Enough is enough

“The task at hand is simple: come to a decision for yourself on what is enough.” -Chris Guillebeau

There’s something that feels utterly wrong at the idea of running after more and always more. Last week, I ran into an old friend at the supermarket and he commented on how the photos from Boots & Cats that he was seeing online made us look like we were truly happy with our business. “Yes”, I confirmed, “We are. We might not be making trillions of euros each month but we really like what we do and how we all work together.”

We have enough.

That’s why Chris’ prompt resonated so much with me. I am someone who thrives when she has a lot going on, so I decided to ask myself the following questions :

What is “enough money” ?

How much do I need to make each month to cover my expenses and live comfortably ? That’s a question I asked myself a couple of years ago, when I decided to overhaul how I approached Personal Finances.

I’m a single woman, I’m healthy, I don’t have any kids that I need to take care of, I live in a small apartment, I move around mostly by foot or bike, okay, I pay high taxes. Still, I can easily survive under 2 000 € monthly. Anything above that is bonus : extra expenses, savings for retirement and savings for fun stuff (or more taxes), travels… Here again, once I know how much extra is enough, I can evaluate what I need to make every month to cover all of it.

Do I need more ? Not really.

Why pursue extra income ? What more will it bring in my life ? I am convinced that you need some money to be happy but there’s a point where more money does not bring you more joy. I believe I have found my limit and I have never felt more at ease with my finances.

What is “enough projects” ?

As it turns out, money was the easy question. Now we’re swimming in different waters. As a proud multipotentialite, I know I need to juggle several things in order to feel balanced. That’s not a bug, that’s just a functionality of who I am.

Good thing, I found the perfect business setting to frame my various activities. It’s called a CAE and it allows me to be both an entrepreneur AND a freelancer (nope these two are not exactly the same thing). Now, that’s no excuse to go all over the place with projects.

So I decided to concentrate them under four categories :

• Boots & Cats : my big, bold entrepeneur journey.
• Audrey Julienne : my teacher, speaker and coach freelancing act.
• Untied : my community-directed content creation-based creative output.
• Good times : my runner, yogi, jazz singer, hiker, photographer, movie theather team member, bass player… endeavors that are not (and are not destined to be) revenue-generating.

I know what place and what role each of these activities holds in my life. And knowing that allows me to place the curser up or down according to my particular needs at that time. With a little of each of these four categories in my weeks, I have enough.

What is “enough travel” ?

That is a particularly spicy one… I deeply care for enviromental issues, but, at the same time, I cannot conceive a life without exploring remote countries and mixing with foreign cultures. And yes, that means I will continue flying.

How can I be more environmentally-friendly with my travels is a question I have been asking myself a lot over the past few years. And I know it also means that I might have to reduce my level of “enough travel”.

To be honest, I don’t have an answer to this one. I don’t know what “enough travel” is. This will probably require that I test things over the next few years.

In 2021, I only traveled in France. That, definitely, was not enough for me and left me sad, bitter and unfulfilled.

In 2022, I caught up with many trips that had been on hold for the past couple of years. This year is certainly above enough.

Enough is somewhere in between. 2023 will be a sandbox for that question and, in the meantime, I’ll keep on trying to do my share by traveling by train any time I can, by continuing exploring biking and hiking adventures, and by always choosing a less invasive option when I visit someone else’s country.

Have you ever pondered on these questions ? What are the area where you feel like you need to draw a line ? Share with us in the comments section !