Comment by ramphastidae
9 years ago
That's an exaggeration, even for frugal people. Retiring at 50 means ~30 years of working life finished and ~30 years of retirement remaining. At $50k per year * 30, that's $1.5m. Spread out over 60 years that's $25k per year before tax. I wouldn't say it's "relatively easy" to save for retirement, pay for healthcare, live somewhere safe, have children, etc. on that, even with investment returns over that time frame.
You're ignoring investment income. I suggest reading MMM. It's a trove of great information.
I second this. He has a ton of blog posts though, so it can be like drinking from a firehose. Start with this one: The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement - http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim...