How Much Is Enough?

[alobar]

I had a good friend in the early 80's when I first was coming over to Thailand. I remember he and his wife walking me out to their picket fence to see me off. He gave me $500 and said; 'bring me back something cool from Thailand. I said; 'Rick- you could go there and pick it out yourself for $500'. He rocked back on his heels and said; 'oh no I could never do that kind of thing. Wish I could though.

I have always wondered what keeps people with the means to travel, or relocate, and the stated desire to, in their respective stateside moobahns, going for the brass ring. I often ask people, admittedly after a pint or two, how they would know when they had 'enough'. Obviously it's a different level depending on one's needs and responsibilities, but it's much more attainable than many are willing to admit. If you come from a cold climate for instance, the fuel savings alone would pay for a decent lifestyle at least half the year over here. I know some people of 'means' who literally talk about winning the lottery- all the time. I say; Man you HAVE won the lottery- do what you say you want to, but they don't.

I guess I'd like to know people's thoughts on the esoteric part of it, and also if anyone had a whole number in mind, or is that kind of figuring just too elusive because of personal variables?

I have a good friend who completely cashed out- home, pension etc. and moved to Panama. He had just crested 7 figures, a lot to many, paltry to others I suppose. He said the most amazing words to me; 'that's enough. i'm out'

Reminded me of a Bill Maher line about the drug war. How do you know when it's over? "Ah here it is haha...the last joint in the world." How much is enough?

[meom]

Assuming you're talking about Thailand just multiply the number of years you intend to live times the minimum amount required for visa.

For example single man, 50 years old who intend to live till 90 would require 40x800,000 or 32 mil baht give or take a few mil

[Forkinhades]

5 million dollars

[lovelomsak]

That is a very good question. When I retired 4 years ago I thought I had enough for the rest of my life if I kept living the way I did. Well I started spending rather freely with out a care or worry and now 4 years later my net worth has increased by 25%. I should have retired earlier.

[StreetCowboy]

Enough is about twice too much

SC

[afarang]

That is a very good question. When I retired 4 years ago I thought I had enough for the rest of my life if I kept living the way I did. Well I started spending rather freely with out a care or worry and now 4 years later my net worth has increased by 25%. I should have retired earlier.

Dead set mate, even on an old age pension from Oz, I and my family live very well. no worries financially. But if i was in Oz as a single man , I would be homeless, living, no trying to live- on the pension.

[Loz]

6XX,XXX.11 pounds Sterling*. I'm old school, I put the check, written to cash, on the fridge door as a reminder. And yes, I had to change the date on the check 3 times. Have a goal and stick to it.

Then again, I'm 37 and single with absolutely NO plans to marry and support a small village.

That said, I still teach here, which means I only have to spend savings when I want something big.

It's all accademic now because I want more so, be flexible but have a fixed goal. How else do you know its okay to let go?

I went to a seminar where someone very wealthy pointed out that wealth is not measured in money, it's measured in time. The amount of time you have before you need to create more money. If you have enough that the answer is never. Then you are wealthy. Its amazing how many people (forgot the stats but sure its worse since I checked) would be broke after 3 months if their pay check stopped. Also alarming is the amount of debt people are carrying to support their lifestyles. Junk anything you are making payments on ( unless you NEED to live in it) and see how well off you are really.

This could get political quickly but debt is an istrument of control that many people willingly submit to.

*The obscured numbers have a personal signifigance not relevant to this thread.

[Forkinhades]

6XX,XXX.11 pounds Sterling*. I'm old school, I put the check, written to cash, on the fridge door as a reminder. And yes, I had to change the date on the check 3 times. Have a goal and stick to it.

Then again, I'm 37 and single with absolutely NO plans to marry and support a small village.

That said, I still teach here, which means I only have to spend savings when I want something big.

It's all accademic now because I want more so, be flexible but have a fixed goal. How else do you know its okay to let go?

I went to a seminar where someone very wealthy pointed out that wealth is not measured in money, it's measured in time. The amount of time you have before you need to create more money. If you have enough that the answer is never. Then you are wealthy. Its amazing how many people (forgot the stats but sure its worse since I checked) would be broke after 3 months if their pay check stopped. Also alarming is the amount of debt people are carrying to support their lifestyles. Junk anything you are making payments on ( unless you NEED to live in it) and see how well off you are really.

This could get political quickly but debt is an istrument of control that many people willingly submit to.

*The obscured numbers have a personal signifigance not relevant to this thread.

but you ARE still working as teacher!!!

[IanForbes]

That is a very good question. When I retired 4 years ago I thought I had enough for the rest of my life if I kept living the way I did. Well I started spending rather freely with out a care or worry and now 4 years later my net worth has increased by 25%. I should have retired earlier.

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer. However, you should have some absorbing, outside interests before doing so. Without some hobies (fishing, art, golf, hiking, photography, wood working, etc, etc) it is too easy to grow stale and bored. For most people, their work is what keeps them motivated in life. Without something else to replace it, it is too easy to become a couch potato. For some people, making money is what interests them. They enjoy the wheeling and dealing, and thrill of the chase. If that is their game then they don't need to travel to places like Thailand. It's too laid back and would bore them.

