I have enough money to retire today but if I keep working, I can add a few million more – is it worth it?

A Reddit user in his mid-30s, has $5.27 million, and is on track to have $7.89 million by April of 2026. He’s married but has no kids and he needs around $129K per year to cover his spending needs, including taxes.

He is tired of his job, hasn’t been able to work productively in a while, and is thinking about quitting now even though that would mean leaving $2.62 million on the table that he could have earned during the upcoming year.  He wants to do projects for himself, and if any turn into a job he’d be OK with that, but otherwise, he plans to just keep having fun.

He’s just not sure if he should stop like he wants, or stick it out at least until April 2026 to get to that $7.89 million level. 

Should the Redditor keep working for $2.62 million more?

Deciding when to stop working is always a tricky question — especially when you earn a lot of money and quitting would mean giving up millions.

At first glance, it seems obvious to say that you should work for an extra year or so to get an extra $2.62 million. Of course, there’s a limit to that, though, because when you make millions a year, you could always keep working to get a huge amount of extra money and you’d never end up retiring and just enjoying life. 

If you’re truly tired of your job and you have ample money to live the life you want, then there’s little actual reason to keep going at work just to get more extra cash to grow your net worth on paper. You’d be trading time for money you’ll never spend, and, in this poster’s case, you wouldn’t even have kids to leave it to.

So, the big question then, is whether the Redditor really has enough. If he does, then there’s no reason for him to stick it out at a job he hates. If he doesn’t, though, then he should stay to get that net worth up to that $7.89 million range. 

Is $5.27 million enough to retire in your mid-30s?

The key question that will determine what the Redditor should do is whether $5.27 million is enough for him to stop working and live the way he wants for the rest of his life.

To determine the answer, it’s important to look at his withdrawal rate and see how much money his nest egg can provide him. Experts now recommend a 3.7% withdrawal rate to stand a good chance of your money lasting.  At that safe withdrawal rate, the Redditor’s nest egg would produce $194,990 per year.

Since the poster said he needs $129K, he already has a pretty good buffer — especially since he said he took into account healthcare costs, as well as spending on the things he likes to do. Since he can easily live off the money he has already invested and have more than enough to maintain his lifestyle, there is no real reason to keep going at work if he is unhappy.

The Redditor may want to meet with a financial advisor before quitting to take a detailed look at his budget, go over his future spending plans, and make sure he’ll really be happy at that income level for the foreseeable future.  But, if he confirms he absolutely doesn’t need or want more money, then there’s no reason to make himself miserable for an extra year just to get a bigger net worth he’ll never spend. 

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