Understanding Money Means Understanding What’s Enough

I’ve mentioned before that lack of widespread financial understanding harms all of us, from the bottom 1% to the ultra-wealthy. Understanding how much money is enough gives you the wisdom needed to achieve your ideal life decades sooner than you might have.

Kurt Vonnegut said it best in his poem “Joe Heller”:

I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our [billionaire] host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel 'Catch-22'
has earned in its entire history?"
And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have."
And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?"
And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough."

This is one of the most important questions for you to ask yourself: how much money is enough? It’s something I can answer for myself, but not for anyone else; it’s up to everyone else to turn inwards for their own answers.

I know I can reach a point of never needing a job again, as long as I continue doing what I’m doing. That’s to the point now of “enjoying life”. That would be enough of a launchpad for my future passion projects and nonprofit work.

However, if you don’t have an answer then you’ll never know what’s enough. How do you know how much money you need if you don’t know how much you spend? How can you calculate your ideal investment growth if you don’t have a goal? Do you need a million dollars, or do you need more? Or even less, if you’ve got an optimal case?

Don’t Confuse Excess With Enough

Some people choose to chase excess instead of discovering their “enough”. But like Vonnegut’s billionaire – or any billionaire, if we’re being honest – it means forever locking themselves off from feeling completely secure in their life and the outer world.

I think it has to do with a gap between net worth and visualization. People instinctively feel richer with a lot of stuff around them, literal representations of what they can afford. Without it, they’ll feel like they don’t have that.

The fallacy here lies in money not being a matter of instinct; your instincts best serve you in make-or-break situations, NOT long-term planning. Money management doesn’t equate to getting chased by a lion.

Make sure you don’t get this twisted. Carl from 1500 Days put this in a great way:

Figuring out and accepting a reasonable Enough level is a powerful and liberating concept. It’s one of the keys to a happy life. Once you can quash your wants and be happy with where you are, you may not be free yet, but you will be a happier person. I have old cars and an old, fixer-upper home, but I’m content with all of it. Some call it a compromise. However, my small footprint will set me free much earlier than most. I don’t have much fancy stuff, but I have more time. You can’t buy any more of that. Ever.

Which brings something to mind: if you’re like me and want to change the world for the better, knowing how much money is enough will only accelerate your time to achievement.

How Much Money is Enough With a New Prez in Town

This is very important to know this now that we’re getting ourselves a new US President. Just that news on its own is a HUGE step. For the moment, I’m indescribably relieved we’re replacing a fascist mudslinger (and that’s putting it undeservedly politely) with someone who won’t actively endanger the financial well-being of my countrymen. Like it or not, personal finance is a political matter. Healthcare, student loans, and tax-advantaged accounts are all affected by government acts and policies. For this year in particular, it also affects the spread of a pandemic, First Amendment suppression, and pushed millions of people below the poverty line.

While voting Trump out was a nice victory, it’s still not enough. Despite the nation being worse off under our current president, votes for Biden only outpaced votes for Trump by 4.4 million, or three percentage points. This administration has encouraged and achieved a deeply divided America, one that emboldens hatred and embraces regression. This election doesn’t suddenly make that go away; we need to continue working towards the ideals of racial justice and equity for all if we want to uphold national ideals of “enough” in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

From a strictly financial perspective, this is excellent news. Another stimulus package will hopefully come through in the coming weeks, set to give a boost needed months ago. And hopefully in the next four years we can get derailed job-seekers and families back on track. While 2020’s proved we can take nothing for granted, we can at least rest a little easier.

Considering the Possibilities of “Enough”

Keep in mind, I started my current job roughly six months before COVID-19 appeared in Wuhan. If I was still in either of my last two jobs, I’d have spent the last several months out of my mind with financial worry. In the first job, my post-tax income would barely cover my $30k yearly spending. In the second job, I might not have even had it anymore thanks to seeing almost all business disappear overnight.

But as long as I’d have my investments plugging away, I’d have had enough. Not enough for a lifelong cushion, of course, but enough of a cushion to buoy me through the slog of finding a high-paying job out there. Having that personal safety net is enough to keep me stress-free about money and in an enviable position. I don’t need to be a billionaire to have that assurance; while it’s not something you can buy, it is something you can acquire with the right mindset.

Figure out what’s enough to destress you. You’re the only one that can answer the question “how much money is enough?” for your unique circumstances. As long as you aim for financial literacy and educate yourself on how money works, your possibilities for “enough” just got closer.

Cover image credits: Mark König via Unsplash and Rep. Terri Sewell via Twitter