How Much Money is Enough in 2023? (Find Your Answer Here)

Wondering how much money is enough for you as inflation rages in 2023? Don’t fall for common traps. Learn how to find your “enough” and live a happier life.

When we talk about defining “how much money is enough”, we first have to understand that there are two parts to the equation.

One, our income, is how we build two, our wealth.

What we have left after spending our income is what we can save towards building our wealth.

Perhaps the most important part that this question belies is that which is unasked: “How do I build enough wealth for the life I want?”

It’s a symbiotic triangle you have to consciously build: income yields wealth to enable your desired life.

I’ve had my personal struggles with limiting myself and knowing when “enough is enough”. We’ll get to that. But first, let’s review the quantitive process of defining “enough” for you.

How Much Money Is Enough?

While having a high income makes saving easier, building your wealth is a function of how much of your income you save versus how much of it you spend. If you have a $50,000 take-home income and spend $30,000 of it, you can save $20,000. That percentage saved, 40%, is your Savings Rate.

Deciding your savings rate goals likely depends on your view of the value of time. Are luxuries and spending worth more to you than free time and flexibility? Be honest with yourself.

How much money is enough to retire?

Your savings rate defines how quickly you can build your wealth in relative terms. The amount of wealth you need to live comfortably off of and retire is relative to your spending, not your income.

A typical financial advisor (often not a fiduciary) may look at your income and use it as the basis for defining your retirement needs. This is often because income is easy to define for most people: they know their salary and can check a tax return for things like investment income.

However, spending is much harder to define as it requires consistent, routine tracking of your expenses. We’re big advocates for tracking spending as the most basic, most important element to building wealth for the average person.

Just like with health and diet, simply knowing what you’re consuming is the most basic step to making corrections that produce long-term gains (or, losses in the case of weight!).

Income-based retirement calculation problems

Here’s the problem with solely looking at the “how much money is enough” problem from an income basis:

Let’s continue our $50,000 income assumption previously. If an advisor uses this amount to work from in their calculations, they’ll assume that’s how much income you will need in retirement, too, in order to continue your current lifestyle. If you need $50,000 in income during retirement, and we follow the 4% rule (or 4% rule of thumb), how much money do you need to retire?

$50,000 * 25 = $1,250,000

You’d need to build $1,250,000 worth of wealth in order to retire.

However, in our example, you have an exceptionally high savings rate (40%) and only spend $30,000 of your income per year. If we assume you intend to maintain the same lifestyle you have today, into retirement, and again follow the 4% rule, how much money do you need to retire?

$30,000 * 25 = $750,000

Your wealth needs to drop to $750,000.

That’s a half-million-dollar difference!

In general, the personal savings rate is quite low, at least in the US. That makes income an easy correlation to spending to make since usually, the two are near equal.

From 2013-2023, the average personal savings rate was 6.5%—no surprise, there was a big spike during the pandemic.

So why do so many financial advisors make retirement calculations based on income?

  • Many people don’t track their expenses but do have income information
  • Most people spend most of their income anyway
  • Advisors generally earn a commission tied to portfolio size, so the more, the better

Focus on your spending when it comes to planning for retirement rather than income.

How much money is enough to never work again?

As a personal example, we showcased how we became millionaires recently. Our incomes varied pretty dramatically over the time period we reviewed. Even as recently as 2009, our income was below $19,000. In our highest year, 2016, it was nearly $280,000!

Neither of these income numbers helps us figure out how much money is enough.

In fact, if an advisor worked from our income in 2016 to define our retirement needs, they might recommend we have a portfolio of $7M!

Instead, we have defined our FIRE number based on our average expenses over the last several years. We consistently spend $40-45K per year as our FIRE budget, and we feel like that gives us a life we can be happy with. At this level, we don’t feel constrained or that we struggle with spending choices.

Working from $45K in spending per year, we’d need to build about $1.13M in wealth.

In 2013, we set a goal to save and invest $1.25M. That’d equate to being able to spend $50K per year, or $25K per person, in retirement with automatic inflation adjustments along the way. That gave us a little wiggle room, too.

Most people tend to spend pretty consistently, whether that’s with a healthy savings rate or beyond their income and into debt. Understanding your spending, and what your retirement expectations are, will be the most important component in defining just how much money is enough for you.

How Much Money FAQ

Let’s run through some common questions we see about having enough money and what that really means.

How much money is enough for a lifetime?

US life expectancy is currently 76.4 years per the CDC.

Per the BLS’s most recent study, the average “consumer unit” in the US spent $66,928 in 2021. That unit represents 2.5 people, so $26,771 per person.

