Two-three years, to quit job, buy materials and needed machinery, little cushion and make the same work I do for other people and make money for myself instead as others.
I’m turning 36 this year and it’s already happened in a way. In 2019 I was making $14 an hour working at a head shop, and now I’m making just shy of $100k and it finally feels like I can take care of myself (barely)
If you live in any major metro area, I really feel like you can’t break the true comfort level unless your household income is $200k. $100k just doesn’t cut it anymore if you want to own a decent house, pay crazy prices for healthcare, have saving/retirement.
124,594 hours (14 years) would be enough to retire right now, anything less than that wouldn't be immediately "life changing" since I'd still have to hold down a job.
I took the amount I estimate I would need to retire right now at my current age and divided that by my current hourly rate. So it's 124,594 working "man-hours", as you say like 60 years of working. But that value goes down every year I do actually work and as my retirement investments grow.
I assume OP asked it that way to normalize and anonymize it a little.
1 year of salary extra would be unbelievably life-changing. Like.....every single stress in life would be eliminated. Shoot, even $10k extra would be HUGELY beneficial.
Been thinking about starting to drive Door dash or another side gig to supplement income.