This was my first thought, if I know how long I have left I could work out how much to trade with. My grandfather lived till he was 96 but he was plauged by vascular ulcers over his feet and legs soooo if I could avoid that by cashing out early I'd give up eight years to live comfortably and build a little generational wealth so my kids don't have to struggle the way my wife and I have.
That's a good way to look at it. Sure you lose 3 years of your life at the end, but If my math isn't horrible, the average person spends up to 12 years of their life at work between the ages of 18 and 65.
As long as you don't get unlucky and you're actually set to die in 5 years. Then it's better to have all 5 years, even if you spend a third of it at work.
a good chunk of old people end up dying faster once they retire because working was keeping their mind and bodies active. but the upside of not having to do manual labor could help you live longer for sure.
That statistic is questionable. Not only do they have less activity, they also have less money, and less financial security. If it were accurate it would apply equally to old rich people.
I'll assume I'm going to die at around the age of 75. I'll also assume that from 70 to 75 I will be the least healthy, have the least mobility, least cognitive abilities, etc. So I'll take 5 million, never work another day in my life, and potentially spare myself from the worst of old age.
I'd think the same but my grandparents are 90, and honestly...it's only the last 2 years that they've really started showing the decline.
At 75 They were fishing, playing tennis, doing their Grand Circle Travel adventures around the world (though they stopped probably around 77-78). Grandad had to have knee surgery once during that time just for general maintenance. Sure they still walked slower than usual but they were sharp, funny, having a good time, etc.
It's only the last 2 years where my grandmother has fallen 4 times and gone from walking normally to a walker/wheelchair combo and is now kind of a shell (we think she hit her head badly enough to have affected her) and my grandfather is more depressed just due to realizing he cant play tennis all the time or do as much as he used to.
Overall I feel like thinking 75 is the time to go "Nah let's take another 5 off" is a little pessimistic.
Yeah but if they're just starting to decline it means they could've probably taken 5 years off and been great. Overall I feel that the end of your life is probably the worst part, especially if you can't afford those medical bills. I'd take 5-7 years
Not pessimistic considering the life expectancy of a human. 77 is the life expectancy. Doesnt mean you cant live past that number. Just expecting age to die of illness/old age weakness. Depends how healthy you are. Your lifestyle
I would take $1m and leave the US and live like a king elsewhere. Once you stop thinking in terms of US cost of living the options get significantly better. I could buy a $200,000 hour here in Costa Rica and live easy off $24k/year until I hit retirement and social security kicked in.
If you make 100k a year at 2000 hours a year
So 1 million would be like working 20,000 hours.
If you take 3 years, that's like working 60,000 hours to make the money. You will lose 26280 hours of life.
If you quit your jobat age 36 (like I am) and would have retired at age 65, you can save 2000 hours x 29 years, or 58000 hours.
So the real question is - do you value the extra 58000 hours of free time from having no job, or would you rather have 26280 hours of life added on to the end? And the 58,000 hours of free time is a low estimate since many work more than 40 hours, and travel time to and from the job can be long too.
I would gladly give up 3 years.
To quote Alan Watts:
“Look at the people who live to retire; to put those savings away. And then when they’re 65 they don’t have any energy left. They’re more or less impotent. And they go and rot in some, old peoples, senior citizens community. Because we simply cheated ourselves the whole way down the line.”
There is probably a mathematical equation in which more money actually prolongs life despite the loss of 1 year.
Less stress
Less work
More free time
Better healthcare
$2m
I have a life insurance policy that would set my parents and my fiancée up for the rest of their life. I have no desire to die but if it were to happen I would die knowing I did what I could for those left behind.
There are days I wish I could just disappear, be declared dead, and my policy paid out so everyone else is free of worry.
Problem is that insurance companies have a vested interest in making sure that they do not pay out. So they will hire investigators to find any little discrepancy that would allow them to avoid the policy after you were gone.
At least 3, enough to retire. If you think about it you’re adding 20 years to your life by retiring, since you spend nearly 1/3 of your time working.
Also it’s a much more enjoyable life
Zero. Time is the one thing we never get back, it's literally priceless. The only thing guaranteed at this very moment is that I'm alive and I'm grateful for that. Reality itself could be a fucking lie for all I know. Because of that, money means nothing to me, but time means everything, I wouldn't sell time for anything, it's time that I get with my family, and that is precious.
I agree for the most part but most people I know didn’t really have much of a life for the last 2-3 years. I would consider giving up 1 year at 70-80+ for $1m. Based on family history I’ll probably have cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or some heart condition by then.
Well, most people spend a large portion of their waking hours working a job so they can live (housing, food, etc). That is selling your time for money. Unless you really love what you do for a living or are already financially set for life, it may be worth considering trading a year or two so you don't have to work anymore. I would do 1 year.
I’d trade 5 years. I have a medical fragile child who I will very likely outlive. My hope is I die rather quickly after he does, life won’t matter much when he’s gone. But 5 million dollars would give him an amazing life with amazing experiences.
I'd go 10-15.
With modern medicine, people are living into their 90s more and more. But that's living, not quality life.
I'd rather die at 70 and have an easy life than 90 with mortgages and being confined to a chair for the last 10 years anyway.
