How much money is "enough" money?

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
User avatar
Satiated Parrot
Expatriate
Posts: 549
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 7:25 am
Reputation: 38
Armenia

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Satiated Parrot »

vladimir wrote:
OrangeDragon wrote:I'm banking on this website. If I'm not a retired millionaire by next year I blame Vlad for not posting enough puns.
Ve haff vays und means of making you regret that post.

wrt money, the answer is that if you're thinking about this all the time, they have succeeded already, and no amount will ever be enough.
Yeah, fight the system, man!

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
User avatar
beaker
Expatriate
Posts: 1143
Joined: Fri May 30, 2014 8:45 am
Reputation: 202
Location: Ta Khmao
Cambodia

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by beaker »

...
There's room at the top they are telling you still
but first you must learn how to smile as you kill
if you want to be like the folks on the hill
Working Class Hero is something to be...

from working class hero -John Lennon

nobody knows what will happen we are all just dust in the wind :unknown: plan all you want but too many variables for me to worry about. it would never end
"i'm the one who has to die, when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way i want to"
jimi hendrix
Sir_Quality_U_Feel
Expatriate
Posts: 1322
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 8:32 am
Reputation: 6

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Sir_Quality_U_Feel »

I think my base threshold to be comfortable any even put away $100 or more each month would have to be about $1200. A lot of people teaching are on $10 an hour, some more. On 10$ an hour, busting ass at 25 hours per week, with holidays and bullshit you are likely not even breaking $1000 per month. I don't really want to do marketing, which is what my bachelor degree is in and I have yet to open a killer business, so making money online some way has been interesting me, but I have yet to execute anything.

I would love to set up a passive income stream in some manner.
I'll give ya 500 Riel for it...
User avatar
Bitte_Kein_Lexus
Expatriate
Posts: 4421
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
Reputation: 1325

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

Interesting question, but almost impossible to answer here. It depends at what age you want to retire, how old you currently are and so on. Plus, inflation is pretty hard to predict, especially here. Rather than saying you need 400 000$, I'd say it's easier to calculate what monthly income you'd want (in current dollars), at what age you plan on retiring then go from there (and add a big buffer!). If I had 1500-2000/month here I'd be really happy (not living in the west of course, unless I owned my property). I can live off 600-800$/month if I wanted to, but I don't think that would be a comfortable retirement. I'd also want to have some extra cash to travel or for general spending/hobbies. Spending usually goes down during retirement, but not always.

As an aside, I find "retirement" the way it's often portrayed on TV is overrated. Most successful people/interesting types don't just retire and watch TV all day. They keep working part time or have tons of hobbies to stay busy. Requires $$$ of course. I think the golden rule for someone living in a medium-cost city in the west is around 1/2 million - 1 million?
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
User avatar
FreeSocrates!
Expatriate
Posts: 506
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 5:14 am
Reputation: 1
Location: Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh
Canada

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by FreeSocrates! »

vladimir wrote:Ve haff vays und means of making you regret that post.

wrt money, the answer is that if you're thinking about this all the time, they have succeeded already, and no amount will ever be enough.
Time for some Ayn Rand, yes, Ayn Rand.

The cedar roasted asparagus has good chew. I don't know how to enjoy it, so I'll Instagram it instead.
Soi Dog
Expatriate
Posts: 2236
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 8:53 am
Reputation: 5

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Soi Dog »

Alex wrote:One thing to keep in mind is this nugget of wisdom: "It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future" - that's certainly very true when making plans for retirement, because many things can change and/or are yet unknown. I think it would be incredibly difficult to "undo" the decision to retire early in case it proves to be premature.

That said, my current plan is to be done with acquiring major assets, such as properties I'm renting out and various other investments, by the time I'm 40. Then I'll keep working until I'm 50 (still adding to my savings, but spending more for my enjoyment at the same time), and by that time I'll check if I've got enough for early retirement, or not. From today's point of view, I can probably retire when I'm 50, but I don't bank on that and I'm not even sure if I would want to. All that is standing between me in my current form and an alcoholic is being busy, I guess. ;) Maybe some kind of semi-retirement would be a good idea, if possible.

I'm not quite ready to come up with a number as far as that long-term plan is concerned, but if I miraculously won the lottery today, I'd say it would have to be north of $2M for me to stop working immediately. And even then it would probably be a bad idea.
We are close to the same philosophy on this issue. I would work a little during retirement in SE Asia if I could figure out how. However, $2M is not going to happen for me. The $800k i mentioned is do-able. Nearly there. :thumb:
Soi Dog
Expatriate
Posts: 2236
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 8:53 am
Reputation: 5

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Soi Dog »

beaker wrote: nobody knows what will happen we are all just dust in the wind :unknown: plan all you want but too many variables for me to worry about. it would never end
"Failing to plan is planning to fail" as they say. Sure, my stupid little financial spreadsheet could go to shit quickly, but at least it gets me thinking about important issues like want vs. need, and lifestyle during retirement. Inflation, illness and injury, etc. are always going to be impossible to predict with any accuracy, so I play around with numbers...overestimating inflation and underestimating income streams to see how I would fare in different scenarios. Hell, I could "wake up dead" tomorrow and it's all for naught, but I still plan my financial future to age 95, just in case.

But you're right. Financial planning is a never ending process.
User avatar
Bitte_Kein_Lexus
Expatriate
Posts: 4421
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
Reputation: 1325

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

So I take it you live abroad? How old are you Soi Dog? 800 000$ in assets is pretty good for a single person. Planning is important, but you know what they say: "Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans". ;-)

One issue of living here is that I'm personally making less money than I would in the west (debatable, but I think it's true at the moment. Or rather, I'd be able to save more in the west). It's also depressing when you hear of 40 or 50 year olds biting the dust. But still better to plan. Being a total workaholic and dying at 50 would be bad, but if you enjoy life then I suppose it's ok.
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
Soi Dog
Expatriate
Posts: 2236
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 8:53 am
Reputation: 5

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Soi Dog »

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:So I take it you live abroad? How old are you Soi Dog? 800 000$ in assets is pretty good for a single person. Planning is important, but you know what they say: "Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans". ;-)

One issue of living here is that I'm personally making less money than I would in the west (debatable, but I think it's true at the moment. Or rather, I'd be able to save more in the west). It's also depressing when you hear of 40 or 50 year olds biting the dust. But still better to plan. Being a total workaholic and dying at 50 would be bad, but if you enjoy life then I suppose it's ok.
Let's say I plan to need that $800k savings (plus the income it generates until i spend it) plus any future social security income to last me another 5 decades minimum from now. That should give me a modest lifestyle without working for that entire time. I might work some then, but I don't want to have to work. I will definitely live abroad during most or all of that time.
User avatar
Bitte_Kein_Lexus
Expatriate
Posts: 4421
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
Reputation: 1325

Re: How much money is "enough" money?

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

Ah ok, so aiming for a 45-50 year-old retirement age. Yeah definately need a bigger cushion then. Why not aim for 1 million then? Then you can tell every you used to be a millionaire :-D

Nah, I'm guessing the extra years of work just wouldn't be worth it?
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], Khmu Nation and 1302 guests