Enough Said
I was just thinking about a story I recently read. John Bogle, the Vanguard founder who passed away in 2019, once told a story about money that highlights something we don’t think about often enough. At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day that Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch 22 over its whole Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have….enough”.Enough.
I was stunned by the simple eloquence of that word---stunned for two reasons.First, because I have been given so much in my own life. Second, because Joseph Heller could not have been more accurate. For many of the wealthiest and more powerful among us, there seems to be no limit on what enough entails. Now, let us make a general assumption. Most of us will not achieve the level of financial success as those in this story. Still, we are faced with the same question. What is enough?
I am reminded of my dad when I think about the word. He was generous to everyone in all ways possible. However, he was not a generous tipper. If he picked up the tab at a restaurant, one of us needed to linger behind to enhance the tip. We had our share of fun about his frugal tipping. Each time he had the same response---“I would tip more if I knew how long I had to make my money last” .In other words, he had enough…. but was not sure enough was enough to make it to the end of his life.
I appreciate that sentiment more as I get older. When I was working, I had the notion that if I needed something, I could just buy it and then work harder to pay for it. This became a vicious cycle from buying to working harder to buying more…. get the picture? Enough was never enough.
Flash forward towards retirement. When we leave the workforce, we often envision a new set of adventures. We are often concerned about daily expenses or medical emergencies. We worry, maybe more, about having enough. There is a great deal of emphasis during this election cycle on inflation and the possibility of recession. Either stoke our fear of not having enough. This in turn drives us to vote for whoever promises a rosy and robust financial future. There are those who suffer in our country. There are those that do not have money for food or shelter. They do not have enough. Their concerns are real and need to be recognized. What about the rest of us? Are we so worried about inflation that we will vote for anyone who promises a ‘fix’?
It has been estimated that 6.1 million Americans spend About 87 million Americans spend $397 million on unused gym memberships annually. More than 75% of Americans eat out once a week (or more) equating to spending about 50% of the household food budget outside the home. Over eleven million Americans now own an RV.
It is not surprising, given these statistics, that we may all suffer from not knowing when enough is enough. Financially speaking, we have come a long way since eating out was a celebratory event. Some of us have come a long way since tent camping in a state park was the family vacation for the year. Most of us have come a long way since carrying baskets of wet laundry from the basement to hang outdoors, mowing the lawn with a push mower in the summer or raking leaves with a garden rake was our workout.
I have thought about “enough” and the quote from Heller in the above story. What we strive for, where we spend our money, what our priorities are really does not matter. What seems to matter is that we reach a mindset where we recognize that we have enough. The notion of acquiring more, saving more, or keeping more can consume any one of us, regardless of our financial position. Spending money on travel, gym memberships, or eating out really is not the issue. These are personal decisions based on personal priorities. However, being appreciative and satisfied with our financial choices could bring about a sense of relief…. even joy…. believing and being thankful that we simply have enough may result in an abundance of happiness. Jh
A Facebook post I read a few weeks ago
:The planet doesn’t need more ‘successful’ people….The planet desperately NEEDSmore peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellersand lovers of all kinds.