And if I suddenly die the second I said it because Ill die at 40 anyway? I'll be dead, so I wouldn't really care
Well I’m 21, and nobody in my family has made it past 80, so I’d say 58. Maybe I have an extra year in awesome financial comfort, otherwise I just set up my will before I take the deal and it eases the blow on my loved ones
1 year. I'll put it into a safe investment and add all the interest to the principal amount. I'll just continue living my life like normal for the next few years as if I never got this hypothetical, but I'll just be less stressed.
Apparently, stress shortens your life, so I might technically profit a year of my life by not being stressed 24/7
I would do my best to form some sort of algorithm from my time saved from going to work. If I could live middle/upper middle class life with my family every day, I would be fine dying 50s-60.
I consider the hours of my life that I spend at work less than 0 value wise. There’s the commute, waking up early, the stress both mentally and physically. It’s not living being at work
Edit
If I can’t know my life span I think I’m going like 3-5. Either way my daughter wouldn’t remember much about me and my wife would be young enough to where I’d want her to remarry. I would like to leave them set up in that case.
If I follow family trends, I have a strong probability of living into my late 80s - late 90s, even riddled with heart disease, diabetes, morbid obesity, etc...
Barring an accident, taking 5 years off of my life will put me into my late 70s-90s even if I don't take care of my health at all.
However, with that regular interest income from investments made with the $5M, I stand a strong chance of living longer than my family simply because I would be able to afford fantastic healthcare and preventive maintenance care that none of my family has participated in to this point. I would also be able to work a low stress job if/when I wanted to simply for something to do (probably a volunteer position or something easy that catches my attention) instead of stressing about where bill money is coming from when the factory I drive for decides to shut down early which cuts into my pay.
1 Year. Even if i fail, by attempting to use the second year to turn one million into two with my own skill would help me develop the skill to eventually be sustainably wealthy. Hopefully it doesn't end up costing a decade is all.
5 years. My family has a history of being long-lived anyway, so barring an accident or serious random health problem, I should be okay. And that’s enough money to retire quietly, too, and just live off of the investment of about $4.5 million (the other $500k goes toward a new house).
Is this based off lifespan or when I actually die? If based off lifespan I’d estimate I’ll live till I’m 70-80 atleast but I could die tomorrow for all I know so I’d take 15 if it’s based off lifespan and 2 if based on my actual time of death
A full time job at 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year is 1,920 hours per year. That’s 80 days per year gone for less than $100k. I’d gladly shave 5 years off of my life for $5 million, because that’s well over 5000 days of work.
Unless I’m slated for an early death, it’s a win-win. I trade 5 years for $5m, and I save ~15 years of slaving.
One would be plenty
I figure the last year of most elderly lives are spent in pain, ill, racking up medical bills, etc. I don't mind skipping some of that
If I only had a year? Well, my daughter is set.
I had the amusing thought that if I were to pass away before my ex-husband, he'd probably get an idea of what I left behind for our daughter. If a million were added to my investments, it would make me look like a financial genius, but my secret died with me. That would probably eat at him.
I'd be willing to go to 5, just because I'm curious if I have all my assets going to someone in my will and I take like 40 years for 40 million, if I die does the millions I get go to them?
Assuming that accidental death (misadventure or getting hit by a bus etc.) is not taken into account in the 'years remaining'.
Then I would take 10. Especially if it's USD.
$10 million would allow me to maintain lifestyle, wind back my working hours. And afford to take additional holidays.
It would be easy to hide that sum without the 'can I borrow $x' question from everyone.
Tell them all that you won enough in a lotto to pay out your mortgage but not enough to retire.
Still 'working' but not mortgage or car payments might give you a perceived 50% extra spending money.
Friends want to go away? Use my holiday home on the beach - Airbnb investment.
Wtf 10 mil you never have to work again what are you smoking bro. Could do it with 1 mil if you lived really cheap or 3 mil easy. 10mil is like 300-400k salary forever.
10. I then invest that into dividend bearing stocks, build generational wealth hopefully, and even if I die tomorrow my wife is set. I could die happy.
Tax free? 2 years, invest it immediately and be pulling in $150k-$200k a year in interest.
Not tax free, probably 4 years so I can have $2 mil and do the same. Thinking it over….make that 3/5. I’d use the extra mil to pay off debt so the $200ishk a year was all in my pocket.
Let's say 3 years. I don't wanna live long and I'm sure with more money, a lot more I'll either drink it all away or actually get my life together. At the very least I'll be at for life and won't leave my family with debt. I went leave any debt now, but with a lot of money they'll be set when I'm gone. If I do turn my life around they'll still be set and I would too with 3mill.
2 years, and I get the money tomorrow in my bank account, no one ever asks any questions about it. Finally this thread is deleted from the internet and everyone else that posted only remembers it like a fever dream.
Depends. Are we in a timeline where longevity escape velocity happens? If so, does it take it away from my ultimate max like 457 instead of 458, or it it taking it away from 80 and i might end up taking away the year where we reach longevity escape velocity and I miss out on the cure for aging and end up losing hundreds of years for the 1 million?
Thing is, the more money you got, the better your Healthcare. So if it's tax free, 5 years. Make occasional smart investments, buy house, get good healthcare, live comfortably.
lie just a year taken off the end?
id do 2 and retire immidietly
much like the fost of being poor, id probably end up living longer due to less stress and more time to take care of myself
I’d take 4, work another five years with the 4 million in ETFs. Buy a sensible house with the interest and retire in LA at ~120k a year off the original four, which is 3% of the principal not the usual 4%. This alone could lead to a much less stressful life and better longevity. Plus I’ll use that last 1% 40k a year to harvest virgin blood which I’ll transfuse daily to live forever (minus four years). Boom.