[Loz]

find a job you love and You'll never work again a day in your life. and the question was what keeps people from travelling or relocating. my answer still stands. it may not be much to you guys with the glamorous wives. but it's enough for an indefinite leave of absence.

[Forkinhades]

Oh I am sorry, I thought the op said 'how much is enough'

[travelmann]

That is a very good question. When I retired 4 years ago I thought I had enough for the rest of my life if I kept living the way I did. Well I started spending rather freely with out a care or worry and now 4 years later my net worth has increased by 25%. I should have retired earlier.

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer. However, you should have some absorbing, outside interests before doing so. Without some hobies (fishing, art, golf, hiking, photography, wood working, etc, etc) it is too easy to grow stale and bored. For most people, their work is what keeps them motivated in life. Without something else to replace it, it is too easy to become a couch potato. For some people, making money is what interests them. They enjoy the wheeling and dealing, and thrill of the chase. If that is their game then they don't need to travel to places like Thailand. It's too laid back and would bore them.

I recently found out a kid I knew at school same age as me was now worth half a billion £s owned half of London from what i saw and his surname.............CASH:lol: checkout

http://journalisted.com/article/1cxr3 he was a complete git atschool but very smart I dont know if hes changed now.

[Heng]

A good yardstick (or meter stick depending where you're from) for me is: zero debt... no school loans, no credit card debit, and more importantly, if you're a business and/or home(s) owner you've paid off your mortgage(s) and all credit lines/overdrafts. For me that's absolute baseline or else you're leaving yourself open to a two front war... and then from there, you tally up all of revenues streams and THEN start asking yourself if that's enough and then some (for plans B and C).

[IanForbes]

find a job you love and You'll never work again a day in your life. and the question was what keeps people from travelling or relocating. my answer still stands. it may not be much to you guys with the glamorous wives. but it's enough for an indefinite leave of absence.

Good point, Loz. I spent 40 years at my career because I enjoyed it. I only took a buy out because I was greedy and wanted even MORE time off than I already had. I got 10 weeks of holiday time a year and used every minute of it enjoying myself... or raising a family. I was basically my own boss and traveled where I wanted and when I wanted. The only restriction was completing a certain amount of work each day. Most often I could do that in 3 to 5 hours. The rest of my time was my own to do as I wanted.

I spent a lot of time in wilderness logging camps where the fishing and hunting were excellent. Occasionally, I was pulled off the job to guide wealthy anglers who had flown into our camp especially for the fishing. My father was an old Scot who believed that work was work, and fun was fun, but never the twain should meet. After working for several years he asked me when I was going to get a REAL job. I told him ... "Dad, I make as much money as you do and have fun doing it" When I finally retired after 40 years I raised a glass to my dear departed father and said... "See Dad, I never DID have to go to work"

[Loz]

exactly mr forbes! of course there will always be those who need to see the world as your dad did. i was raised to be a happy and helpful member of society. never pressured into anything. first i sought money then lifestyle. finally i realised i'd be happier with more focus on the latter than the former. have what you want but want what you have.

[mojaco]

The story goes (true or not) someone asked J. D. Rockerfeller (the American oil magnate), one of the most wealthy people of his times but was still constantly engaged in his businesses, "JD, How much IS enough?" He purportedly answered "A little bit more." I guess his enjoyment was in increasing his wealth.

As for my older sister and me, we both "retired" in our 50's some 15+ years ago. To which my mother (who had struggled just to eat during the depression of the 1930's) said "I just don't understand this generation quitting work so early!" Well, her experience prompted her to save, save, save for that "rainy day" which didn't come again in her lifetime, and so she missed out on many opportunities to enjoy what she had been saving. My generation (including me) doesn't seem to be too worried about that "rainy day" coming. Of course, planning to "retire" young and live in Thailand makes it MUCH easier to "retire" earlier doesn't it?

I totally agree with the poster who said baseline is being debt-free. Then I would add enough to live well in Thailand including margin of error for exchange rate changes, cost of living increases, and the future likely medical situations, and that should be "enough" in my case. If I worried about future "possible" medical situations and the like, there would have never been enough.

[Chunky1]

I hate to break it to you guys but the Western nations + Japan are currently and will continue to rapidly degrade their currencies in order to weaken the real dollar value of their debt. Three things will happen:

1. Cost of living in Thailand and everywhere will go up. Products become more expensive

2. The value of your Western money goes down

3. The Global economy grows at a slower pace with significantly more volatility

[mojaco]

I hate to break it to you guys but the Western nations + Japan are currently and will continue to rapidly degrade their currencies in order to weaken the real dollar value of their debt. Three things will happen:

1. Cost of living in Thailand and everywhere will go up. Products become more expensive

2. The value of your Western money goes down

3. The Global economy grows at a slower pace which significantly more volatility

Looks like you are set to make a fortune since you can so exactly foretell the futures of the monetary system! Best to you.

[tombkk]

A good yardstick (or meter stick depending where you're from) for me is: zero debt... no school loans, no credit card debit, and more importantly, if you're a business and/or home(s) owner you've paid off your mortgage(s) and all credit lines/overdrafts. For me that's absolute baseline or else you're leaving yourself open to a two front war... and then from there, you tally up all of revenues streams and THEN start asking yourself if that's enough and then some (for plans B and C).