If a person matches the average in the US, they’d need $2,243,291.23 to last a lifetime (in 2023 dollars).

How much is enough to never work again?

In order to not work to earn money again, you’ll need enough money invested to cover your annual spending through capital gains and dividends on your investments. The easiest way to answer how much money is enough to never work again is to multiply your total annual expenses by 25. That’s how much money you need to never work again. For example, per the BLS, if you spend $26,771 per person in your family unit, you’d need $669,275 per person.

How much money is enough to be happy?

Purdue University recently did a study to identify the point of change in emotional well-being and life satisfaction at various income levels. The study answered the question of how much money is enough to be happy by saying:

“Globally, we find that satiation occurs at $95,000 for life evaluation and $60,000 to $75,000 for emotional well-being. However, there is substantial variation across world regions, with satiation occurring later in wealthier regions.”

If we aimed for the $75K points and leveraged the 4% rule, the answer would be that you need $1.875M in investments to support a happy spending life.

How much money do you need to feel rich?

Working from the Purdue Study about happiness above, they identified $95K/year of income to reach a satiation point for annual spending desires. If we work from this number, you’d need $2.375M per person in your family to feel rich.

If you’re the average American family representing 2.5 people, that means your total family net worth needs to be just a bit under $6 million to feel rich.

That aligns pretty well with Joe’s finding when he did a deeper dive into defining how much money is needed to feel wealthy.

Can you live off 1 million dollars?

Assuming you invest your $1M in appreciating assets, you could potentially live off the dividends and capital gains equating to about $40,000 per year. That assumes you follow standard FIRE principles.

How much money is really enough?

When John D. Rockefeller was asked this, he famously quipped: “just a little bit more”.

Don’t get sucked into never having enough.

Did those questions and answers get you thinking about how much money is enough in your own situation? Let’s get back to our experience defining the answer.

How much money is enough to be happy?

Figuring out how much INCOME or WEALTH is enough to be happy is a much more difficult and personal question. Happiness is relative: what being happy is to you can be very different from what it is to me.

For us, having enough money—whether wealth or income—depends on how you value time. It’s about the freedom to make decisions that are most beneficial to our personal health, goals, and priorities. We don’t want to feel pressure to work simply to pay bills or stay afloat.

Sometimes, those decisions can be financially detrimental like changing from full-time to part-time work.

Perhaps your employer has demanded you to start working longer shifts, overtime. Will you be able to say no?

Maybe a project has a deadline but the underlying requirements keep changing. Can you insist that either the deadline must shift or the requirements can’t change?

Has your place of work required you to take personal health risks that seem unnecessary, simply in order to keep their costs low—maybe during a pandemic?

What if you get fired for your responses, or your hours reduced?

We want to be able to make those financially detrimental decisions, despite their monetary cost.

Statistical income and happiness

You probably remember a study from a few years ago that went viral explaining that an income of about $75,000 was where diminishing returns took over and much more income made little difference. The decreasing value of salary beyond a base threshold of happiness represents the marginal utility of income. The more you make, the less utility or value you get from each additional dollar.

Emotional well-being also rises with log income, but there is no further progress beyond an annual income of ~$75,000.

Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton

Of course, you need to remember that is an average across a wide, geographically diverse sample (450K people). What income level works for you could be a good bit less or more. And, as we’ve already discussed, income doesn’t necessarily dictate how much you spend—the most important element.

Still, if you want a ballpark number, start from $75K then adjust for:

These inputs aren’t fixed, though. You’ll need to reevaluate in the future. Will your family grow? Will you move from country life to city life or the reverse, affecting your cost of living? How will your expectations of life in retirement differ from current times?

An addiction to income and saving money

Jenni and I are in the process of transitioning to early retirement. We reached financial independence in 2018.

Sometimes I feel like I still have to make money. It’s reassuring, even comforting to do so. I still operate a business where it’s possible to sort of “turn on the tap” at any given moment to make more money. It just takes spending some money as an input to get the output of even more money.

So, sometimes I do this.

I cut deals for $10,000 on a random Thursday just to feel a little better. It’s been the hardest sort of money addiction to let go of.

I think one of the best ways to feel more comfortable and let this go, is to simply lay it all out. You’re witnessing that process unfold through this retire early blog. Jenni and I have been working out all the details—developing plans and timelines—for years.

Watching the market collapse a few months back and seeing our net worth plummet by hundreds of thousands of dollars, in a strange way, helped. We expected a correction at some point, after over a decade of economic expansion. We still had plenty of money, and a chunk in more defensive assets if things really went sideways. Most of our investments are in index funds like VTSAX or VTI which probably won’t go belly up.