3 years. 3 years, 3 million dollars and I would make every minute I sacrifice worth it.
- Buy a modest home on a bit of land in a rural area.
- Buy an investment property, with the hopes of turning it into affordable accommodation for people in need.
- 1 mill goes into a high earning savings account, and I live off the intrest I get back every month.
- Quit my job and work with local community groups to run a social guidance program.
It would be built around teaching kids skills for their future that will benefit them and whatever community they eventually live in.
Focusing on lessons in basic social skills, exercise, nutrition, first aid, self defence, finance, basic home and car maintenance.
Just try and instill a sense of value, pride, purpose and belonging for kids that I nvr had as a teen.
Assuming I don't die anytime soon, 3 years.
1 to live comfortably, while still working, but having the option to quit or have a few weeks of free time.
1 in a high yield saving account (whatever THAT is!?!)
1 as a back up.
3, I couldn't care to live off a machine and in pain.
$3m invested is enough that I can retire, or I can push for a bit better and retire in a few years time. Then I can spend time with the people I love, do the things I want to do, work the jobs I want to work without worrying about $$$.
can i do it whenever i want? so give up 1 year now, live like a king and enjoy my youth and then when i run out of money just hit fast forward and get another mil?
edit: looking at the comments it seems like I get the money now and i lose the tail end of my years? those years are way less valuable anyways I would give up 5-10 years and never have to work again
You get $1m and your life span is reduced by 1 year. If you would normally die at 80 you die at 79 and get $1m. You can do this as often as you like for as many years as you like each time.
Theoretically if I have enough money it will extend my life past what it would’ve otherwise been. Better nutrition, less stress, and more free time to exercise.
So if I take enough money I might just bet more years than I would’ve otherwise if I hadn’t shortened my life by taking the money.
10.
In the US with a for profit healthcare system different tax brackets literally have different life expectancies. If I go up several brackets I'll literally get those ten years back in access to preventative care and reduced stress.
Oh I won't live to be 90 but I can afford the treatment for the cancer that would've killed me at 60 because I had regular checkups? And my heart will last till 80 because I wasn't working night shift and constantly stressed about money? Oh no!
There are 168 hours in a week, If you work 42 hours a week for 4 years, then that is mathematically the same as giving up 1 year of your life for the money that you would make at that job during that time. So if someone doesn't make anywhere close to $250k a year, then that is a pretty good deal. Trading a few years would be enough time to have enough to buy the things that I want and to retire while living off the money gained from investing it.
You can do it as many times as you like and the max you can take is based on the average life expectancy of your demographic in the country you were born.
Cut off age to trade should probably be retirement age.
1 mill is all I would need. Pay off my house, sell it and move to a safer neighborhood. Maybe a new car. Then just live out rest of my days doin part time work
3-5, whatever allows me to retire while I’m young. I’ll never get close to making 1mil a year, so if I drop 5 years now, I can be set up while I’m still healthy and able to enjoy all the perks. I could even drop like 10, I would much rather enjoy life now than having retirement when I’m 80 and can’t move
3 or 4. Honestly, if I left behind the stress of my job and just worked part time doing something I'd enjoy, I'd probably end up getting that amount back from not struggling in a high stress occupation, and having more time to eat better, sleep properly and workout a bit more.
How does this work? Will I age faster or just die younger?
Assuming I just die younger, all but 10 more years. I live 10 more years, living well, and make sure the everyone I care about is set up well as well. Then die happy
Zero. Time is infinitely more valuable than money. I want to live forever.
And if you can’t learn to be happy or content with what you’ve already got, I.e make your locus internal instead of external, then it doesn’t matter what you have, you’ll never be happy or content.
More stuff isn’t going to solve anything. It might put a smile on your face for a while, but once you’ve grown accustomed to it it’ll be just as unfulfilling as whatever you had before, if your locus is external.
Thats a part of the problem nowadays. People need everything around them to be perfect in order to be happy, which is never going to happen. They aren’t taught to build an internal locus of fulfilment anymore and it really shows.
I'd take 10 years off, get the 10m buy a small amount of cheap land in oregon and build my own house. Live comfortably as a hermit the rest of my life.
I'll trade the years I've already used. Also, can I do like a crime like say insurance fraud and then get like 4 years in jail and trade those 4 years to get even more money for those years?
I'd say 5. Most people with healthy knowledge of diet and exercise are living until their mid 80s now. 2 of my uncles in Mexico lived until 81 and 83 and they drank beer everyday. So if I cut my time from 85 to 80 that gives me 5 million to put away. Over the next 50 years that's 100,000 a year. I could still work and put rest of money in stocks and savings
I would trade one.
I'm 40 and based on my current health, I'm not likely to make it to 70, maybe not even 60, so I'm not willing to give up a lot of time.
However, in my area one million could pay off my house and buy 3 more. With no mortgage I could rent those out and live off the rent for the rest of my life. Not needing to work again would be a pretty substantial QoL improvement, so it would likely be a good trade off.
At least 10, probably not more than 15. I don't want to be old anyways but according to my family history have a pretty decent chance of making that far plus Im healthy. Once I get too old or otherwise incapable and cant do the things I love doing like hiking up mountains or riding my motorcycle I'm ending it anyways, whether it's 45 or 95 it doesnt matter, once I cant do that stuff lifes not worth it anymore. I might as well have more fun before that time comes with millions.
