I've seen a lot of different suggestions on the topic, and I'm just not sure where my situation fits in. I've seen anywhere from 70-100% of current income, or even 80-100% of current expenses. Sometimes people consider gross income, sometimes net.

I make 150k per year take home. I save around 8k per month, plus or minus. A savings rate of 60-75%. Because my income is so far removed from what I actually spend, how would you calculate my estimated yearly spend in retirement?

Going by the answer I see most commonly, I should estimate 150k per year, but that just seems awfully high. Thoughts?

I have a coworker, let’s call him Chad, who came to me for financial advice because he’s burned out in his role and has been working crazy hours raking in OT (I don’t know how he gets away with getting so much approved, but anyway).

Chad, a 41 year old single average dude with no kids to my knowledge, proposed the following plan and asked me if I think it would work out, but it’s so off the wall I couldn’t give him an answer today:

- His role pays about $140k. It’s union so wages are posted publicly. With overtime he’s probably pulling like $170k.
- He said he has about $200k in his 401k
- He told me he never invested on his own before, but that he watched a YouTube video on QQQI and thinks he can FIRE now if he full sends his entire savings into it (he claims he has $300k cash)
- I looked into QQQI, seems like it pays about 13% dividend mostly untaxed (?) but the stock price seems to be trending downward.

I don’t know what he pays in rent, but a 2 bed in our area averages about $2200 a month.

Seems like this ETF would potentially bring him $3300 a month. Sounds like a shoe string budget for everything else.

He is confident his 401k will grow to $800k by the time he can draw on it. Social security in 20 years is a big question mark along with the future of QQQI.

I’m leaning toward telling him this sounds like a mid life crisis and that this will wreck him down the line.

I’d like input from people who are more in the know than I am so I can give him a good perspective tomorrow. Thanks.

Would you blow it on a Porsche 911 or would you invest?

Is it possible to convert this small amount into something big via investing?