YOUR WRIST, YOUR GARAGE AND YOUR FOOTPRINT: WHAT IS “ENOUGH”?

The story, which I first heard told by John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group, has been making the rounds, so maybe you’ve heard it.  Authors Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller meet at a cocktail party in a most elegant and pretentious home.  At one point Vonnegut says to Heller, “What does it feel like to think that the owner of this house likely makes as much in a day as you made from the total sales of Catch-22?”  Pausing briefly, Heller answered concisely, “But I have something he may not.”  “And what’s that?” responded Vonnegut.  “Enough,” Heller said quietly.

A gift of the current season of economic struggle, not in any way to minimize how deeply impactful this struggle is for many, may be a renewed appreciation of “enough.”  Though re-assessing and re-calibrating personal and family budgets may be more necessity than option, I am sensing that there a fresh appreciation, an emerging creativity, about finding enjoyment that is not price-tag based.

And, an awareness that there is a measureable difference between (what I will call) the cost of utility and the cost of extravagance – in the same product or expense.  A necessary cost and a discretionary cost might be a gentler way to say it.  Consider three examples in gradations of scope and cost as examples. 

• Look at your wrist.  A quartz watch – fully reliable in time-keeping, available with a measure of style – need cost no more than $29.95.  If your watch cost more than that, the difference is a cost of extravagance. The difference in cost is serving a purpose other keeping time. 
• Look in your garage.  One can argue that a car is an enclosure, supported by four tires, designed to get you from Point A to Point B.  You can buy a new one, mechanically reliable, pleasing to the eye for $12,000.  If your car cost more than that the difference is a cost of extravagance.  The difference in cost is serving a purpose other than transportation. 
• Look at the footprint . . . of your house, that is.  My friends did not want to move, but each of the couple had lost their job and had no choice but to put their 7,000 square foot house on the market.  Mercifully, it sold near asking price within the month.  They have bought a much more modest, barely over 2,000 square foot house.  Broad smiles, not of resignation but true delight, met me when I visited.  “Guess what we discovered,” they said, almost in unison.  “We realized we only really lived in 2,000 square feet in our other house!”  They explained that they had used their spacious living room and ample dining room only a handful of days a year.  All four bedrooms had never each been occupied in any single night.  They “lived” in the eat-in kitchen, the cozy den and their bedroom, less than 2,000 square feet.  And, they reported, they felt more truly at-home  and comfortable, glad to be out from under high annual maintenance, insurance and taxes.  “Enough” was enough!

Staycations (attractions, events, sites nearby) . . . buying generic rather than name brands . . . the surprisingly good taste of boxed wines (matching higher end wines in blind taste tests) . . . set a “special occasion” table, linen napkins, candlelight and quiet music and “eat gourmet” at home . . . take turns with friends preparing a “dinner out at home” for each other . . . share tools, camping equipment, tuxedos, lawnmowers and leaf blowers, et cetera.  Use your imagination!