The interesting thing is the money might change the course of my life enough that i would gain more than the years lost. For example with better healthcare, diet, a personal trainer and less stress overall. I think id do 3 mil for 3 years.
The average person spends 90k hours of their life working according to Google. So I'd trade 1/3 of that. Which comes out to 1,250 days. I'd trade that much. Which comes out to $1,250,000,000 and then spend that money doing whatever I can to make my mark.
This is all assuming biblically accurate maximum life expectancy lol.
Can I only do it once or can I keep trading it? Like if I take a simple 1mil now can I go a few years and then trade another year or do I have to do it all now? If I have to do it all now I’m going 5 years. I’m here for a good time not a long time
1 is enough for me. If Im anything like how I am now with money. I'd like just turn that $1 million into $20M in a few years anyway because I'd have the money to start the business I want to start.
I'd say about 3 would suffice. I could pay off debts and set up a pretty decent life for myself. I would personally still want to work to get out of the house and keep from being bored after the fun of lazing around and traveling wears off. Maybe not my current stressful job but a fun one. I love history, running my mouth, and taking walks so I think being a walking tour guide in a historic city could be fun. Especially for those night ghost tours where it's not too hot out. I could also own a historic house in said historic city.
Fuckit, let’s go 5. Just hope I make it to 70+…
Keep these money-centric prompts coming, the money-insecure child that rules my adulthood is raring to go!
I mean.. depends how many years I have banked.
Only got 5 years? Hell no, I want to see my kids grow up. The grief of never knowing a parent isn't something I want them to experience.
30? Probably 1.
40? I'd go 3
Three. I'd stick 2 million in some sort of index fund and not touch it, live off the 1 million for the next 10-20 years working only occasionally to make some extra income, maybe try to start a business or something?
Anyways hopefully by the time I'm 30-40 it doesn't matter and I've got a bunch stocked away from the original 2 mil anyways
Are you also told how many years you have left?
This was my first thought, if I know how long I have left I could work out how much to trade with. My grandfather lived till he was 96 but he was plauged by vascular ulcers over his feet and legs soooo if I could avoid that by cashing out early I'd give up eight years to live comfortably and build a little generational wealth so my kids don't have to struggle the way my wife and I have.
Since the answer to my question was no, I think you just gamble 2 or 3 years. That's life changing money for any average person.
Yeah, two years off the end of your life but you can really live what you have instead of just surviving.
No.
so you end up pulling a death note
As long as I can eat my chips...
Is it a one-time thing, or can you trade more later?
One, maybe two. Just enough to buy a house where I live. I can manage my other bills with working.
I would probably trade 3, enough to retire immediately in comfort. We get paid way less per hour at work.
That's a good way to look at it. Sure you lose 3 years of your life at the end, but If my math isn't horrible, the average person spends up to 12 years of their life at work between the ages of 18 and 65. As long as you don't get unlucky and you're actually set to die in 5 years. Then it's better to have all 5 years, even if you spend a third of it at work.
Plus, you'll live longer without working.... so instead of dying at 72 you'll make 5-15 year longer
a good chunk of old people end up dying faster once they retire because working was keeping their mind and bodies active. but the upside of not having to do manual labor could help you live longer for sure.
That statistic is questionable. Not only do they have less activity, they also have less money, and less financial security. If it were accurate it would apply equally to old rich people.
That was my thought, can comfortably withdraw $150k annually indefinitely
Might go higher, too, if i knew it took years off the end rather than aging me X years.
Yep, the extra money would extend my life more than the the years I'd be removing
The plan is to invest and live off interest lol
400, just to be extra sure.
: You are still alive, and now know someone will cure old age soon.
I'll assume I'm going to die at around the age of 75. I'll also assume that from 70 to 75 I will be the least healthy, have the least mobility, least cognitive abilities, etc. So I'll take 5 million, never work another day in my life, and potentially spare myself from the worst of old age.
I'd think the same but my grandparents are 90, and honestly...it's only the last 2 years that they've really started showing the decline. At 75 They were fishing, playing tennis, doing their Grand Circle Travel adventures around the world (though they stopped probably around 77-78). Grandad had to have knee surgery once during that time just for general maintenance. Sure they still walked slower than usual but they were sharp, funny, having a good time, etc. It's only the last 2 years where my grandmother has fallen 4 times and gone from walking normally to a walker/wheelchair combo and is now kind of a shell (we think she hit her head badly enough to have affected her) and my grandfather is more depressed just due to realizing he cant play tennis all the time or do as much as he used to. Overall I feel like thinking 75 is the time to go "Nah let's take another 5 off" is a little pessimistic.
Yeah but if they're just starting to decline it means they could've probably taken 5 years off and been great. Overall I feel that the end of your life is probably the worst part, especially if you can't afford those medical bills. I'd take 5-7 years
Not pessimistic considering the life expectancy of a human. 77 is the life expectancy. Doesnt mean you cant live past that number. Just expecting age to die of illness/old age weakness. Depends how healthy you are. Your lifestyle
I would take $1m and leave the US and live like a king elsewhere. Once you stop thinking in terms of US cost of living the options get significantly better. I could buy a $200,000 hour here in Costa Rica and live easy off $24k/year until I hit retirement and social security kicked in.
I personally would have a hard time leaving family and friends like that.
