If you can’t afford to retire on $5M, I don’t know how to help you.

Everyone has a different idea of how much money is necessary to live. If you really break it down, you probably technically «need» a lot less than you think, but most of us aren’t willing to give up any aspect of our lifestyles once we’ve gotten comfortable with them. I technically don’t need to drink Diet Coke every day, and I would probably be healthier and richer if I didn’t, but it’s really hard to give up little luxuries. The problem starts when little luxuries start to spiral out of control, and suddenly you’re buying plane tickets you can’t afford with money you don’t have. 

If you are frugal throughout your working life, you might be able to retire in luxury and finally get to enjoy all of the things that you didn’t get to enjoy when you were working. Some people spend a lot of their hard-earned cash while they are working and have to cut back on many of their expenses once they’ve retired, because there isn’t any money coming in. It can be difficult for high earners to adjust to living on a fixed income, and it’s not uncommon for retirees to feel forced to unretire to maintain their extravagant lifestyle. The husband in this story thinks he won’t be able to retire with $5M in the bank, because he spends $200k per year. Shouldn’t that be enough?