While I’m still working on it, I think I’ve mostly reassured myself that “enough is enough”. We’ve become more disciplined investors.

Build the Life You Want, Then Save for It

We recently wrote our how we became millionaires in 10 years story and it helped me remember several forks in the road. We made many choices to find a balance between building wealth and being content, well-adjusted members of society.

I can remember times in the past thinking that I could sacrifice a bit more time to make more money. I could build a bigger business if a poured a little more heart and soul into it. A little more work and I could be rich.

The problem with that mentality is that there’s always more money and more notoriety.

But there’s not more time.

Would I look back and think: “I could have made an extra [$10K, $20K, $100K] if I just knuckled down!”

Or would I look back and wonder: “What happened to my family, my hobbies, …my life?”

The accumulation of money phase

If you’re simply daydreaming about your future retired life and not living life now, you might be taking the wrong approach. This is not a suggestion to go out and blow a bunch of money at the bar.

At the same time, staying at home because it’s almost always the cheapest choice probably isn’t healthy either.

When you, your partner, your family want to do something to take a break from the daily stresses of life, you need to have hobbies and activities you can rely on.

The solution to skipping the bar when you want to have a fun night on the town isn’t to do nothing. It’s to do something else that might be just as fun but also a little less costly.

FIRE is a novel path to life replete with varying stages, you’re used to taking the road less traveled. Work through what the purpose of your “trip to the bar” is, and find a solution to that purpose that is healthier for your wallet and your life.

Instead of the bar, maybe you and your friends get together and DIY brew your own cider or beer. That’s a hobby that’s going to take a few gatherings to get together and produce, then hopefully several more gatherings to consume and enjoy.

It could be the start of a hobby you develop a serious interest in for years. Just be careful if you’re thinking about turning that hobby into a business down the line.

One of our DIY hard cider brewing experiments, DIY activities helped us reach the point of defining: "how much money is enough?"
One of our many DIY hard cider experiments. Jenni is celiac so no beer brewing, but cider hit’s the spot! It’s surprisingly easy and variable with regard to flavor.

It’s not just bars and alcohol, though.

If you’re longing for a trip to Japan you envision with your partner a decade from now when you’re retired, find a way to take a bite of that now. Getting a taste might help motivate you to stay on track while satisfying you enough to be contented.

Sit down together and watch a few travel shows about Japan. Research where exactly you want to go and what you want to do, and start making the plan now while you have time.

Might a staycation satiate your desire to escape routine for a little while?

Could you take a shorter trip to Japan next year?

Perhaps you could leverage credit card rewards to fly for cheap or free? Maybe you could stay at low-cost AirBNBs while you’re there. It’d be an opportunity to do a little “field research” ahead of the much longer, more cushy retirement trip you’ve been dreaming of.

A balanced life

You may have noticed in our money history that even when we were in debt $106,000, we still took a trip together through Europe for a few weeks.

We planned ahead, buying two flight tickets during a price mistake and staying at incredibly humble hotels. Our biggest expenditure was Eurail Passes, which we managed to nab at the student rate. We figured it’d be cheaper than renting a car and give us the flexibility to do what we really wanted: see the heart of Western Europe together.

Our humble London hotel during our around Europe trip in 2009 left us questioning just how much money is enough.
That first trip through Europe was so long ago the TVs were still CRT! Aside: I can’t believe no one has commented on my ridiculous hand-drawn stick figures, yet!

Our goal wasn’t to go shopping in Milan or eat at the fanciest of French restaurants. It was simply to be out exploring that slice of the world together. We skipped everything else and it didn’t end up being all that costly of a trip. That seed of exploration has become a root of our relationship and it’s something we entertain ourselves with and think about to this day.

Did it slow down our reach for financial independence? Yes.

Was it worth it? Easily.

Finding that balance is what will let you build the life you want, and that’ll serve as your motivation to keep saving.

I think for some people, at least for me, it might take hitting the extreme ends of the spectrum, hitting the guard rails on the sides—your family and your life slipping by—to shock you back to a balanced middle.

Financial independence isn’t just about building wealth, it’s about building a life. Don’t look back a decade after chasing FIRE and be the one thinking:

I built my savings, but I never built my life.



How have you managed to build a life while building wealth?
How do you define how much money is enough?
Let us know in the comments!

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By Chris

Chris began his financial independence pursuit in 2007 as he learned basic personal finance from Get Rich Slowly as an aspiring web designer and novice investor. After several missteps, he learned the secrets of financial independence and began his pursuit of freedom.

He reached financial independence in 2018 with $1.2M and two businesses. He began the process of transitioning to early retirement in 2020.