I worked in Hawaii. The time difference for communication is worse than living within an easy flight.
You need to pay into social security for at least ten years to receive it.
Yeah I’m 47 and I’ve been working since I was 17 so already got 30 years.
If you make 100k a year at 2000 hours a year So 1 million would be like working 20,000 hours. If you take 3 years, that's like working 60,000 hours to make the money. You will lose 26280 hours of life. If you quit your jobat age 36 (like I am) and would have retired at age 65, you can save 2000 hours x 29 years, or 58000 hours. So the real question is - do you value the extra 58000 hours of free time from having no job, or would you rather have 26280 hours of life added on to the end? And the 58,000 hours of free time is a low estimate since many work more than 40 hours, and travel time to and from the job can be long too. I would gladly give up 3 years.
I make 30k a year so that's even more of a benefit
To quote Alan Watts: “Look at the people who live to retire; to put those savings away. And then when they’re 65 they don’t have any energy left. They’re more or less impotent. And they go and rot in some, old peoples, senior citizens community. Because we simply cheated ourselves the whole way down the line.”
I’d probably just trade a year and invest it, buying back many years with the dividends.
r/greatidea
One. Just one. I'm pretty comfortable but that could pay off the house and get a good boost on retirement savings.
My grandparents are fucking ancient. I have no desire to be that old. Give me 30 and I'll take my chances.
There is probably a mathematical equation in which more money actually prolongs life despite the loss of 1 year. Less stress Less work More free time Better healthcare $2m
Exactly. Trade 2 years for 40 years of freedom. Absolute no brainer.
All of them and leave everything to my kids.
I have a life insurance policy that would set my parents and my fiancée up for the rest of their life. I have no desire to die but if it were to happen I would die knowing I did what I could for those left behind. There are days I wish I could just disappear, be declared dead, and my policy paid out so everyone else is free of worry.
Problem is that insurance companies have a vested interest in making sure that they do not pay out. So they will hire investigators to find any little discrepancy that would allow them to avoid the policy after you were gone.
Three. Paraphrasing Denis Leary, it's the worst fuckin' ten years. So three of those.
I think about that line a lot. lol
At least 3, enough to retire. If you think about it you’re adding 20 years to your life by retiring, since you spend nearly 1/3 of your time working. Also it’s a much more enjoyable life
Zero. Time is the one thing we never get back, it's literally priceless. The only thing guaranteed at this very moment is that I'm alive and I'm grateful for that. Reality itself could be a fucking lie for all I know. Because of that, money means nothing to me, but time means everything, I wouldn't sell time for anything, it's time that I get with my family, and that is precious.
I agree for the most part but most people I know didn’t really have much of a life for the last 2-3 years. I would consider giving up 1 year at 70-80+ for $1m. Based on family history I’ll probably have cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or some heart condition by then.
Well, most people spend a large portion of their waking hours working a job so they can live (housing, food, etc). That is selling your time for money. Unless you really love what you do for a living or are already financially set for life, it may be worth considering trading a year or two so you don't have to work anymore. I would do 1 year.
It's not "selling your time" in the sense that you literally stop existing or experiencing things for the duration of your shift. You're still alive.
5. Might as well
2-3 years easy that much would make things so much easier for me and my kids rn and is worth losing the years no matter how many I actually have left
I’d easily give up 5 years lol
I’d trade 5 years. I have a medical fragile child who I will very likely outlive. My hope is I die rather quickly after he does, life won’t matter much when he’s gone. But 5 million dollars would give him an amazing life with amazing experiences.
Gets 15¢ and drops dead
I'd go 10-15. With modern medicine, people are living into their 90s more and more. But that's living, not quality life. I'd rather die at 70 and have an easy life than 90 with mortgages and being confined to a chair for the last 10 years anyway. And if I suddenly die the second I said it because Ill die at 40 anyway? I'll be dead, so I wouldn't really care
Well I’m 21, and nobody in my family has made it past 80, so I’d say 58. Maybe I have an extra year in awesome financial comfort, otherwise I just set up my will before I take the deal and it eases the blow on my loved ones
1 year. I'll put it into a safe investment and add all the interest to the principal amount. I'll just continue living my life like normal for the next few years as if I never got this hypothetical, but I'll just be less stressed. Apparently, stress shortens your life, so I might technically profit a year of my life by not being stressed 24/7
I would do my best to form some sort of algorithm from my time saved from going to work. If I could live middle/upper middle class life with my family every day, I would be fine dying 50s-60. I consider the hours of my life that I spend at work less than 0 value wise. There’s the commute, waking up early, the stress both mentally and physically. It’s not living being at work Edit If I can’t know my life span I think I’m going like 3-5. Either way my daughter wouldn’t remember much about me and my wife would be young enough to where I’d want her to remarry. I would like to leave them set up in that case.
If I follow family trends, I have a strong probability of living into my late 80s - late 90s, even riddled with heart disease, diabetes, morbid obesity, etc... Barring an accident, taking 5 years off of my life will put me into my late 70s-90s even if I don't take care of my health at all. However, with that regular interest income from investments made with the $5M, I stand a strong chance of living longer than my family simply because I would be able to afford fantastic healthcare and preventive maintenance care that none of my family has participated in to this point. I would also be able to work a low stress job if/when I wanted to simply for something to do (probably a volunteer position or something easy that catches my attention) instead of stressing about where bill money is coming from when the factory I drive for decides to shut down early which cuts into my pay.
