Shortbread and I were chatting about some of the things we remember experiencing and thinking about when we were children. We thought it might be a good topic for a post! I’ll go first, she will post hers later.

“Every man has his price”

When I was about 10, I remember spending some time with a friend of the family we called Uncle Clive. He was a friend of my Grandad’s and I remember looking up to him because he knew about cars, guns, and other things a nerdy boy was in to. I remember Uncle Clive talking about a traction engine that he really wanted, but it belonged to someone who wouldn’t sell it. While traction engines bored me to tears*,   I wanted to contribute something to the conversation so ended up enigmatically saying “every man has his price.” Where did a 10-year-old pick up this mafioso-esque tidbit of insight into the human psyche? Probably cartoons.

In any case, I remember Uncle Clive explaining to me that, in this case, this wasn’t applicable. Apparently, the man who owned his coveted traction engine got a lot of joy out of it, lived in a comfortable house, was retired and generally did whatever he wanted. There was literally nothing in the world that could be offered that would tempt him.

I was fascinated by this at the time. I always assumed that money was a motivator for everything, but to be faced with the idea of someone so comfortable in themselves that no monetary figure could even tempt them was hard to understand. I wondered how it was possible to get to a state like this. I think I concluded that it must be extremely rare for people to live like this.

25 years later and it turns out that my supposition was correct! Financial Independence is a means to achieving this. If you want to get to a stage in your life where you no longer have a price, pursuing FI is what you need to be working on!

“I want enough to be comfortable”

I wanted to be a rock star when I was younger. I wanted the fame, money and the chance to show off. I literally could not imagine having too much money (growing up somewhat poor will do that to you). How would that even work? I remember the National Lottery getting started in the U.K. and listening to my parents fantasising about winning. One day, on the way to the Supermarket for the weekly shop, I remember testing different amounts of money on my parents.

“How about 20 million? Or 30 million?”

I was surprised when both my parents replied that 30 million was far too much. It seemed straightforward to me – more is better!

“Being that rich would be stressful, I want enough to be comfortable,” my dad said. The irony of this is not lost on adult me given how much the man spanked on frivolous nonsense – there was no imminent danger of having too much money in our household. That said, it made me really think about the idea of being comfortable. How much would that be? What did it mean to be comfortable? I had an inkling we were not as well off as some of my friends, but I had enjoyed a pretty happy childhood to that point. How much more comfortable could one be?

It’s only in recent years that I feel I understand this better. I interpret it as understanding what is enough for you. The concept of having enough is well written about by personal finance writers and can help towards working out your eventual FI number. Having enough is also related to the previous story in that you are satisfied with your position in life and do not need extra. Your lifestyle is about as inflated as its going to get, and money just doesn’t have the same meaning to you anymore.

I quite like the idea of having enough money where suddenly money becomes unimportant. It can’t tempt or stress you in the same way. You have made your choice as to what constitutes your personal “enough” and you can no longer be tempted or bought. My childhood money memories took a long time to be mixed with enough life experience to morph into something that passes as wisdom. It might take a while, but it’s so important for Shortbread and I to keep working until we have enough and we no longer have a price!

*A traction engine show is a thing of unbelievable nerdy beauty. Shortbread’s Dad also happens to like going to local provincial shows in the UK where men of a certain age drive up in battered vans, unload their steam engines, get them going and then…that’s it. You wander round the small field having a look at other mostly identical engines and wait for the inevitable rain to come. Your only comfort is your packet of crisps to go with your crap ham and butter sandwich for lunch. You might get a cup of badly made tea if it stops raining before everyone begins to pack up and go home. God save the bloody Queen.