The line just above poverty

"Enough" sounds vague until you try to put a figure on it. So Seneca put one on it. He said the best amount to own is enough to keep you out of poverty — and not much past that. Close to the edge, on purpose, not buried in surplus.

His words: "the best amount of property to have is that which is enough to keep us from poverty, and which yet is not far removed from it" (Of Peace of Mind VIII, Stewart). That's a real target, not a mood. Rent covered. Food on the table. The kids' shoes that fit. A cushion against the month that goes wrong. The warehouse worker building three months of expenses is doing exactly this. Past that floor, each extra layer buys less peace than the last, and most of it buys none — it just gives you more to guard, insure, maintain, and fear losing.

The point isn't to be poor. It's to know where the line of enough actually sits, so you can stop confusing the climb above it with safety. Safety is the floor. The rest is weight.