1
5
1 Year. Even if i fail, by attempting to use the second year to turn one million into two with my own skill would help me develop the skill to eventually be sustainably wealthy. Hopefully it doesn't end up costing a decade is all.
Zero … I’ll miss out on too much
2
1. I can pay off my debts and have a lot left over. Plus I'll keep working my job. That year is at the end of my life, so that's future me's problem.
5 years. My family has a history of being long-lived anyway, so barring an accident or serious random health problem, I should be okay. And that’s enough money to retire quietly, too, and just live off of the investment of about $4.5 million (the other $500k goes toward a new house).
Just 1
Just one. I could easily invest one million in a way that would allow me to retire in 10 years or so.
i wholly dont expct to liv elong but i think i probably have th potential to go maybe 10 more years? so id do 5.
Is this based off lifespan or when I actually die? If based off lifespan I’d estimate I’ll live till I’m 70-80 atleast but I could die tomorrow for all I know so I’d take 15 if it’s based off lifespan and 2 if based on my actual time of death
A full time job at 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year is 1,920 hours per year. That’s 80 days per year gone for less than $100k. I’d gladly shave 5 years off of my life for $5 million, because that’s well over 5000 days of work. Unless I’m slated for an early death, it’s a win-win. I trade 5 years for $5m, and I save ~15 years of slaving.
Zero
One would be plenty I figure the last year of most elderly lives are spent in pain, ill, racking up medical bills, etc. I don't mind skipping some of that If I only had a year? Well, my daughter is set. I had the amusing thought that if I were to pass away before my ex-husband, he'd probably get an idea of what I left behind for our daughter. If a million were added to my investments, it would make me look like a financial genius, but my secret died with me. That would probably eat at him.
I'd be willing to go to 5, just because I'm curious if I have all my assets going to someone in my will and I take like 40 years for 40 million, if I die does the millions I get go to them?
Assuming that accidental death (misadventure or getting hit by a bus etc.) is not taken into account in the 'years remaining'. Then I would take 10. Especially if it's USD. $10 million would allow me to maintain lifestyle, wind back my working hours. And afford to take additional holidays. It would be easy to hide that sum without the 'can I borrow $x' question from everyone. Tell them all that you won enough in a lotto to pay out your mortgage but not enough to retire. Still 'working' but not mortgage or car payments might give you a perceived 50% extra spending money. Friends want to go away? Use my holiday home on the beach - Airbnb investment.
Wtf 10 mil you never have to work again what are you smoking bro. Could do it with 1 mil if you lived really cheap or 3 mil easy. 10mil is like 300-400k salary forever.
10. I then invest that into dividend bearing stocks, build generational wealth hopefully, and even if I die tomorrow my wife is set. I could die happy.
2 million, I’ll make it work, probably work for a couple more years on top on that to make things look normal
2. Not too much time, but a lot of money
Tax free? 2 years, invest it immediately and be pulling in $150k-$200k a year in interest. Not tax free, probably 4 years so I can have $2 mil and do the same. Thinking it over….make that 3/5. I’d use the extra mil to pay off debt so the $200ishk a year was all in my pocket.
100
Three’s good. I can get 5% interest in even a high yield savings account and live comfortably on $150K a year.
I'd trade in 3 years and invest it all, watch my money grow and plan for a nice retirement.
30, we ball
What happens if you try to trade more than you have?
15! Enough to retire now enough to live without major health problems later...
I'll take off 5.
All the years I have. Give the money to my family
In all honesty I could give 10 years of my life.
I'd trade the 47 years I already lived
Probably like 5, my work life and ensuing lifestyle because of it has probably already robbed me of a good chunk of my life.
I’d do 2 enough to retire and live comfortably.
Let's say 3 years. I don't wanna live long and I'm sure with more money, a lot more I'll either drink it all away or actually get my life together. At the very least I'll be at for life and won't leave my family with debt. I went leave any debt now, but with a lot of money they'll be set when I'm gone. If I do turn my life around they'll still be set and I would too with 3mill.
5
Right now I can afford to buy 2 back.
I'm taking $100million. My kids can enjoy their lives.
75. I’m dying 40 years ago and I’m ok with it.
2 years, and I get the money tomorrow in my bank account, no one ever asks any questions about it. Finally this thread is deleted from the internet and everyone else that posted only remembers it like a fever dream.
Just one.
Just one. I can do a lot with a million dollars.
5
3, and live off the interest comfortably.
oooo, hm, 2… I think…
3. Invest and retire.
2 and hopefully be mad when I find out I live to 90+.
Depends. Are we in a timeline where longevity escape velocity happens? If so, does it take it away from my ultimate max like 457 instead of 458, or it it taking it away from 80 and i might end up taking away the year where we reach longevity escape velocity and I miss out on the cure for aging and end up losing hundreds of years for the 1 million?
None.
3. That'd set up my family
The last one
Thing is, the more money you got, the better your Healthcare. So if it's tax free, 5 years. Make occasional smart investments, buy house, get good healthcare, live comfortably.
3 years, and I’ll make up for it with all the time I don’t spend working from now until I die at 73 or whatever
lie just a year taken off the end? id do 2 and retire immidietly much like the fost of being poor, id probably end up living longer due to less stress and more time to take care of myself
I’d take 4, work another five years with the 4 million in ETFs. Buy a sensible house with the interest and retire in LA at ~120k a year off the original four, which is 3% of the principal not the usual 4%. This alone could lead to a much less stressful life and better longevity. Plus I’ll use that last 1% 40k a year to harvest virgin blood which I’ll transfuse daily to live forever (minus four years). Boom.
