47-year-old husband thinks he won't be able to afford to retire on $5 million in 7-10 years: 'If we can’t live on $200k a year, then we have a spending problem.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Apr 19, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

If you can't afford to retire on $5M, I don't know how to help you.

Everyone has a different idea of how much money is necessary to live. If you really break it down, you probably technically "need" a lot less than you think, but most of us aren't willing to give up any aspect of our lifestyles once we've gotten comfortable with them. I technically don't need to drink Diet Coke every day, and I would probably be healthier and richer if I didn't, but it's really hard to give up little luxuries. The problem starts when little luxuries start to spiral out of control, and suddenly you're buying plane tickets you can't afford with money you don't have. 

If you are frugal throughout your working life, you might be able to retire in luxury and finally get to enjoy all of the things that you didn't get to enjoy when you were working. Some people spend a lot of their hard-earned cash while they are working and have to cut back on many of their expenses once they've retired, because there isn't any money coming in. It can be difficult for high earners to adjust to living on a fixed income, and it's not uncommon for retirees to feel forced to unretire to maintain their extravagant lifestyle. The husband in this story thinks he won't be able to retire with $5M in the bank, because he spends $200k per year. Shouldn't that be enough?

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  • Couple on a honeymoon trip
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    A middle-aged husband is contemplating whether he and his wife can afford to retire on $5M in a few short years.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My husband thinks we won’t have enough money to retire, even though we're on track to have $5 million in a couple of years.

    Exactly what it says. We still have between 7-10 years depending on the market. But I (47F) want to retire when we hit $5 million. My husband thinks we won't have enough to retire on,
    via u/Beachwoman24
  • but I think we will once the kids are out of college and our house is paid off. I told him this morning that if we can't live on $200k a year,
    via u/Beachwoman24
  • then we have a spending problem, not an income problem. It's expensive right now because our kids are teenagers.
    via u/Beachwoman24
  • Teenager schoolgirl learning online at home with her sister
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    An expensive teenager works on her laptop, while her sister listens to music. 

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Do I just wait until our house is paid off to discuss this again?
    via u/Beachwoman24
  • Brown and white brick house under blue sky during daytime
    via Dillon Kydd

    A paid-off house.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • FSUalumni You should budget. Look at what expenses you spend regularly. Maybe you can live under $200k a year, maybe you won't. Only you (and your husband) can tell what you'd be willing to cut.
    via u/FSUalumni
  • Beachwoman24 OP Thank you. We will have to run a budget to see where we can cut back.
    via u/Beachwoman24
  • JoshAllentown Budgeting doesn't inherently mean to cut back. Just see where your spending actually is going. If it's over $200k/yr in ongoing expenses, then either he's right and you need to save more, or you can cut back somewhere and see if you think it's worth retiring to that cut back lifestyle. The choice is yours.
    via u/JoshAllentown
  • negme Exactly. We don't budget so we can "cut things" per-say but more so we can understand decision making trade offs and more accurately plan for the future.
    via u/negme
  • Educational-Fix5320 Retired and immediately realized I didn't have to replace my entire income because I was no longer socking away 12% into my 401k - looking at monthly spend was a lot more relevant. Hope that helps with perspective.
    via u/Educational-Fix5320
  • Sea_Machine4580 Agree $5 million is a lot of money to retire on with a house paid off. Some of the issue for him may be anxiety/mindset. Suggest continuing to talk about it (not all the time, maybe every month or quarter) Switching from income to spending it a big transition. You'll see plenty of opposition to living off dividends (as opposed to taking money out of growth stocks) but if the psychology works for him it may be worth thinking about. (check out the r/dividends sub)
    via u/Sea_Machine4580
  • DinkandD I'm 35M and if I was at $5M today, I'd never work on purpose again in my life. Take that for what it's worth.
    via u/DinkandD
  • teamhog Just keep doing what your doing. You retire when you can and when it makes sense for you. He can retire when he's comfortable and it makes sense. Why would you wait to discuss this? Don't harp on it but also don't ignore it.
    via u/teamhog
  • My wife and I don't always agree on things but we respect each other and she can do what she feels is right for her concerning us. You've got time. No decision had to be made today or this week or this year.
    via u/teamhog
  • Prodigalsunspot It's most likely a psychological issue. It can be a tough mental switch to move from accumulation to beginning to spend down.
    via u/Prodigalsunspot
  • rh681 I'd like to know how $16K per month is cutting it close. $5 Million is in the top .1%
    via u/rh681
  • renbutler2 We have two teenagers and we live on less than $60k spend per year, without depriving them of anything and with preparing them for college.
    via u/renbutler2
  • Significant-Web-2317 Just remember the 200k is before taxes. So depending on your situation it could get chopped pretty easily. $5M may not be enough if you need $200k after tax. And contrary to what people are saying, it's not very hard to spend 200 if you are used to spending that much. Especially if your spouse isn't on board for being frugal.
    via u/Significant-Web-2317

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millionaire spending wife husband future rich people retirement money budget afford
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