Money is just like everything else, impermanent. It comes and it goes just like joys and sorrows, winter and summer, sun and rain, war and peace, and even ourselves.

What is enough? Do I really need that $1,200 (now!) airline ticket to California to see my family? The smoked trout I love so much, or the fancy bottle of pinot noir? No, but I do need to see my family somehow, pay my mortgage and eat good food. It’s all a good chance to look at greed. And our real needs.

Maslow’s hierarchy says our needs are physiological (food, shelter, warmth), safety, social (love and belonging), self-esteem and self-actualization (time to explore ourselves and our world), in that order. My, many of us have been so lucky to live beyond all that. We are fortunate to have these core needs met and have time to pursue our higher values.

And then there’s the wanting. The desires. These things go beyond basic needs, and can lead to attachment and craving. (I sure want more of that wonderful ice cream I had last night.) This can lead to suffering if it becomes excessive or unfulfilled. We all know that wanting something so strongly and then getting it does not necessarily lead to happiness, fulfillment.

But those of us on fixed incomes – Social Security and whatever else we’ve stashed – are having a hard time these days. My property taxes rose 42%, utility payments increased to stave off aging infrastructure; home and car insurance, gas (yikes!), and let alone food costs are all skyrocketing. Just living simply is costing so much more money!

What are we to do? We can’t work. Other sources of income are not available to many of us.

Also, we’re are coming to a time in our lives where we may need help – I need a handy person and want help cleaning. And some friends are now having help driving and cooking. This is expensive!

My personal choices are to simplify more. Eat healthily, but with less expensive foods. No more smoked trout or restaurant take out for me. I’m also cutting back on gardening – it’s pricey when I buy so many kinds of lettuce seeds, so many annuals to pretty up my patio, so many bags of compost and potting soil.

I dug out my old wool sweaters (when it was winter) and cranked the heat down a notch or two. I’ll use my shades to block out sun this summer when temperatures rise even more than they are now. The library has been a godsend for holding books I want to read. Supporting the local bookshop is important, and I do when I can.

A study titled “Relationship between Financial Worries and Psychological Distress in U.S. Adults,” cites that there is a significant association between the two. Moreover, financial stress is greater for women who are living alone, lower educated, were lower income earners in the past and who rent, rather than own, their homes.

It’s all a great practice for seeing what we really need, and what we desire. When we look deeply at money, we can see its subjective nature. It might help to think of money more generally as “currency,” as a material that mediates relationships and exchanges. Other forms of currency are time, energy and love. In fact, all of nature is part of our wealth, in the biggest sense. Wealth is not limited to money. What we do with these precious resources tells us a lot about who we are and what matters to us.

Perhaps we can develop the capacity to be more mindful in our responses to what money – or a lack of it – brings up for us. Practice generosity in everyday life. Volunteer time or donate whatever resources are possible, and notice if any mental afflictions (greed, pride, etc.) accompany our act of generosity. Our financial situation can be the cause for us to transform something deep in our lives.

Money is part of the impermanence of life. Sometimes I’ve had more than at other times. It’s there, and then it’s not. I’ve always tried to have faith that I would have enough when I needed it, and I have so far.

And gratitude practice can always improve our mindset, our resilience and coping skills. May we all have enough!

Martha McClellan has lived in Durango since 1993 and has been an educator, consultant and writer. Reach her at [email protected].