More expensive than $500 is mostly the responsibility of custodians. If you're beyond 3 hardware devices in a 2/3 multisig setup where a custodian holds one of the keys, and are dabbling in Shamir secrets, playing with substitutions cyphers, fucking with custom derivation paths, learning XoR, or shoveling dirt in relief of an empty moonbeam to bury things, you've gone too far. I do believe hybrid self-custody solves most problems and is coming mainstream with Bitkey's imminent launch.

It solves the problem of rapid fiat conversion in/out because Coinbase and CashApp are partners, and since the phone can be used as one of the 2/3 keys, laziness is solved for. The people it attracts were never going to use a Coldcard or Trezor with Electrum et al.

Me I just memorized my 12 word key. And have it on 3 coldcards in 3 different timezones.

Better expressed as a percentage of one's stack

Its a 1 in 10/20 year cost so better make it a good one

Multiple generations of hardware wallets, multiple steel seed backup solutions... it adds up

For larger sums, I don't see why an individual would need more than a 2-of-3 multisig. Assuming that there is a signing device for each key and a steel backup, this probably maxes out at around $500.

Maybe if you do not have enough secure locations you could rent out a safety deposit box at a bank for one of the keys, which is additional cost of a few hundred dollars a year. But in that case you might as well use a custodian like Nunchuk or something.

People also pay way too much for the fancy steel backups, such as the cassette models with slide-in tiles that retail for around $80 each. A simple plate set where you stamp / etch in the letters is both cheaper and sturdier.