Where I live, 500k would be enough to live my life until I die using basic safe investments and planning. I might not be able to take lavish trips, but I could live comfortably off of that for decades.
I don't think that's true anywhere in the USA. You need healthcare, it isn't cheap, and Medicare doesn't kick in for quite a while (possibly never the way politics is going).
No but maybe 4 years? Plus growth in savings and investments from the rest of a software engineers highly paid career? 10 years without staff level income has me at around a million already. Pay off a house and do what ever you want with another million.Plus you can use that money to pay down high interest loans like mortgages and save more
Edit: never work again doesn't have to be the goal, 2-3mil in the bank, everything paid off. I can get a job writing low stress Haskell and rust or something pointless and still make Sr eng money, like a measly 200k lol
No, but it might be enough to COASTFire, or get a dream house and not stress about the payments, or set up a nest egg, or just lower stress about quitting any future jobs.
It's not black and white, front loading some stress in early career can really change life trajectories, even if it's not a long term lifestyle thing.
I am working a high stress job (that I quite enjoy) at a FAANG company, and i've made enough money here that I could take a much lower paying job at any point and not need to worry about saving for retirement or paying for kids colleges. It's not retire now rich by any means, but it's definitely alleviating some financial worries I used to have.
Once you add in payroll tax, sales tax (10% of most purchases) and property tax (you pay indirectly even if you rent) and you get right around 50% in NYC. I have lived this and calced this many times lol.
Interesting to include the sales tax. Makes sense I guess. Where I live in Europe it's like 45% income tax + 21% sales tax (more like 75% on fuel) + 5% wealth tax.
It is not 10% on most purchases. All the largest purchases one makes are almost always not subject to sales tax. Land, money (debt), equities, healthcare, education, insurance, medicine, and groceries (unprepared foods) in almost all states.
And 10% is a high sales tax rate, most jurisdictions are ~7%.
What is the significance of 2 years? Surely, people capable of earning $500k per year are capable of working more than 2 years, at high salaries less than $500k, still allowing them to sock away more than $500k.
$5M to $10M should provide sufficient passive income, even in coastal California.
That depends on your expenses, obviously, but if you're serious you should check out the FIRE movement. There's viable strategies even for lower incomes.
That's fair enough, but then again, we're all boned if that happens so you might as well enjoy the fruits of FIRE until the bang. I wouldn't build up to it starting today though.