On money

There seems to be no upper bound on how much money you need. But there is, I've found it.

Unless you have some sort of spending disorder, spending a lot of money on luxuries feels wrong. If you think more money will magically fix your life, I'm sorry, but there is no upper bound. I can't help you.

This article assumes you are happy with a Toyota, the house you live in is no bigger than your family needs, and you don't chase status using material things.

So, let's find the upper bound. With a Toyota that will last you 10 years and a house that is no bigger than your family needs, your personal needs are met.

Next, you should retire your mom. And she also needs a car! You now have a Toyota, a house, and your mom is retired. Surely you're there now? My current understanding is yes.

A Toyota and a retired mom is the upper bound.

The only exception is if your wife doesn't like to work, in which case you should retire her as well.

Anything beyond that is reckless, and you should develop better alarms to stop yourself from spending too much.

So, how much is that in dollars and cents?

Your mom needs $30k a year besides her pension to live comfortably. You probably need $100k for yourself and the family. Assuming your wife likes to work, $130k is the lower bound.

To live a relatively risk-free life where you can save a lot, and afford to lose your job, you need another $100k a year. $230k is the medium bound.

If your wife doesn't like to work, you need another $75k. That brings us to a total of $305k, or $25k a month. If you don't give in to luxury, that is the upper bound. Hard, but not impossible.