{"id":206599,"date":"2025-12-29T11:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T11:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206599\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T11:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T11:30:18","slug":"some-say-you-need-10m-to-retire-early-but-this-couple-did-it-with-1m-now-their-monthly-expenses-are-just-1241","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206599\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Say You Need $10M To Retire Early, But This Couple Did It With $1M. Now Their Monthly Expenses Are Just $1,241"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A couple in their 40s has drawn a lot of attention on Reddit<\/a> after revealing they retired at 39 with just over $1 million saved. Their monthly expenses were especially compelling, standing at only $1,241.80.<\/p>\n

They live outside Indianapolis, purposely choosing a low-cost area. With no kids, no mortgage, and no desire to keep up with the neighbors, they say they\u2019ve hit the LeanFIRE lifestyle most people think is impossible.<\/p>\n

LeanFIRE is a version of early retirement where people aim to live on a modest budget, usually under $40,000 a year<\/a>, by keeping expenses low and avoiding lifestyle inflation. It’s about financial independence with minimalism, not millions.<\/p>\n

Don’t Miss:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe paid off our house in 11 years,\u201d the original poster wrote. \u201cNo mortgage = game changer.\u201d They drive a 2005 Toyota with over 200,000 miles, cook at home nearly every day, and travel internationally for up to six months each year to stretch their dollars even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cStreet food in Thailand beats cooking at home cost-wise,\u201d they added, adding they often rent fully furnished apartments abroad for $400 to $700 a month.<\/p>\n

Their top monthly expenses include $500 for food and household items, $275 for property taxes, $120 for electricity, and $97 for home insurance. Everything else is minimal: $50 for gas, $25 for a gym membership, $15 for internet, and so on.<\/p>\n

They also have no health insurance premiums thanks to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies. \u201cNo asset testing in 41 states,\u201d the poster explained, referring to how they qualify for Medicaid despite having seven figures in savings.<\/p>\n

Trending: Buffett’s Secret to Wealth? Private Real Estate\u2014Get Institutional Access Yourself<\/a><\/p>\n

This approach flies in the face of personal finance expert Suze Orman. \u201cI hate it. I hate it. I hate it,\u201d she said on a podcast<\/a> back in 2018, referring to the financial independence, retire early movement. \u201cI think it is the biggest mistake, financially speaking, you will ever, ever make in your lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

She warned early retirement would leave people exposed to health issues, market downturns, and long-term care costs, and claimed, \u201cYou might need $10 million<\/a>\u2026just so you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reddit couple disagrees. \u201cI\u2019m sick of the Suze Ormans saying you need $10M. It\u2019s simply not true,\u201d the poster replied to one commenter. \u201cMost people never even get to $1M, and they\u2019re not living under bridges in retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple in their 40s has drawn a lot of attention on Reddit after revealing they retired at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,47614,246,8567,49908,111,139,69,244,245,37333],"class_list":{"0":"post-206599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-early-retirement","10":"tag-finance","11":"tag-financial-independence","12":"tag-monthly-expenses","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-personal-finance","17":"tag-personalfinance","18":"tag-suze-orman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}