When Is Enough Enough?

The inability to deny a potential dollar will eventually catch up to you.

Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Warren Buffett says successful people say no to almost everything.

The hardest thing to say no to is more money.

Money is important.

We need money for food, shelter, and healthcare.

We also need to be saving money for retirement when we will be working less or not at all.

As important as money is, there are things more important than money.

Being healthy is more important than being wealthy.

Experiences are more valuable than a big bank account.

Relationships are more treasured than possessions.

But there is another factor that must be included in the decision whether more money is a good thing: the marginal value of a dollar.

The first dollar you earn is more valuable than the last one.

If you need money for food, those dollars are more valuable than dollars you would use to remodel your kitchen.

As you get more money, each individual dollar is less valuable to you.

A potential dollar should be valued the same as the last dollar.

Then we must decide if what we must trade for that potential dollar is a good deal.