“Enough” isn’t a number; it’s a mindset.
In financial planning, there’s one word that keeps showing up. Not “retirement” or “yield” or “diversification.” No, the one that comes up most often, quietly, curiously, is “enough.”
It usually comes in the form of a question: Will my family be okay? Am I spending too much? What if I run out?
What those questions reveal is that, for most people, enough isn’t really a number at all. It’s a mindset. A sense of peace, of knowing they’re going to be okay.
It’s a marriage of caution and contentment.
I’ve had people bring me the most detailed spreadsheet I’d ever seen. Forecasts, charts, stress tests, budgets… the works. And despite all the numbers and planning, they’re still searching for peace of mind. Searching for a number that will set their mind at ease.
The truth? There is no single number. Because “enough” isn’t fixed. It evolves. It’s different for every person.
It’s even different for every life season, and every country in which you live.
Living and working internationally has made that crystal clear to me. In France, for instance, there’s a different rhythm. A quieter, slower kind of wealth, found in long lunches, good bread, time to think. In South Africa, “enough” might look like family security. In the UK, it’s often about property and stability. And in the US, it’s frequently framed around freedom… freedom from, freedom to.
I’ve seen people with £10 million still feel anxious. And others with far less feel completely content. The difference is rarely the size of their portfolio. It’s how aligned their money is with the life they want to live. I’ve actually convinced some clients to start spending more and investing less!
“Enough” for a young couple might mean being able to travel without guilt or debt. For a family supporting relatives in two countries, it might be flexibility. For someone approaching retirement, it might be knowing they won’t become a burden to their children or siblings.
And of course, it changes. Kids grow. Health shifts. Values deepen. The plan has to move with you.
That’s why financial planning isn’t simply about maximising returns. It’s about building a framework around the life you want, so that when the markets wobble, or the winds change, you’re still standing on solid ground.
And it starts with asking what a good life looks like to you and your family, not with how much money you have. When we can begin to answer that first question, then we can figure out how to make those numbers fit. We can explore all the options you have to make the numbers start to make more sense.
Because that’s where we find clarity. And that’s where “enough” lives.
