How much is enough?

This is the question we have been asking ourselves for over a year.

We could both work.  Be a double-income family.  We've been there.  We worked to buy a big house in a community with amenities so that the kids had opportunities.  We went shopping in our time off. Not only for groceries and necessities, but for stuff.  We collected.  We looked for obscure and unique items.  We took the kids to antique stores....lots of times.  When out shopping we were out eating and not healthily.  We were working to maintain our lifestyle, but we felt stretched thin and our health suffered.

I posed the question one day, how low could we get our monthly expenses?  I had already floated the idea of buying a trailer, I was wondering what was the minimum we would have to make each month to live on - assuming our pastimes were not collecting shit and going out to eat.  We ended up projecting that $2000/month would be a good amount.  That is assuming no debt, a paid off RV, and low lot rental fees.  Some utility expenses are necessary, as is cell service & data (by the way have I mentioned we pay $100/month for our two cell phones & unlimited data through T Mobile and that is how we access the internet).  So we had an idea, a baseline and since then we have been taking steps to figure out how much is actually enough.

There have been studies done about income related to happiness and they all say the same thing, significant increases in income only translate into marginal increases in happiness.  What do we really want in life?  Love, connection, experience, learning, discovery, joy...these things only come with leisure time.  We discussed trying to live off of our rental income, but that is impractical for a number of reasons.  So I looked for a job based on the academic year and I found one....so where does that leave Husband?  Why is he still working when I now make in excess of our baseline?  Yes, he could keep working to save money, but we just sold three houses, became debt-free, and put a decent amount of money in our savings account (for the short term).  We have enough.  We don't need his income.  What we need is more leisure time.  More time to be together and to explore our world. So... a week from today is his last day.  He's been in his current job for 8+ years...the longest he has been with any employer - but it is time to say goodbye.  This is the first break in employment Husband has had since 1999!  Every time he has changed jobs in the past 18 years he quit on a Friday and started a new job on a Monday.

These choices we have made are not wise if you are looking for external validation.  Most people think it is weird - and it is.  We are breaking norms that most people take for granted.  Husband's coworkers keep asking him "where are you going?" - they mean, "who is your new employer?"  He leaves them hanging saying, "I'm going to take a break for a while and maybe take some classes." They must wonder how that is possible, when they need their jobs like they need air, or in some cases, when they are so conditioned (like Pavlov's dogs) to continue the mundane doldrums despite their inheritances or thrifty lifestyles.  But our kids are little and for such a fleeting time.  Seven precious years have passed of Brother's life and only 10 more before he will be off to college!  Sister is 3 and the most beautiful (but contrarian) child you have ever seen.  If we have the means to enjoy these moments than we shall.  Our priorities are finally clear - 1.) personal health, 2.) family adventures, 3.) simple, frugal lifestyle.

Finally, and this is huge - why would Husband want to solve the problems of his employer when he could be working to solve our remaining problems?  We don't have everything figured out, we still have questions about our future.  Someone has to have the time and inclination to work on those problems.  If you are stressed and tired from working on someone else's problems, it is doubtful if you can see clear to solving your own.  Though I was finishing my degree (through May of 2017) I was unemployed from June of 2016 through August of 2017 and it was during this time that I explored alternatives to our McMansion and our standard American way of life.   How much is enough?  What are we working for or toward?  How can we be more healthy, content, and at peace?  I can say that I feel like we are on that path. These changes over the past 90 days (today is the three month anniversary of closing on the McMansion) have been synergistic with health, family and frugality.

It's a question we just don't ask enough in this consumerist society - how much is enough?