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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Blue 
 
 
Question: 
 
What three questions everyone is trying to answer about their 
finances? 
 
Answer: 
 
You know, I’ve found that there are only three fundamental questions 
that people are trying to answer about their finances—it’s illustrated 
by a telephone call I received from my son not too long ago. He said, 
“Dad, you know, my wife and I are teachers, and we’ll never earn a lot 
of money as teachers—I just wonder, will I ever have enough?” 
 
And that’s a pretty legitimate question, and it’s a question that all of 
us would like to have the answer to, and that is, number one, “Will I 
ever have enough?”—“enough” being defined as enough to retire or to 
meet emergencies, or something such as that. 
 
The second question really is, “How much is enough? Can I define 
what the finish lines are?” And basically, I need to know, “What is my 
lifestyle? What is my debt-load? What are my children’s needs? What 
are my long-term goals?”  
 
How much is enough? Because, if I know how much is enough, then 
the second question that he was asking me of “will I ever have 
enough” is easier to answer. 
 
And then the third question that people are always going to ask is, “If 
I have enough, if I know how much is enough, and if I have enough, 
will it continue to be enough” — which is a very legitimate question, 
especially today, as life spans are longer and longer.  
 
 
 
I’m 65, and I probably have a life expectancy at this point of 20 or 25 
years, and so even though I’m nearing what would be a retirement 
age, the big question is, “Yes, I have enough today, but will it continue 
to be enough?” The only way you can answer these questions is to 
determine, first of all, what are your finish lines—and I’ve found that 
the biggest determinant of the answer to the question of “how much is 
enough, will I ever have enough, and will it continue to be enough” is, 
“What lifestyle have I chosen?” And what you need to be careful of is 
that you haven’t chosen a lifestyle that will cause your life to outlive 
your resources.  
 
So, it’s possible, no matter what age you are, to know how much is 
enough, will you ever get there—and then, planning for your 
retirement, will it continue to be enough? 
 
Those are answerable questions, and you need to begin asking those 
questions and answering them now, no matter what age you are. 
 
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