How much money is enough money?

This is one of my favorite questions, one that I’ve had changing opinions over time.

In my teens, I dreamt of owning a company and making millions. The fancy cars, yachts, jets did attract me. As I grew up and we bought a nice luxury sedan, my view changed. I liked the car, but it didn’t bring any meaningful change to my life. I was convinced that an even fancier car, or a private jet for that matter, won’t make much difference.

I dreamt of traveling. When I got a job, I could afford a family vacation to Dubai and went to explore Bangkok solo. I earned enough to not care about the budget for these trips. So, my definition of enough money changed to the amount that allows me to travel as much as I want.

There was a little caveat though. I had to work for eleven months so that I could travel for one. Not because my salary was low, but because I was employed. I couldn’t just ask for a six-month vacation, right?

It was not just an amount problem now. How I made money became as important as how much I made, if not more. So, I quit my job.

Now, I’m trying to make money that allows me to work on my own terms, take a break when I want, and is enough to sustain a decent lifestyle (trips count, fancy cars don’t). Haven’t reached there yet, but that’s my new definition of enough money.

Along similar lines, I found a rather witty term coined by Nassim Taleb. It is called “F*** You Money”, the kind of money that enables you to reject any work that you don’t want to do. It is enough to fulfil your desires but doesn’t snatch away your freedom.

There can be several ways to attain or perceive such money. An obvious one is an amount so large that you start seeing diminishing returns from your work. Another million in the bank does not make a difference.

Second is a steady stream of passive income with lower cost of living. If you can live out of just your passive sources of income, you’re practically free from all work obligations. You work because you want to, not because you have to.

Third can be achieved from doing what you love. If your days are spent doing things you love and value, it does not matter whether you make ten thousand or a hundred thousand. Money is out of picture. You are already free.

Most of us choose to go with the first option, society’s default. We sacrifice our freedom today to buy it back someday. But if we think about it, second and third aren’t that bad either. If we find the work that energizes us and lower our expenses along the way, the amount of money that frees us isn’t that extraordinary. It’s actually lower than we think.

How much money is enough money for you? Or is that a stupid question?

See you next Sunday!
Aachman