Personal Finance

My goal is to retire at age 50 with $10 million in the bank - what strategies can increase my odds?

Maurie Backman

Published: January 24, 2025 10:16 am

A lot of people dream of an early retirement. And for some, it’s possible to make an early workforce exit while still accumulating a large sum of money.

But it’s one thing to retire early with a few million dollars to your name. It’s another thing to retire early with $10 million.

That’s what this Reddit poster is aiming for, though. They’re hoping to retire at 50 years old with $10 million, and they’re wondering what strategies they can use to get there.

The answer is, there are a lot of ways to accumulate a large net worth by age 50. But the specific strategy you choose should hinge on your risk tolerance and how much work you want to put in maintaining your investments.

You might need to live well below your means

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Retiring at age 50 is a challenging thing in its own right. Throw in a $10 million goal, and you’ve got a pretty big hill to climb.

This isn’t to say that it can’t be done. But what you may need to do is get on board with the idea of living well below your means for a good number of years so you’re able to save and invest a large chunk of your earnings.

Of course, another factor that’ll play a role in your success is how much you earn. If you’re someone with a $90,000 salary, you may not quite make it to $10 million by age 50 even if you’re extremely disciplined and savvy with your money. If you’re someone earning $350,000 a year, your odds are much higher.

For context, the poster above has a $350,000 household income, which is why they’re able to think about such a high savings target. You can do quite well for yourself and retire with millions by age 50 if you earn a lot less — but $10 million may not be realistic for you in the same way. And it’s important to have the right expectations.

Choose a strategy you’re comfortable with

Even with a generous salary, it’s probably going to take some shrewd investing on your part to get to $10 million by age 50. But to that end, you’ll need to think about two things — the amount of work you’re willing to put in and your tolerance for risk.

You could earn a lot of money by investing in physical real estate, for example. But that also requires you to maintain those assets, and it means taking on the financial risk of vacancies, costly repairs, and more.

Similarly, you could assemble a portfolio of growth stocks whose value soars. But that’s a riskier approach than loading up on broad ETFs, so you’ll need to be honest with yourself about how much volatility you can stand in your portfolio.

But perhaps one of the best things you can do is find a qualified financial advisor to work with who can answer your questions and give you personalized guidance based on your specific goals. The reality is that if you have a lot of money to invest, you can aim pretty high as far as your retirement nest egg goes. But it’s a good idea to consult the right professional for help in getting to where you want to end up.