I think a lot about how “having enough money” feels like an ever-elusive, moving goal – and then I remember that “goal” is made up by people who benefit when I live in fear, quietly contribute to over-consumerism and taxes, and that money is only part of what can contribute to what each of us need.

If you’re genuinely not able to have your needs taken care of, that’s a hard experience and having stress and fear about it makes a lot of sense.

But, if you ARE having your needs taken care of, and are more afraid than ever despite having reasonable evidence [eg money in the bank] that there’s a buffer between today and you not having needs met…  people get stuck feeling this way by design, and it’s time to shift some things. 

Feeling like you have “enough” is about a relationship to what you believe will help ensure you are cared for. That belief is what creates confidence about your personal security, not a number in the bank. 

Video edited on Kapwing

Having “enough” is a fiction if you try to approach it from the point of view of “pay for everything I’ll ever need” in our extractive, increasingly-expensive market-based world. There’s other ways to think about this, and feel more security, while still being realistic that yeeeeah you will need money.

It’s important to acknowledge that differences in class experience influence how much, how fast and how dire this feeling of “not enough” can have an impact on people.  This is especially hard on those of us who come from scarcity and have done the thing: created something out of nothing when it came to financial resources. 

One difference today is that the fear of not-enough feeling is leaking beyond people with poor and working-class lived experiences. People who formerly felt confidence are feeling less of it, and the fear of not enough is – for good reason – leaking into more people’s lives, as politicized government austerity is leading to reduction of services and poor policy choices are reducing the amount of money flowing to businesses and instead leaving it in a few billionaire’s coffers.

There’s also a lot of fear emerging for people about dramatic change like the banks shutting down, the financial system collapsing, or certain people losing access to their bank accounts.There’s not a lot of evidence that this would help out the billionaires who are otherwise benefitting. This fear of loss of opportunity to care for oneself is legitimate, it’s potentially ancestral trauma, and while anything could happen, it is generally wise to focus on what would build your resilience, rather than what you fear. 

A few resilience-building perspectives to consider, if you’re stuck in fear about “enough”:

• REALITY IS ALREADY DIFFERENT: If you have been able to save some money, you already are ahead of many other people who have not, including yourself of the past. You literally are able to solve problems with money you could not in the past. Sit with that as today’s truth: I can’t solve every possible problem, but I can do some.
• TODAY’S SKILLS AND BELIEFS ARE DIFFERENT If you work in a way where you have been able to make money, you are more likely to be able to do that again. The mystery is unlocked a bit and you don’t have to get over a hurdle of it seeming impossible. And, the skills you have are transferable even if the money is used.
• YOU ARE ABLE TO USING LESS you have lived on less, you know it’s doable. Not fun perhaps, and will feel different, but many many people live without a bag and are ok.
• MONEY IS NOT THE ONLY RESOURCE let’s say it louder for folks who are struggling

MONEY IS NOT THE ONLY RESOURCE

• Social connections and people, places to be or go, skills and capabilities and interests are allllll resources we can cultivate, and we don’t have to cultivate them for financial gain for them to help us.

If you really want to do some covering of your ass, you could always consider:

• Building new skills
• Expanding your social and relationship-based resources – perhaps even combining forces with other people to create access to places for all of you
• Open a bank account you can access in another country [Wise digital bank, or HSBC, TD or ScotiaBank are just a few banks that are both in the US and abroad]
• Practicing direct democracy, conflict resolution, and group decision-making – the backbone skills of building a new society.

But don’t get caught in the numbers. Anyone from any socioeconomic background can start to believe that some specific number – $100k, $500k, $2million, whatever – is the goal, because the messaging about having “enough money” is loud: without enough look what could happen. You could be POOR and please notice, we punish the poor with shittier lives. Don’t you want … stuff? Cool stuff? New stuff? Stuff Made in America??? Don’t you want to work, get stuff, and not be poor?

In late-stage capitalism, in the West – yeah, you do need money. And you will be more comfortable, taken care of, and healthy with more money today than was needed in the past. But what’s needed is not an endlessly increasing number – the number is a false milestone. What’s needed is a way to generate the feeling that your needs will be taken care of, over time.

And that is a multi-pronged effort combining people, place, skills, and, yes money.