We own $1.8 million worth of real estate free and clear – should I keep working or retire with a paid-off home in a high-cost city?

Personal Finance

Published: March 12, 2025 7:19 pm

A 46-year-old Redditor with a $12 million net worth is wondering if he should stop working or not.

He owns his $1.8 million primary home free and clear, and he also has plenty of other investments. However, if he kept working for another few years or so, he could bank another $1.8 million given that he’s earning around $1 million a year.  Unfortunately, he said he hates his job. 

So, given that he is pretty young and making a lot of money, should he stick it out at a bad job for another few years to significantly increase his assets or is he ready to retire?

Running the numbers will help the Redditor decide if he can retire

The best way for the Reddit user to decide if he is ready to stop working or not is to consider the current state of his finances.

He’s said that he currently spends $180K per year since he has no housing payment as his home is paid off. He has two kids, who are 15 and 13, and he also has:

• $6.9 million in brokerage accounts
• $1.2 million in a 401(k)
• $600K in a 529 plan for his two kids
• A $1.5 million investment property that produces $42K in annual income along with an inherited vacation home
• A $1.8 million home that is currently paid off

So, given the fact he has $8.1 million in assets invested already that could produce income for him, he’d have $299,700 in annual income from those investments at a safe 3.7% withdrawal rate. 

When you add in the $42K from his investment income, he’ll have around $341,700 to spend if he retires. That should be more than enough money to live his desired lifestyle, even once he factors in healthcare for his family of four which he expects will bring his spending up to around $220K. 

In fact, he has enough of a cushion that it shouldn’t matter if college costs exceed the $600K he has saved should his kids decide to pursue advanced degrees. It also shouldn’t matter that he can’t access his retirement funds for a while since he has a lot of money in a taxable brokerage account.

Talking with a financial advisor could be a good move

While the Reddit user is clearly in a good position to quit working, it might be a good idea to talk with a financial advisor first. 

He’s indicated that he has a lot of his $6.9 million in tech stocks and it may be beneficial to get some advice on diversifying those investments before quitting work so he isn’t exposed to too much risk once he starts drawing from these accounts. 

An advisor can help him decide how to allocate his assets, can help him select a safe withdrawal rate, and can put his mind at ease that leaving work makes sense even though he’s still young. 

Since the Redditor said he hates his job, there’s very likely no reason to do that even if it would mean bringing in another $1.8 million The extra money would just be overkill since he already has way more money than he needs to retire — and since he has the money now, it makes very little sense to give up two more years of his life just to pad his investment account when he doesn’t need to.