When I first started blogging about money almost 4 years ago, I used to think to myself, “if I could just pay off this personal loan, I would be soooo thrilled and feel soooo much better about my finances.”
Then I paid it off. Pretty much within 24 hours, I started thinking, “if I could just pay off this little student loan, I would be soooo thrilled and feel soooo much better about my finances.”
Then I paid it off. About a week later, I was like, “man, if I didn’t have a car payment, I would be soooo thrilled and feel soooo much better about my finances.”
You see where this is going, right?
I used to think that having $5,000 in liquid savings was going to make me soooo thrilled and that I’d feel sooo good about my financial situation when I had that type of cushion in the bank. Now that the initial thrill of achieving the goal has worn off, how do I feel?
I feel like I should strive for $10,000, that’s how I feel.
Now, that feeling might be legitimate. Five thousand dollars is hardly a mint. It’s a decent cushion, but come on – ten thousand dollars would just make me feel twice as secure. And realistically, having six months of living expenses in the bank is a little more in line with what most personal finance experts recommend.
But what worries me a little bit is that even if I did save up $10,000, I would still feel like it’s not enough. Not the amount of money, but where I am with my finances. I’m worried that no matter what I do, I’m going to feel financially insecure. This could just be my Type-A side coming out, or it could be some sort of financial paranoia. I’m not sure. But I think I definitely have a case of never-good-enough-itis.
What about you? Do you ever feel like you’re ahead of the game with your finances? Or do you have never-good-enough-itis, too?
