Enough?
As a kid, I believed that once I made as much money as my dad made, I'd have "enough money." At the time, he made about $10,000 a year in his machinist job…
He raised our family with three children on a single income by working a lot of overtime, odd jobs, and managing rental apartments on the side.
I entered the Marine Corps and learned I didn't need much money. I was happy just doing my job and learning new skills (their electronics school led to my eventual choice of career). Still, I enjoyed "stuff" like scuba gear and racing bikes. I was always a little in debt and chasing "more money."
After leaving the service and starting my own family, having children led me to understand that the "toys" were not important. I sold the scuba gear, underwater camera, bike, trailer, and all the other toys. "Enough" money changed drastically, and I took a series of jobs to meet my family's needs.
I wanted “enough” to quit the jobs and find a real career.
By the time I found that career, I had remarried into a new, blended family. Better salary and benefits followed.
That's when I realized I'd never have "enough money" to compensate for lost family time or retire with complete financial security. I'd never have "enough" until I figured out for myself what I'd need to have the life I wanted.
I believed that I needed the security of "enough money" but it slowly dawned on me that I had been a very happy kid, even though when I looked back, we were very poor. I'd been happy in the Marine Corps, even though my pay as a sergeant wasn't going to allow much luxury. Eventually, I realized that “enough” was about more than money.
I spoke with my wife, did some soul-searching with her, and realized a simpler life would be better. We sold our big house and downsized to an apartment. Sold the furniture from our former five-bedroom place and started the process of minimalizing our "stuff". We came to realize that we had enough!
Turns out that we had "enough money" to live a modest, but NOT a poor life. I've been retired for five years, and money can a worry at times but there's no way I'd exchange the “enough” that we’ve found.
Enough is enough.
That’s my perspective…