Rima Grace

My dad was a nurse anesthetist, and I could not understand how his salary alone was enough for a family of five.

He never told me, but I think I just wanted to grab onto a number, onto something.

And I still do this sometimes.

Like, I'll catch myself thinking, maybe if I make this much, then I can finally stop worrying.

Maybe that will be enough.

I'm Rima Jerez, and welcome to This is Uncomfortable.

We're introducing some new things on the show, including what we call this week's question, where I pose a question about our relationship with money, you know, the kind we quietly ask to ourselves, and just sit with it for a bit.

Lately, I've noticed how often people around me are asking some version of this question.

How much money is enough?

What's enough to feel comfortable or to stop feeling anxious?

It's a squishy question, and I don't think there's some magical number, but I am curious how people think of it and what it says about us.

So this week, I'm talking with a lot of folks with very different ideas on what enough means, including one woman who decided that for her, the answer was no money at all.

Those voices you heard at the top are listeners who called in and people we talked to on the streets of New York.

Nico, Richard, Claude, Itzy, Daryl, and Ernie.

I talked with another listener, Miriam Tinberg, who told me she spent years chasing higher numbers.

For a long time, she dreamed of making $100,000.

I was convinced when I hit that milestone, I'm going to feel like I've made it.

I'm going to feel wealthy.

I'm going to feel proud of myself.

I'm going to feel like finally I have a, quote, grown-up job.