Comments on: Why A Million Dollars Should Be Laughed At

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 00:56:36 +0000

This has to be one of the most idiotic articles I’ve every read. 1st you have to have a decent cash flow to obtain a million dollars. Then that million dollars will provide a cash flow without doing a single thing. 2nd if you only focus on cash flow then you have to work FOREVER to keep the cash flow going. Now if you look at average stock market returns then you are making more then the claimed 4% withdrawal rate. The average from the crash of 2008 – 2014 so far is 10.5% return or 100k on your million dollars in increase value, without including dividends and cap gains. So now I have a cash flow, I have a million+ that is up 46k in the past 4 month, then add in I make on average 25k on dividends and cap gains a year which is reinvested. When I retire I will convert the other 60% of my portfolio to investments that pay dividends and cap gains. This will put more receiving passive income that well exceeds the standard 4% withdrawal rate. Should I give up the million and go for some blogging cash flow that merely covers the bills? I donated to your cash flow by actually looking at this ridiculous blog and advice. My advice pick your poison i.e.: stock market investing, real estate, savings and then hit that as hard and as long as you can and you’ll have a decent life.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:07:52 +0000

Good for you!! That is incredible man, wow. Way to go :)

By: Pablo savi

Pablo savi — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:40:29 +0000

as the old guy here “47” . I have been saving for almost thirty years. Goal is five million. I’ll take the interest and be fine. Should be there in three years

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:30:48 +0000

@BE @ BusyExecutiveMoneyBlog – Yup – you gotta get to $1 Mil first before $3 ;) All in due time though!
@Paula @ Afford Anything – Damn straight, sistah! Highly motivating for yours truly too :)

By: Paula @ Afford Anything

Paula @ Afford Anything — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:06:24 +0000

I have a million-dollar goal, not because I think a million means that I’ll be “set for life” or anything like that, but because it motivates me. And since growing money is 90 percent motivation … bring on the motivation!!

By: BE @ BusyExecutiveMoneyBlog

BE @ BusyExecutiveMoneyBlog — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:39:41 +0000

Great post. Cash (and cashflow) are still king for sure! I kind of have my eye on $3M dollars. Would have to see $1M first.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:36:44 +0000

@Azra – Oh yeah, great point! $1 Million can go a loooooooot farther in different places of this country than others – that makes a huge difference.
@Evan H. – Haha, I agree with you ;) Many of us could certainly live off of $1 Mill at retirement… or even now, if we really worked at it. I guess the point is really to pay more attention to cash flow than this large number that seems impossible to reach.

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:13 +0000

Here’s to cash flow! I have to agree that a million dollars isn’t much at all, especially if you are still 20, 30 or 40 years from retirement. With inflation you will likely find that by the time you save 1 million you will actually need 2. Of course getting to 2 million will be quicker with the 1 million already saved, but maybe by the time you get to 2 you will still need 3 or even 4 million. Who knows what inflation could do in the future, look at the inflation in the 70’s.

Personally I would shoot for 10 million to be safe if I wasn’t focused on cash flow. That amount should provide a sufficient cash flow to both live on and to keep reinvesting and growing.

By: Evan H.

Evan H. — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:11:43 +0000

Wait, are we insane?! A million dollars is a ton of money. We aren’t giving it to a recent college graduate and saying, “Hey kid, live on this for the rest of your life.” This is supposedly when you retire and you start cracking into this money.

By: Maurice

Maurice — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:51:07 +0000

I like the post, I would add that Young Professionals should make a concerted attempt to retire earlier rather than later. In fact that should be the number one goal out of college or high school. There is a lot of written material about this in Tim Ferriss’ books and blogs.

I’d encourage people to Bing/Google “Mortgage your Retirement” by two Yale professors who theorize that young investors would be better suited borrowing money to invest earlier in life when they are more risk tolerant. This essentially involves using financial leverage.

On that note young investors should also consider using leveraged exchange traded funds (ETFs) to boost returns during their 20s and 30s. While these are not classic buy and hold investments – for the experienced investor – they are a good way increase one’s chances of reaching the million dollar mark sooner rather than later.