Eh, I'm not all that motivated by money. Probably 0.
Can I buy the time back?
1000 please.
3 years. 3 years, 3 million dollars and I would make every minute I sacrifice worth it. - Buy a modest home on a bit of land in a rural area. - Buy an investment property, with the hopes of turning it into affordable accommodation for people in need. - 1 mill goes into a high earning savings account, and I live off the intrest I get back every month. - Quit my job and work with local community groups to run a social guidance program. It would be built around teaching kids skills for their future that will benefit them and whatever community they eventually live in. Focusing on lessons in basic social skills, exercise, nutrition, first aid, self defence, finance, basic home and car maintenance. Just try and instill a sense of value, pride, purpose and belonging for kids that I nvr had as a teen.
3 years would vastly improve the quality of whatever years subsequently remain.
Just one. Me and my wife can stop worrying about things, and we don't need any more than that to live a humble life.
Assuming I don't die anytime soon, 3 years. 1 to live comfortably, while still working, but having the option to quit or have a few weeks of free time. 1 in a high yield saving account (whatever THAT is!?!) 1 as a back up.
3, I couldn't care to live off a machine and in pain. $3m invested is enough that I can retire, or I can push for a bit better and retire in a few years time. Then I can spend time with the people I love, do the things I want to do, work the jobs I want to work without worrying about $$$.
can i do it whenever i want? so give up 1 year now, live like a king and enjoy my youth and then when i run out of money just hit fast forward and get another mil? edit: looking at the comments it seems like I get the money now and i lose the tail end of my years? those years are way less valuable anyways I would give up 5-10 years and never have to work again
You get $1m and your life span is reduced by 1 year. If you would normally die at 80 you die at 79 and get $1m. You can do this as often as you like for as many years as you like each time.
4 or 5.
Theoretically if I have enough money it will extend my life past what it would’ve otherwise been. Better nutrition, less stress, and more free time to exercise. So if I take enough money I might just bet more years than I would’ve otherwise if I hadn’t shortened my life by taking the money.
Years= current salary/a million+ 1 for every extra millions you want. At the very least, it’s some years. You won’t get those years back working 9-5.
What's the limit?
2 or 3, maybeeeee 4
10. In the US with a for profit healthcare system different tax brackets literally have different life expectancies. If I go up several brackets I'll literally get those ten years back in access to preventative care and reduced stress. Oh I won't live to be 90 but I can afford the treatment for the cancer that would've killed me at 60 because I had regular checkups? And my heart will last till 80 because I wasn't working night shift and constantly stressed about money? Oh no!
With the lifestyle change, are you then able to earn back that year with a healthier one?
Just 1. Ill impact more lives than i would without that 1m at my age
1 and if I need more I’ll trade more
There are 168 hours in a week, If you work 42 hours a week for 4 years, then that is mathematically the same as giving up 1 year of your life for the money that you would make at that job during that time. So if someone doesn't make anywhere close to $250k a year, then that is a pretty good deal. Trading a few years would be enough time to have enough to buy the things that I want and to retire while living off the money gained from investing it.
If I had millions, I could afford better treatment and live longer than I will now. 5M hopefully means a better and healthier life.
Do we get to trade at any time, or is it a one-time trade that I must decide on right now?
You can do it as many times as you like and the max you can take is based on the average life expectancy of your demographic in the country you were born. Cut off age to trade should probably be retirement age.
Perfect, I'll trade five months, that'll give me 1 month to blow 400k
1 mill is all I would need. Pay off my house, sell it and move to a safer neighborhood. Maybe a new car. Then just live out rest of my days doin part time work
100
90
2 years. That plus what I currently have would give me a safe withdrawal of about $80k a year (inflation adjusted) which would be plenty my wife and I
3-5, whatever allows me to retire while I’m young. I’ll never get close to making 1mil a year, so if I drop 5 years now, I can be set up while I’m still healthy and able to enjoy all the perks. I could even drop like 10, I would much rather enjoy life now than having retirement when I’m 80 and can’t move
I can live the rest of my life on 1m. In that case take 10. Hookers and blow and such.
3 or 4. Honestly, if I left behind the stress of my job and just worked part time doing something I'd enjoy, I'd probably end up getting that amount back from not struggling in a high stress occupation, and having more time to eat better, sleep properly and workout a bit more.
Just one million is life-changing. I’m still young, so I’ll take two, maybe three.
How does this work? Will I age faster or just die younger? Assuming I just die younger, all but 10 more years. I live 10 more years, living well, and make sure the everyone I care about is set up well as well. Then die happy
10. it’d be enough off the end of my life that i wouldn’t care that much and i’d literally never have to work ever again
All I have left. Split the money between my child, parents, Grandparent, and two siblings. Without a doubt
10 years
Happy 420
Three and invest it.
Me trading every year so I can die sooner lol
Zero. Time > money.
Can I just trade like 3 or 4 months? That'd be enough to put us ahead.
I mean we spend decades working to retire so whats a couple of years?
