Excellent point. Also consider there are those who had an average salary, who combined the top ramen @lecti mentioned with decades of reducing housing and other expenses to enable investment. Paying yourself first is not easy, but deciding against it early on leaves even fewer choices later. This is why I would choose the million dollars:
I can retire early now, but would use that money to continue/increase helping family members who are just starting out in their careers or elderly and struggling with increasing costs of living despite being debt free. Even without an unexpected windfall, we’ve already handled all manner of unforeseen health, natural disaster, and other crises that folks tend to bring up. We are each others’ safety net if we cannot manage on our own. No one in my family is an island, which is how we’ve manged - despite generations of being overworked and underpaid - to not only survive, but to thrive.
