Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. How much money do you really need to retire without losing sleep at night? If you think your 401(k) alone will cut it, think again — one wrong market move could put your retirement plan to sleep.
But figuring out how much you'll need to enjoy your retirement isn't straightforward. The costs can add up fast between health care, housing, groceries and maybe even a vacation or two. Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA.
Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes And the reality? Everyone's "magic number" is a little different.
In fact, Northwestern Mutual (1) found that the average American thinks they'll need $1.46 million to retire comfortably, though most are far behind that goal. What's more, blindly investing in the stock market without building a safety net can be a problem if you're planning to retire at a specific age, and the market just so happens to be down. This is something personal finance icon Suze Orman understands well.
"It's not always that stocks go down and bonds go up, or bonds go down and therefore stocks go up. Sometimes everything can go down," Orman said on her Women & Money podcast (2). If you're looking for a solid starting point, here are Orman's rules that might help you get a good night's sleep, though her magic number may surprise you (3) — especially compared to Northwestern Mutual's $1.46 million golden ticket.
Orman shared her thoughts about how much to retire with on her podcast. Her advice is all about playing defense — especially in unpredictable markets. Her first rule: Don't rely on your 401(k) or IRA alone.
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