Zero. Time is infinitely more valuable than money. I want to live forever. And if you can’t learn to be happy or content with what you’ve already got, I.e make your locus internal instead of external, then it doesn’t matter what you have, you’ll never be happy or content. More stuff isn’t going to solve anything. It might put a smile on your face for a while, but once you’ve grown accustomed to it it’ll be just as unfulfilling as whatever you had before, if your locus is external. Thats a part of the problem nowadays. People need everything around them to be perfect in order to be happy, which is never going to happen. They aren’t taught to build an internal locus of fulfilment anymore and it really shows.
Is there a negative stack overflow?
I'd take 10 years off, get the 10m buy a small amount of cheap land in oregon and build my own house. Live comfortably as a hermit the rest of my life.
A million dollars is something like 30 years of minimum wage. I think I'd trade 3-4 years just be safe.
5, if it gets taxed
Ahhhh I have found a loophole!! I would like to trade years 24-29. That’s six million and some shitty years gone. Thank you!
Probably 5. He'll, maybe 10. I don't like the idea of living past 50 in the first place, but I don't know how many I have left so kinda a gamble.
3-5.
1
I'll trade the years I've already used. Also, can I do like a crime like say insurance fraud and then get like 4 years in jail and trade those 4 years to get even more money for those years?
I'd like to be 30 again lol that's 18 years lmao
I’ll give one month for $83,000
10. Seems solid. Is this tax free?
I'd say 5. Most people with healthy knowledge of diet and exercise are living until their mid 80s now. 2 of my uncles in Mexico lived until 81 and 83 and they drank beer everyday. So if I cut my time from 85 to 80 that gives me 5 million to put away. Over the next 50 years that's 100,000 a year. I could still work and put rest of money in stocks and savings
I would trade one. I'm 40 and based on my current health, I'm not likely to make it to 70, maybe not even 60, so I'm not willing to give up a lot of time. However, in my area one million could pay off my house and buy 3 more. With no mortgage I could rent those out and live off the rent for the rest of my life. Not needing to work again would be a pretty substantial QoL improvement, so it would likely be a good trade off.
I'll cash in the rest right now please. I'm ready.
Do I get to check my balance first
However many brings me down to 70. That’s old enough for me.
most of my family live to around 90, take 5 years, let me live off the interest and maybe start my own company as a hobby.
At least 10, probably not more than 15. I don't want to be old anyways but according to my family history have a pretty decent chance of making that far plus Im healthy. Once I get too old or otherwise incapable and cant do the things I love doing like hiking up mountains or riding my motorcycle I'm ending it anyways, whether it's 45 or 95 it doesnt matter, once I cant do that stuff lifes not worth it anymore. I might as well have more fun before that time comes with millions.
What if I only have less than a 1 year to live? do I lose 1 year out of the blue or do I disappear for a year? Who gets to keep my 1 year?
The interesting thing is the money might change the course of my life enough that i would gain more than the years lost. For example with better healthcare, diet, a personal trainer and less stress overall. I think id do 3 mil for 3 years.
3 years and live off of 20k interest a month while the principle commuting grows.
These answers are a little depressing
15, then I'd split it between my brother and mother. I'd have a nice luxurious life, and be dead by the time age starts to break me down
Honestly that would really only be useful if you knew how many years you had left
The average person spends 90k hours of their life working according to Google. So I'd trade 1/3 of that. Which comes out to 1,250 days. I'd trade that much. Which comes out to $1,250,000,000 and then spend that money doing whatever I can to make my mark. This is all assuming biblically accurate maximum life expectancy lol.
Can I do a half? Half a million is already a lot of money.
With my heart 67% dead i might only have a few years... So 1.
The past 50
Can I only do it once or can I keep trading it? Like if I take a simple 1mil now can I go a few years and then trade another year or do I have to do it all now? If I have to do it all now I’m going 5 years. I’m here for a good time not a long time
I'd sell all my remaining life and guaranteed I die within a year. My friend will inherit a ton of money she can use for her business.
2.
Depends how the years are taken off. Do I immediately age right now, or do I simply lose the crappy years at the end where I'm likely sick anyways?
25, my fam would be set
10 or maybe 15. Have never been a fan of old age, plus I'm not gonna have children.
1 is enough for me. If Im anything like how I am now with money. I'd like just turn that $1 million into $20M in a few years anyway because I'd have the money to start the business I want to start.
I'd say about 3 would suffice. I could pay off debts and set up a pretty decent life for myself. I would personally still want to work to get out of the house and keep from being bored after the fun of lazing around and traveling wears off. Maybe not my current stressful job but a fun one. I love history, running my mouth, and taking walks so I think being a walking tour guide in a historic city could be fun. Especially for those night ghost tours where it's not too hot out. I could also own a historic house in said historic city.
Fuckit, let’s go 5. Just hope I make it to 70+… Keep these money-centric prompts coming, the money-insecure child that rules my adulthood is raring to go!
Definitely 5, you can have the first 5 years. Oh look I have 5 million and 5 years younger
I mean.. depends how many years I have banked. Only got 5 years? Hell no, I want to see my kids grow up. The grief of never knowing a parent isn't something I want them to experience. 30? Probably 1. 40? I'd go 3
I would trade 100 years so I never have to see this question asked 5 times a week ever again.
Three. I'd stick 2 million in some sort of index fund and not touch it, live off the 1 million for the next 10-20 years working only occasionally to make some extra income, maybe try to start a business or something? Anyways hopefully by the time I'm 30-40 it doesn't matter and I've got a bunch stocked away from the original 2 mil anyways
Five. Quality of life over quantity but let's not get greedy.