How Much Is Too Much?

As I look at the numbers on the right of this blog, as I see the red one going ever lower and the green one creeping higher, I find myself more and more obsessed with them, and specifically with making the red one disappear entirely.  I find myself looking for more and more ways to throw extra money -- any extra money -- toward the loans: a dollar here, ten there, anything I can find.  As part of that, I find myself looking for other ways to earn extra money, all in the name of ridding us of these loans as soon as possible.

There are times, however, when I start to worry that I'm becoming too obsessed with it.  Right now, I work 25 hours a week as a school librarian; several hours of practice, rehearsals, and services for church; 6 hours of private piano lessons; and the hours I spend composing and arranging music.  All of these things bring in money, but I'm already at or past 40 hours on the week.  Despite that, there are many times where I think about taking on more work -- probably more private piano students -- to bring in more money, but that would be at the detriment of one of the other parts of my work.  Even if I could add in extra students and keep all my other jobs intact, those lessons would cut into the time I spend with my wife and cats, or with my family, or reading and relaxing, or ... well, you get the idea. 

So where is the balance?  How do you know when to say when?  Dave Ramsey in his Total Money Makeover says "live like no one else so one day you can live like no one else."  I know that paying off this debt will require hard work and sacrifice, but how much is too much?  Where is the line between working to pay off the debt and having no life outside of work?  Is it really worth an extra $50 a week to lose out on a couple of hours with my wife? 

These are the questions behind the money.  The numbers all look great on paper, but when you put them in the real world, you discover that two plus two may not really equal four, or it may equal four (with some reservations).  Maybe just the fact that I'm aware the potential problem exists will make it less likely I'll work too hard and forget to live my life.

Where do you draw the line between debt reduction and still having a life?  Put your thoughts in the comments section below.