25x your annual expenses, after you've paid off your major debts such as mortgage and student loans. For me, $500,000 will do the trick, since I don't intend to stop working when I hit FU money, just switch to lower paid jobs that are less reliable and more fun. I'll get there when I'm 45 or so, according to the current plan (which involves frequent long overseas vacations and buying fast motorcycles in the meantime).
That might work for your life plans, but someone else might have a strong desire to be married, have multiple children, perhaps care for their elderly parents, etc. The manner in which they want to provide may also vary.
So I don't think it's as simple as "get FU money then stop" because you really do need to think hard about what you hope to earn in your life, to what end, and how it trades off with other great things in your life.
No, you're quite right. FU money in 18 year is what will happen if nothing else changes in my life - and it's a better outcome than the unplanned alternative, which is chained to a job and broke in 18 years. But there are lots of other alternatives. I hope to get married and have a family, and my partner will probably contribute as much as I do or more to our shared savings. We might come up with some new goals together. But whenever I meet that person, I hope to bring more than debt to the relationship.
Errm...no. Using the 4% rule, that works out to living on $2k/yr. It's not going to be a comfortable life and definitely not in any of the larger cities or towns. Which is where you'd want to be if you want to have a "modern" lifestyle, with healthcare, reliable electricity, internet, running water etc.
In a city like Mumbai (admittedly, the most expensive in India probably), $12k/yr (post-tax) will just about get you into a Western-comparable lifestyle; decent-size rented apartment, access to cultural events and social life, public transit + taxis/auto-rickshaws, decent healthcare, healthy food + eat out once in a while, some domestic help etc (keep in mind I'm not including savings in this, so a local person who's still working has to earn a lot more or spend a lot less, in order to be able to save). Using the 4% rule that translates to $300k. Also keep in mind inflation in India overall is also much higher than in most Western countries. It's been in the 5-7% range for many years.
I've only spent a couple months in India as a tourist, but if I was to move there I would actually not prefer one of the mega cities like Delhi or Mumbai just because of how polluted they are (among other issues such as crime).
Some of the nicer himalaya hill stations seem like a better idea for a retirement destination.
> but if I was to move there I would actually not prefer one of the mega cities like Delhi or Mumbai just because of how polluted they are
I feel you. I grew up in Mumbai but I don't live there at present. The pollution seems to be worse every time I visit; I think it'll get worse before it gets better. Violent crime isn't that much of a problem in Mumbai in my experience (I've heard Delhi is pretty bad).
> Some of the nicer himalaya hill stations seem like a better idea for a retirement destination.
Can't say I haven't considered that also. Though a lot of them (eg. Manali) are horrible tourist traps. I guess it might work if you can build up a social circle there and you prefer outdoor activities (hiking, climbing, rafting) over city attractions (art, theater, restaurants and bars). And the Internet is going to be very slow. And every time you want to travel it's going to be an 8+ hour train or bus ride to the nearest major city airport. And even then $2k/yr is not going to be enough (unless you live like some of the poorer than median locals). So it's really not for everyone.
If you could see yourself retiring to a remote part of say Wyoming or Montana (comparing just the relative isolation), then you might have the right personality to make a success of it.
Only difference being that remote parts of Wyoming or Montana are a lot more remote than most himalaya hill stations. There is literally nowhere in India that's as far removed from other people as remote parts of the US or Canada.
Sure... until you want good medical care, or want to watch a play or that latest Oscar winning "art" movie... or even moderately interesting work at which point one of the mega cities is your only option.
Well if we're talking about retirment you don't need to find work. What you say is otherwise true but for me the only real argument is medical care, and if it's not an emergency you can still travel a couple hours to the nearest major city[1] to get the rare treatment.
If you're not retired or working remotely I would never suggest living in India or anywhere in the third world for that matter - making money is so much easier in the west.
