Most people equate wealth with money. However, according to Merriam Webster the definition of wealth is “abundance of valuable material possessions or resources” or simply an “abundant supply.” Wealth does not mean a lot of money but an abundance of anything that you consider valuable. So what do I consider valuable?
My health, my family/friends, and time.
I would like to be wealthy in all three. Unfortunately, time is a limited resource. Time for family, time for exercise, time for hobbies, time for work, time for basic necessities (sleep, eating, etc.) all need to be divided up from my supply of that one finite resource. In order to free up some time to dedicate to things that I value, I need to decrease the time spent on less valuable pursuits. Now, I love work, I like being a productive member of society and all that. However, my day job (and all my household chores, etc) account for well over one third of my time! On the balance sheet it looks like I am spending far too much on work.
Why do we need to go to work? To buy food, pay rent and pay for the kids’ orthodontist bills. What if you could get an income without going to work? This is where money comes in… I believe that it is possible to “buy time,” in essence one can buy their way out of working for a living by creating alternative revenue streams.
By creating passive income the necessity to go to work every day decreases proportionally. This is what most people would call “retirement.” Retirement, to me, is having the resources to be able to decide the terms of work; to be able to decide when I work and on what projects that I undertake. Retirement does not equate to the cessation of working but to have the power not to have to work.
So let me revise my values:
My health (to enjoy life comfortably),
My family/friends (to spend my life with),
Time (to be do all the things I want and need to do),
Money (the enabler to reach my goals).
Many people create to-do or goal setting lists; but have they first determined what their values are? How do you define wealth?
4 responses so far ↓
1 Brip Blap // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:18
I agree with your definition of wealth – mine would be very similar. Most people, however, place a much higher priority on money than family, time, etc. than they think they do. I know I do. I say that I would like to have free time for friends and family and my own interests, but in a sense I have prioritized money.
How? I own a house with a mortgage far more expensive than the absolute, cheapest option. I own two cars when (despite poor public transportation options) I could take the bus. I have satellite TV. I buy furniture. I buy kitchen tools. I buy new clothes. If all of these items were eliminated – if I bought Goodwill clothes, lived in a tiny 1-bedroom with my wife and son, etc., and I stayed in my current job, I would certainly make enough money to stop working in another 5-6 years (if I continued that lifestyle).
I don’t, however, and to me that tells me that money is a goal, and frankly more important than I like to admit, to keep my standard of living at a certain level. It’s not original thinking on my part – “Your Money or Your Life” is all about reducing your expenses to bare bones to hasten your retirement date. I’ve done it where I could, but it’s hard to really, truly maximize your time for non-working activities if you remain addicted to even a fairly modest amount of ’stuff’.
2 wc // Aug 31, 2007 at 18:38
There is nothing wrong with valuing money and those things it can bring us. I am simply suggesting that we take a close look and honestly decide what it is that we value.
Living in a nice house is something that you value and that is good. Not buying second hand clothes is a quality that you value for yourself and your family.
This post is about taking the time to understand yourself enough to assist you to answer the daily questions; such as “do I buy a Grande Mocha Frappuccino, or would it be better to forego that today today in order to be able to buy a new shirt?”
There are wrong answers. It is a matter of planning.
3 Brip Blap // Sep 1, 2007 at 00:29
No, I didn’t mean there’s anything wrong with valuing money – I just meant that most people unconsciously assign it a higher value than they think they do. Foregoing buying an Italian designer shirt for a Costco shirt would be valuing money. Foregoing wearing a dress shirt to work in favor of a t-shirt would be silly.
I have always had a phrase that I have told my wife since the day we got married – you can never regret spending too much on your health, and you can never buy back time lost with friends and family. That’s what you’re saying, and I’m in complete agreement with it. I just wish I *lived* it a bit more than I say it…
4 brip blap » Blog Archive » Late linklings // Sep 1, 2007 at 23:30
[...] And finally, I’ll remind everyone to check out The Wealthy Canadian – a new blog but (I think) off to a strong start, mainly because I really liked this post. [...]
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