Episode 7 Transcript: The Practice of Enough

I’d like to talk with you about a force that I think quietly influences a lot of our financial decisions, and that is the idea of “enough,” or perhaps more accurately, why the feeling of satisfaction or enough often feels just a little bit out of reach or fleeting.

If you stop and think about it, there is a subtle sense that many of us carry with us that things could always be a little bit better.

Perhaps we could have a slightly higher income, a little more saved, a bigger house, or a slightly nicer version of something we already have. And I think most of the time, we don’t notice the voice in our head that’s telling us that.

I’m reminded of this sometimes in my own house with my kids and their toys. There are moments when I look around and think there’s absolutely no way anyone could possibly need more toys than this.

And yet somehow, they’re already looking for the next thing that seems interesting or new, and they may have even forgotten about what they just got a few days ago or for their last birthday. When you look around, many of the toys that are there don’t actually get played with.

I think adults do this too. We just tend to do it with slightly more expensive things. I’m reminded of how many times I’ve bought something off Instagram or from an ad I’ve seen that I really had no need for.

I think another place this shows up is in savings. For folks who are doing retirement planning and saving for their future selves, I’ve worked with plenty of people who have done a really good job saving. They have a lot of assets, and objectively they’re in a very strong financial position, but they still feel like it’s not enough.

They still feel like they need to save because they don’t think it’s going to last.

I remember one conversation with someone who, on paper, had plenty of assets. By all objective measures, they were doing really well. They had no need to save more money. And yet something they said stuck with me.

They said, “I look at the numbers. I understand what you’re saying. But even if there were twice as much, I don’t feel like it would ever be enough.”

I think that’s a really interesting moment because it shows how the math and the mindset aren’t always the same thing. The numbers can objectively look fine, but there can still be a sense of uncertainty or a feeling of not having enough.

When we reflect on that, I think it’s also important to clarify something. I’m not talking about feeling “enough” as meaning complacency or stopping growth, pursuing opportunities, or being ambitious. I don’t mean it in a negative sense at all.

It simply means a sense of wellbeing that isn’t dependent on constantly reaching for the next thing or the next milestone. It’s about learning to have appreciation while still allowing room for growth.

So I’m curious if anything comes to mind where “enough” right now might feel slightly out of reach.

I’m not talking about shifting toward restriction, but rather being more intentional and asking ourselves: what actually adds value and satisfaction to my life, rather than just more?

When we take this perspective, it’s my hope that money becomes a tool that supports our values and priorities in building a life we want. It can help us turn down that voice in a world that constantly encourages us to consume more, where we are constantly bombarded by it.

So I’d like to leave you with a few reflections to consider:

Where in your financial life might the feeling of “enough” be creeping in?
Do you feel like it’s quietly influencing any parts of your financial life at the moment?
Are there areas of your spending or lifestyle that may have expanded without necessarily increasing your satisfaction?
And if you defined what “enough” looked like for you, what would change or be different?

The feeling of enough isn’t a destination. It’s an evolving mindset. And I believe that the more we practice it, the more satisfied and happy we’ll be, particularly with the role money plays in our lives.