Learn more: Meet Chris.

12 replies on “How Much Money is Enough in 2023? (Find Your Answer Here)”

Well written. Definitely looks like you guys took the right approach during your journey. I wish more people who are on the FIRE path would read and understand this.

I don’t think there is any better way to explain it other than the quote below from your post.

But there’s not more time.

Would I look back and think: “I could have made an extra [$10K, $20K, $100K] if I just knuckled down!”

Or would I look back and wonder: “What happened to my family, my hobbies, …my life?”

Thank you BF!

It’s a really tough balance to strike, and to be honest, it’s a privileged position to even have the choice between the two (even within the realm of the FIRE community)!

Still, even if you don’t have a large income to work with, there’s decisions to be made about weighing the importance of reaching FIRE as fast as possible versus living life—and that’s not necessarily a decision about money.

It’s about time and priorities.

Thanks you for this great article. You talk about a lot of questions I often have, and topics my wife and I debate about. It’s so important to both save AND enjoy life. I’m happy to see you found a balance :).

Very good read! And couldn’t agree more, FI is not about wealth but life building.
My wife and I target 2024 to achieve FI, for us it’s the process that‘s so exciting we learned so much and grew stronger and independent. Applying the 4 % rule, it requires more than a million invested to support our current cost structure. But that’s just a rule of thumb. We could benefit of geografic arbitrage, build new income streams that don’t require much capital etc. I guess we could stop working quite soon and be fine, as we learned to save, invest and being flexible.
Again, great read.
Cheers

Thanks for dropping by and the kind comment! Indeed, the financial part is certainly a cornerstone–but FI is about building a life, including the financial aspect. It’s not the only part.

As recently as June it looks like you guys were just short of a million, so great job! That gives you some breathing room to reconsider things: perhaps look at scaling back work to part-time if that’s possible, maybe remote work (like during this pandemic)…and, perhaps reconsider your location (geoarbitrage as you mentioned). It won’t take long before you’re gliding past that $1M mark!

I love this article because it speaks to something other than accumulation of money, and begs to consider abundance — living richly, no matter what. Going on a vacation to Europe with over 100K in debt, as the author describes, belongs in the ‘living a life’ category. The trip was carefully crafted, but they went even if though there were in debt instead of denying themselves for some other time to take the trip (which may not come) or when they were out of debt. I think it is very important to live a life worth living as you move forward on commitment to your goals, whatever they are. I live a cozy and well designed home, but I buy good quality items as cheaply as possible and do not get tempted by extraneous purchases. I would be hesitant to purposefully live in my garage for an extended period of time to have my mortgage paid for by renters. I would (and do) open my home to short term renting of a room. Like the Stoics, I would pivot to a lesser situation should my money situation become dire. Absent that, I choose to live a modest life I enjoy living. I applaud others’ choices to become a millionaire so young by being extreme in money choices, it just isn’t a life I would want to live.

Thanks Cate. I would say that this trip helped motivate me into the life we lead now. We work a little and then play a little, then repeat.

I think everyone has their way of reaching their end goal which is great. But, I agree there are somethings that I would not do but others I would to save for what I really want, traveling.

Slow and steady, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Routine is the “boring” that we need to achieve FI, not something that takes day-to-day effort. Use that energy to build life! 🙂

Great perspectives! I was initially turned off by the FIRE movement because I associated it with working as intensely as possible for as long as possible and then pulling the retirement plug and going from 100mph to 0mph. So I think my slow entrance into the FI/FIRE world helped me have that balance without being consumed. We have also reached FI and are leaving full-time work later in 2021. I sometimes worry about the people that “retire” too soon with too little saved living too frugal (i.e. cheap!) of a lifestyle too early in life. I don’t know. I’m just glad that there are other people out there who did and continue to do things along the journey and will still make it.

Hey Dan! Thanks for coming by 🙂 Enjoyed your recent piece on true homeownership costs.

You’re totally right about the FIRE movement. I think that part of the goal of the FIRE community is to spread the message and get folks to consider a non-traditional route to retirement and/or financial freedom. The heart of that is very simple: spend less than you earn, save and invest the rest for around 10-20 years for many folks, then make changes as you wish to your routines/job/career. It’s not a message that “sells” really well because it’s so simple. So, we often like to evaluate more extreme stories because they’re more emotional, surprising, eye-catching.

I don’t know how the movement will temper that in the future, but you’ve got a good point.

Glad you enjoyed the post, this is one of my favorites we’ve written. I think way too many people try to turn FIRE into their goal rather than living (and creating) a life they want to live, then saving/investing to enable it for a large chunk of their life’s time.

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