For my dad he had enough investments just doing the corporate grind to "retire" around 50. Before medical insurance cost $50K/yr for a family or whatever it is now, obviously, and back before the housing bubble crisis so a house thats like $300K now only cost him $80K. Salaries were about the same, maybe only 50% higher now. The middle class used to be a lot more wealthy...
The problem is you gradually build up investments until you can live a relatively poor lifestyle forever, but he wants the new SUV to make it easier to tow the RV (old people like SUVs, what can I say) so its a 3 month contract during the rainy spring, and then full time RV all summer. Then its too cold to RV in the winter up north, and the house could use a new kitchen remodel anyway and it looks like an interesting project so...
The point I'm making is "if you don't want to" isn't a constant $ value and isn't really easy to define anyway.
The problem is you gradually build up investments until you can live a relatively poor lifestyle forever, but he wants the new SUV to make it easier to tow the RV (old people like SUVs, what can I say) so its a 3 month contract during the rainy spring, and then full time RV all summer. Then its too cold to RV in the winter up north, and the house could use a new kitchen remodel anyway and it looks like an interesting project so...
The point I'm making is "if you don't want to" isn't a constant $ value and isn't really easy to define anyway.