Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics How Much is Enough?

Anyone remember Joe Dominguez' & Vicki Robin's book Your Money or Your Life, 1992? Interesting discussion of money vs. fulfillment, and what is ENOUGH. They assert that fulfillment peaks when there's enough money to meet survival and comfort needs--food, shelter, etc., and a little bit for luxuries. Beyond that, more money and fulfillment are inversely related. Beyond ENOUGH lies clutter.

Yes....that is us. That is the choice we made for our life (drives the kids crazy but oh well...)

Besides, the more you have the more responsibility you have and the more complicated, ie stressful.
I have seen this...up close and personal.

The amount of stuff you need really depends on how you live. My wife and I spent several years living in condos and apartments while she was in Vet School. A 4' by 4' by 8' storage bin over your carport really sets the limits to what you want to keep.

Then we spent several years in suburban homes with garages and yards. That meant a major shift up in the amount and types of material possessions that made sense: Lawn and garden care equipment, household and car maintenance supplies, home entertainment items, holiday decorations, and so on.

Now we have a 10 acre ranch, where it makes sense to have our own chain saw, 4WD pickup with winch, gigantic piles of mulcht, miles of irrigation system (and the supplies to maintain it), etc. If we ever move back to a smaller (and hopefully simpler) environment, we will gladly leave much of it behind.

Mr. Dockside and I sold our home in the country in the mid-80's and moved into an apartment. We had a gigantic moving sale, took truckloads of stuff to an auction site and even more truckloads to the dump. We lived in a compact, 1100 s.f. apt. with a 5 x 7 storage space and lacked nothing. Then we bought another house with a finished basement that was empty when we moved in. In just 3 years, that empty space filled up with furniture, you name it. We have most of that stuff and more (after moving 3 more times). Sure don't need it and, in the next few months we will be on our way to getting rid of a lot of it. I've said it before, but this time I mean it. I'm going to be ruthless. Surprising how much stuff you can live without and how little one actually "needs". I try to ask myself "is this a need or a want?" before I buy something, even when it comes to stuff like fancy coffee, biscotti, etc. I do end up putting a lot back on the shelf (mostly because we are now living, quite comfortably, on a fixed income).

If I buy it because I want it, I have to have a good justification for doing so (good price, consummable, etc.)

In the areas of really well done theatre and chocolate, I cannot conceive of enough.

Still, I really liked Redheat's answer. And NWP's about the B Bush administration.