Does $1 Million Go in Retirement?
•August 21, 2017
A million dollars—it has a nice ring to it. But as Dr. Evil learned after spending 30 years cryogenically preserved, it may not be enough—for many people, certainly not enough to comfortably retire on, depending on where and how long they live. A new report from GOBankingRates measures how long a million dollars would last for retirees 65 and older, state by state. It did that by multiplying the Bureau of Labor Statistics' mean annual expenditures for that age group by a cost-of-living measure for each state, provided by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. The tally separated out annual spending on health care, housing, groceries, transportation, and utilities.
User avatar
Yohan
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 6121
Joined: April 2nd, 2014, 10:05 pm
Location: JAPAN

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by Yohan »

Zambales wrote: Invest some of the money like Contrarian said to create a passive income.

You could use 25%-30% of the million to buy a property in your home country, rent it out, and use that income for the essentials in SE Asia. What you have left could be invested further or you could use the interest accrued to pay for the non essentials. It'll be a nice problem to have but it's definitely achievable.
With only USD 250.000,- you cannot buy any reasonable property here in Metropolitan Tokyo - only a small one-room second-hand condominium unit.
Consider around USD 600.000,- for a 800 square feet condominium unit or very little house/land and this is by far not a prime location.

It's possible to survive with one million USD over decades, if you are very careful with money and continue your life as a single and in a very modest way of life while being only 40 years old while living in a low-cost country, but money is difficult to control for most people.
User avatar
HouseMD
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2256
Joined: February 13th, 2012, 6:20 pm
Location: Right Behind You

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by HouseMD »

At that level of savings one could theoretically retire indefinitely on $40,000 at a 4% drawdown with expected returns of 7%. Taxes on capital gains are 15%, so 40k goes a lot further when its investment money.
CannedHam
Freshman Poster
Posts: 274
Joined: May 27th, 2012, 9:25 am

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by CannedHam »

HouseMD wrote:At that level of savings one could theoretically retire indefinitely on $40,000 at a 4% drawdown with expected returns of 7%. Taxes on capital gains are 15%, so 40k goes a lot further when its investment money.
4% seems a bit high for early retirement. Most would recommend 2.5-3%, which would still be 25-30k/year with no capital gains taxes (he'd likely be in the 0% CG rate).

Also, if you're 45 years old, you probably should see some social security in your 60s, don't forget to factor that in!
User avatar
HouseMD
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2256
Joined: February 13th, 2012, 6:20 pm
Location: Right Behind You

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by HouseMD »

CannedHam wrote:
HouseMD wrote:At that level of savings one could theoretically retire indefinitely on $40,000 at a 4% drawdown with expected returns of 7%. Taxes on capital gains are 15%, so 40k goes a lot further when its investment money.
4% seems a bit high for early retirement. Most would recommend 2.5-3%, which would still be 25-30k/year with no capital gains taxes (he'd likely be in the 0% CG rate).

Also, if you're 45 years old, you probably should see some social security in your 60s, don't forget to factor that in!
4% is the generally conservative number if you're invested in the market, as it assumes a 4% withdrawal rate on 7% investment returns, for 3% growth per year (2% lower than annualized historical S&P 500 returns in total) which is enough to keep up with inflation. Pulling out less delays retirement or reduces the quality of your retirement with very little difference in your money lasting longer (you go from a 1 in 25 chance of failure to a 1 in 40, significant but unlikely top matter, it's literally 4% vs 2.5% but you're suffering a lot more for that extra 1.5%). Use FireCalc to figure out what will likely work for your individual risk tolerance and desired lifestyle.
User avatar
HouseMD
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2256
Joined: February 13th, 2012, 6:20 pm
Location: Right Behind You

Re: Would a million dollars be enough to retire early and li

Post by HouseMD »

CannedHam wrote:
HouseMD wrote:At that level of savings one could theoretically retire indefinitely on $40,000 at a 4% drawdown with expected returns of 7%. Taxes on capital gains are 15%, so 40k goes a lot further when its investment money.
4% seems a bit high for early retirement. Most would recommend 2.5-3%, which would still be 25-30k/year with no capital gains taxes (he'd likely be in the 0% CG rate).

Also, if you're 45 years old, you probably should see some social security in your 60s, don't forget to factor that in!
4% is the generally conservative number if you're invested in the market, as it assumes a 4% withdrawal rate on 7% investment returns, for 3% growth per year (2% lower than annualized historical S&P 500 returns in total) which is enough to keep up with inflation. Pulling out less delays retirement or reduces the quality of your retirement with very little difference in your money lasting longer (you go from a 1 in 25 chance of failure to a 1 in 40, significant but unlikely top matter, it's literally 4% vs 2.5% but you're suffering a lot more for that extra 1.5%). Use FireCalc to figure out what will likely work for your individual risk tolerance and desired lifestyle.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Business, Finance, Taxes, Investments, Cost of Living, etc.”