Rima Grace

The medical costs in the first year alone reached about $800,000.

Now, I had insurance, so that's okay, right?

But my out-of-pocket costs were still about $30,000.

So until we can reach a point where there is some kind of safety net so that people aren't afraid they're going to lose absolutely everything, no, there's no such thing as enough.

What Amy is getting at is that it feels like so much of the risk, the really catastrophic stuff, falls on us as individuals.

Another listener, Cynda, made the point that it didn't always feel like this.

A lot of that shock used to be absorbed by the systems around us.

I'm from Southeastern Michigan, which was once the land of unions and pensions.

And this is just not how it was.

My grandfather had an eighth grade education and worked at a machine shop, but he was able to retire comfortably with a pension.

And my mom was a unionized public school teacher with a pension.

None of these people had anywhere near the amount of wealth I'm trying to save just to have enough.

I heard from a lot of you all because you contacted our hotline, which you can do too.

You can call us and leave us a voice message anytime at 347-RING-TIU.

You know, listening to those messages, I could hear a lot of the vulnerability, this fear that without a real safety net, enough is always temporary.

I definitely feel like that.

Which is why I was surprised when I heard this next story.

Someone who told me that she's built a life that doesn't depend on money for security.

Jo's life is extreme.

She lives without money, which is a strange thing to say.