Red Line 5

Know your “enough”.

Six upgrades flash past. Yes or no? Swipe. Don’t think.

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Red Line 5 of 48 · Shelf 1 · Before any money moves

Red Line 5 of 48

Without a finish line, more never feels like enough, and the risks keep growing.

The idea

Enough is what pays for the life you want: needs, comfort, saving and some joy. For Lina that is €2,500 a month. Past it, more adds little.

Why it matters

Past enough, each step up asks for more risk: a bigger loan, everything on one bet. That is risking what you need for what you don’t.

Try it

Add up a month of the life you want. That number is a finish line you can see, and change later.

Where it bends

Enough changes with family, health and age. Look at it again every few years.

This game’s numbers

How strong the proof is

ThinMixedGoodStrong

CMixed proof

Studies disagree on whether more money stops making people feel better: one found a plateau, a later joint study found it only for the unhappiest.

Income and emotional well-being: A conflict resolved Matthew A. Killingsworth, Daniel Kahneman & Barbara Mellers, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(10), e2208661120, 2023
High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being Daniel Kahneman & Angus Deaton, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(38), 16489-16493, 2010

Checked 2 Nov 2026 · How we grade

A Strong proof: Many good studies or long official data, from different teams or countries, point the same way.
B Good proof, with limits: Solid studies agree on the direction, but the size varies, or the data covers few places or few kinds of people.
C Mixed proof: Some good studies for, some against, or the evidence covers only part of the line.
D Thin proof: Mostly one book’s argument, one survey or stories. It may be wise, but it has not been tested well.
= True by the sums: It follows from arithmetic, so no study can overturn it. We still show what real data says.

Where it comes from

John C. Bogle, Enough (2008). In our words, not quoted.

See it in numbers: Risk · Your plan (From Zero)

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