Well, I'm a business owner. My company is not debt free, because debts decrease the tax burden. But we could pay my company car off and would be debt free. Now. we have overhead cost every month, which are met, but how about next year, or the year after? I don't thnk you have a clue about finance.

[tombkk]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

I absolutely agree. Unfortunately, my bank account doesn't.

[StreetCowboy]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

God forbid. Our descendents have sufficient burden to bear as it is!

SC

[Forkinhades]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

God forbid. Our descendents have sufficient burden to bear as it is!

SC

<deleted>, if you have made your money why is that burden on our descendants? if anything making way for somebody else to make their money...........

[StreetCowboy]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

God forbid. Our descendents have sufficient burden to bear as it is!

SC

<deleted>, if you have made your money why is that burden on our descendants? if anything making way for somebody else to make their money...........

We all like to think of ourselves as big and important, but the fact is that our money has more permanence than we do; if we die, whatever is residual can be passed on to help our unfortunate progeny out of the poverty and mire in which we have cast them, or we can use what little capital we have accrued to extract through captialism and usury sufficent to maintain our corporeal wonts,

SC

I guess you can guess which side of retirement I am on...

[IanForbes]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

God forbid. Our descendents have sufficient burden to bear as it is!

SC

:lol:

That is THEIR worry. They'll just have to factor in looking after us old codgers when we can no longer contribute to society. I paid into my pension for 40 years and now I'm reaping the rewards. Hopefully, I'll die doing something exciting and I'll no longer be a burden. But, I just want to die with a big grin on my face.

[Forkinhades]

Everyone should retire early. There have been many studies that have shown that people who retire early live longer.

God forbid. Our descendents have sufficient burden to bear as it is!

SC

:lol:

That is THEIR worry. They'll just have to factor in looking after us old codgers when we can no longer contribute to society. I paid into my pension for 40 years and now I'm reaping the rewards. Hopefully, I'll die doing something exciting and I'll no longer be a burden. But, I just want to die with a big grin on my face.

At least you still have your marbles, and not non Erectile Dysfunction, and god bless your soul! and ah maybe we have digressed, but in a good light, cheers!

[Chunky1]

I hate to break it to you guys but the Western nations + Japan are currently and will continue to rapidly degrade their currencies in order to weaken the real dollar value of their debt. Three things will happen:

1. Cost of living in Thailand and everywhere will go up. Products become more expensive

2. The value of your Western money goes down

3. The Global economy grows at a slower pace which significantly more volatility

Looks like you are set to make a fortune since you can so exactly foretell the futures of the monetary system! Best to you.

The information I listed will not make you a fortune since it's completely obvious and everyone else also knows it.

[sillyman99]

You need about 25 Billion Baht.

[thepanicandthevomit]

Some people are money mad, and it's not always apparent who they are. They are corrupted by it, they need it. It makes me happy to see them making themselves unhappy chasing it. There's something very disturbing about how the love of money is hardwired into the psyche of many people. I can't quite put my finger on it but I sense there's something different about these people.

[Heng]

A good yardstick (or meter stick depending where you're from) for me is: zero debt... no school loans, no credit card debit, and more importantly, if you're a business and/or home(s) owner you've paid off your mortgage(s) and all credit lines/overdrafts. For me that's absolute baseline or else you're leaving yourself open to a two front war... and then from there, you tally up all of revenues streams and THEN start asking yourself if that's enough and then some (for plans B and C).

Well, I'm a business owner. My company is not debt free, because debts decrease the tax burden. But we could pay my company car off and would be debt free. Now. we have overhead cost every month, which are met, but how about next year, or the year after? I don't thnk you have a clue about finance.

Yeah, business owner here as well. My companies are debt free (and one of the operations involves helping other people become in debt to it). Okay, some disclosure, a few do have unused overdraft facilities which are technically really light debt. I do see the benefits of debt for some, I just see the greater benefits of having little or no debt for others as well.

Oh, I've been through the required undergrad and MBA finance courses like anyone else and have more than a few good friends who are finance professors (a few of which are 'just' professors now because they helped crash and burn their finance companies in the 90's, all the while taking care of companies that at one time looked GREAT on the books and no doubt were enjoying some huge tax benefits) and know the spiel of the 'benefits' of leverage, maximizing your company's capital, tax implications, etc. I just don't buy into it. What isn't accounted for in their various calculations are the intangibles (say Forex rate flux, key suppliers go belly up, or you decide to just take the next 10 years off, etc.). Zero debt has almost no 'value' in finance because they don't know how to work it into any equations. Peace of mind has no value in finance. On the one hand you can always say 'oh well, we can just scale down...' and on the other hand you'll always have to say 'OH WELL we still have this debt hanging over our heads with interest running against us that never sleeps that we need to service but at least we'll be getting those tax deductions before we have to file for bankruptcy.'

[stander]

Getting back to the original question, I would say that you need to plan for 100,000Baht per month/1.2Mil per year, as a minimum.