Eudaimonia cost

Approximately how much money does eudaimonia require?

Short answer: there’s no single dollar figure — eudaimonia (human flourishing) mostly needs enough money to remove insecurity and buy you time and agency, not infinite wealth. That said, here are practical, approximate anchors you can use.

Rough anchors (annual income / nest-egg view)

• Basic security (cover food, housing, healthcare, transport) — depends a lot on country and city.

  • In many parts of the U.S., that’s roughly $20,000–$40,000 / year for a single person; in expensive metro areas it’s higher.

• “Comfortable” living (less financial stress, modest extras) — ~$50,000–$120,000 / year, depending on location and family size.

• The frequently-cited “happiness plateau” from well-being research: classic studies found emotional well-being rises with income up to about $75,000 / year (older figure); more recent work puts the range somewhat higher (often quoted $90k–$100k / year for certain measures of life evaluation). These are guides, not magic thresholds.

If you’re thinking in terms of a retirement / freedom nest egg (safe-withdrawal rule)

People often use the “25× annual spending” rule (the 4% rule). I’ll show the math digit-by-digit:

• To support $75,000 / year:

  1. 75,000 × 20 = 1,500,000.
  2. 75,000 × 5 = 375,000.
  3. Add: 1,500,000 + 375,000 = 1,875,000. So ~$1,875,000 in savings.

• To support $100,000 / year:

  1. 100,000 × 25 = (100,000 × 20) + (100,000 × 5) = 2,000,000 + 500,000 = 2,500,000.

• To support $40,000 / year:

  1. 40,000 × 25 = (40,000 × 20) + (40,000 × 5) = 800,000 + 200,000 = 1,000,000.

Key point (philosophical & practical)

Eudaimonia = flourishing through virtue, meaningful activity, relationships, autonomy. Money helps by removing scarcity and buying time/choices, but past the point of security and reasonable comfort its marginal effect on deep flourishing drops. Most of the long-term gains to “flourishing” come from non-monetary investments: community, meaningful work, health, and time-control.

Quick, practical takeaway

Aim first to eliminate financial insecurity (an emergency fund + predictable income). After that, use money to buy time, health, experiences, and opportunities for meaningful engagement. If you want, tell me your country/city and whether you mean annual income or a retirement nest-egg, and I’ll give more tailored numbers (no need to answer if you prefer this general guide).