How much is enough? JD Roth, founder of Get Rich Slowly, posted the question on Twitter this morning. (You can follow both of us on Twitter at @thebrokemba and @jdroth.)  I’m not sure why he asked, and at first read, I didn’t give it much thought.  However, when my work day slowed a little, I re-read the question and began to think through my answer…

“…There is no such thing as enough”

This was my first thought, and it really bothered me. I know many of you have thought “if only I earned a little bit more, then I will have enough.” Of course, once you are earning more, you learn that you once again want “just a little bit more.” Will we ever be satisfied with what we have?

An hour or two later, JD tweeted again:

“How much is enough?” is more of a rhetorical question than anything. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I feel like I have enough.”

Wow.  With the turbulent market and recent recession on everyone’s mind, it was refreshing to hear someone say they felt like they had enough. As much as I would like to feel this way, I knew that I couldn’t say the same. And I don’t feel like I’m in the minority.

My guess is that most people’s primary motivation for working each day is the accumulation of newer cars, bigger homes, and just trying to keep up with the Joneses.  However, it was obvious from JD’s tweet that his primary motivation was not the accumulation of more “stuff.”  So I asked:

“@jdroth Interesting. If you feel you have enough, then the desire for more is no longer your motivation.  What is your primary motivation?”

His reply?

“@thebrokemba Happiness. Fulfillment. Helping others achieve the same.”

Now this really got me thinking.  Of course there are motivations other than money.  But in order to figure out “how much was enough”, I decided that I first needed to define what “enough” really meant to me:

Enough - when your primary motivations have changed from the accumulation of more stuff to the accumulation of things more altruistic;  such as happiness, fulfillment, and helping others achieve the same, without regard for monetary gain.

By this definition, for some, enough is very little.  The most extreme case might be a monk who has given up mainstream life and taken a vow of poverty for pursuit of less worldly things.  For others, there is no such thing as enough. Some people’s purpose in life will always be the “networth” scorecard, and they may never get off the hedonic treadmill.

For me? Enough is as I explained to JD:

“@jdroth  I guess enough for me is when I have the freedom from financial obligations to solely pursue what already motivates you.”

What about you?  How much is enough?

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