By Vicki Robin and Jacquiline Blix

How much water does it take to fill a hole? The answer--enough. Let’s make this more interesting. How much money does it take to have a full and satisfying life? Again, the answer is enough. But how much is enough? The typical answer we get from the larger culture is “more is better.” Our experiences with survival needs and comforts have conditioned us to expect that the more we spend, the more fulfilled we’ll be. But if we suspect that our lives are out of balance, then happiness may lie in this simple word: enough.

The Fulfillment Curve is a helpful tool in the search for enough. (See Diagram) This curve is based on the principle that we receive a certain amount of fulfillment (best defined as deep and lasting pleasure) for each dollar we spend. When we spend money on survival items--such as basic food and shelter--the return we get for what we spend is high. As we move up the curve from survival to comforts-things that make life easier--we still receive a good return on each dollar spent. Toward the top of the curve we find luxuries--things that we easily could do without but add noticeably to our quality of life -- like beauty or philanthropy.

But comes the day when our purchases no longer pack the real pleasure they once did. We pass the peak of the curve, the balance point of enough. The positive relationship between stuff acquired and fulfillment starts breaking down. We become jaded about what thrills us as our expectations and spending escalates. Worse, habituated to seeking pleasure in acquisition, we don’t notice that the old formula, more-is-better, has stopped working. Unaware of the source of our frustration, we go back into the marketplace -- to feel better. Perhaps different stuff will satisfy? Or better stuff? And so we accelerate down the misery side of the curve, accumulating clutter all along the way.

What do we really crave? Enough. Having everything we want and need, but nothing in excess--the Goldilocks Principle of not too much, not too little but just right. While enough is not one-size-fits-all, it is a real number and is different for everyone. That’s why you have to do your homework to find out what this number is for you.

Use these ideas with the fulfillment curve to help figure out what is enough:

1. Create a larger framework for your life than what you own or where you live. What is your life purpose? How does your spending fit into it? Having a purpose can be a guide in everything from spending at the grocery store to what you do at the holidays.

2. Understand how your life fits in with your community and the needs of the rest of the world. How much of your life energy do you budget for helping others? If we care only about ourselves we will never have enough until we have it all.

3. Cultivate knowledge and awareness of your money. If you don’t know what you are spending on housing or entertainment each month, how can you know what is enough in the long run? Keep track of how much you spend and what you spend it on.

4. Create an internal yardstick for fulfillment. How much do you let others define what you want? Visualize a “fulfillment meter” (remember fulfillment means deep and lasting pleasure) that you can hold up to potential expenditures and experiences. Only you can be the judge of how items register on your meter. The holidays are a great time to decide how much is enough. Practice the art of enough on everything from gifts and parties to cuddle time with your kids--and see for yourself that Goldilocks was right. How much money should you spend during the holidays? Enough.

Co-op America welcomes Vicki Robin, author of Your Money or Your Life, and Jacqueline Blix, author of Getting a Life, to Real Money. In this and future columns, they will help you define financial intelligence (spending with awareness) and achieve financial integrity (spending with your values).

Originally Published in Vol. 1, No.4 Fall 1999 Real Money a Co-op America Newsletter. Reprinted here with Permission.