In my case, I have a good idea what "comfortable" living is. At the low end, I would need around $2K net/mo (assuming I were to relocate to S. Asia – something

In my case, I have a good idea what "comfortable" living is. At the low end, I would need around $2K net/mo (assuming I were to relocate to S. Asia – something that I've given serious thought to doing). If I stayed here in Manhattan, NYC, I would need at least $10K net/mo. If I moved to Japan (another place I've considered), I wouldn't need to pay for housing, so I could live on a few K net/ mo. At times in my life, I've had enough money to spend a lot. I learned an important lesson: the more you spend, the more stuff you get, the more time you spend worrying about where to put that stuff, the more time you spend maintaining or selling that stuff, etc. Now, I spend my money on travel, food, mortgage, utilities and computers. My wife buys shoes and clothes, but she's one of those naturally stylish women who makes inexpensive stuff look better than overpriced, tacky name-brand junk. We aren't frugal, but we are in a sweet spot for spending that is genuinely the comfort zone for us. I would make a big effort to keep things the same way even if I had a pile of cash in the bank. The only exception might be some real estate projects, because I like to work on renovations as a hobby.