10/20/2026
The market will never tell you that you have enough.
"I'll retire when I hit $3 million." But then $3M comes... and it turns to $4M, just to be safe.
The target was reasonable when they set it, they reach it, and now they keep working even though the plan doesn't require it.
You might have heard of hedonic adaptation. In 1978, a study by Brickman, Coates, and Janoff-Bulman interviewed people who had recently won the Illinois state lottery. Turns out, they were not meaningfully happier than people who hadn't won, and they actually reported getting less enjoyment from everyday things like a compliment, or a good breakfast (cragel anyone?). People get used to new circumstances quickly, and that includes a bigger account balance. The number you were aiming for starts to feel normal, so the target moves.
Lets break it down a different way. Here is what one more year usually buys. Say you have your $4M and you save another $100k this year. At a 4% withdrawal rate, that extra $100k supports about $4,000 a year in spending. That works out to be about $333 in exchange for another full year of your life at work.
There's an important distinction between having enough and ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ like you have enough. One of the most valuable things a financial plan can provide is the confidence to recognize when you've reached a point where your money can support the life you want to live. After all, the goal isn't simply to accumulate wealth. It's to ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐น๐ - to put that wealth to work in ways that make life meaningful.
