We all have different ideas on what qualifies as wealth. It’s true when they say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This is because wealth is subjective. A comprehensive library of books would mean the whole world to one person while to another, it’s just a room full of dusty bound paper.
There is, of course, one form of wealth that everyone considers valuable and that is money. It’s important to all of us, not because it looks pretty, or because of its historical significance, or because of its state-of-the-art technology. It’s important to us because it empowers us to buy. It’s important to us because of how we feel when we have it: secure, safe, proud, useful, successful. The more of it we have, the better we feel. But because we've already discussed money in this previous post, we shall now concentrate on the other types of wealth that we’ll have in our lives.
We’ve all heard the saying health is wealth, and while that’s true, what we refer to as wealth, most of the time, are material possessions. When we have lots of money, we consider ourselves rich. When we have plenty of material possessions, we consider ourselves wealthy.
A nice house or a new car are some forms of wealth that most of us would aspire to have, not for bragging rights, but for the security and convenience they give us. When you find yourself having some extra cash, you’d want to treat yourself to some of the things you enjoy, and you’d be right to do so. You deserve it, especially if you’ve worked really hard to earn money.
Here are some things to keep in mind when acquiring, handling, and maintaining your wealth.
Save up.
It takes money to acquire wealth, so if you really want to buy that house, or that car, or that yacht, you better save up.
Impulsive spenders will tell you that you don’t need to save money-- that the only way you can spend big is to earn big. While that sounds true mathematically, what they neglect to tell you is that your money grows exponentially if you earn big and save up at the same time. You can do both, you know.
Keep working hard and you’ll be on your way to earning big, but keep in mind that whether you’re earning big or not, saving up will always yield you more money.
Always look for the best deal.
There’s a good chance the item you’re looking for is being sold somewhere for a cheaper price, so be patient, be persistent, and be diligent in hunting for the best deal.
If you search hard enough in the right places, you’d be surprised to find pre-owned items in pristine, near-brand new condition, for a fraction of the price of a new one. This is true especially for cars, gadgets, and furniture, but you can also get lucky with books, vinyl records, and toys.
When you finally get that bargain, you will always feel a sense of pride and fulfillment, and you’d marvel at the amount of cash you were able to save. The triumph of getting the best deal always feels satisfying.
Control yourself.
Generally, things cost more when they’re new. Cars, mobile phones, computers, TV’s, and other such popular products are more expensive when you buy the newer models.
Some people get a kick out of immediately owning the latest products on the market, often without any particular reason other than the satisfaction of having the newest. These enthusiasts are called early adopters, aficionados who always seem to have extra money to burn and often willing to do so.
Aside from bragging rights and the satisfaction of being trendy, there really is no significant advantage in being an early adopter. Buying a new model as soon as it hits the market, especially with electronic devices, is risky, whimsical, and impractical. Unless it has a new feature you really need, that new gadget is more expensive and probably would have annoying bugs you could’ve spared yourself from, had you waited a little longer.
Do your best to control your urge to buy every time you see those shiny new contraptions in shop windows.
If you can still call and text on your current mobile phone, and the apps are all working fine, then you don’t need that newer, supposedly faster one.
If you can still watch your favorite shows and movies on your current TV set, then you don’t need that latest one with a bazillion more pixels, which you probably won’t notice anyway.
If your current car still gets you to where you need to go without any fuss, then you don’t need this year’s model, which is probably practically the same as what you have.
Replace your old things only when they get lost, have broken down, or when it already irreparably struggles to do what it needs to do for you.
Respect others.
You won’t understand why your friend collects old books when he can just read them on his computer as eBooks, the same way they won’t understand why you collect vinyl records and cassette tapes when you can just stream music off Spotify.
It takes money to acquire wealth, so if you really want to buy that house, or that car, or that yacht, you better save up.
Impulsive spenders will tell you that you don’t need to save money-- that the only way you can spend big is to earn big. While that sounds true mathematically, what they neglect to tell you is that your money grows exponentially if you earn big and save up at the same time. You can do both, you know.
Keep working hard and you’ll be on your way to earning big, but keep in mind that whether you’re earning big or not, saving up will always yield you more money.
Always look for the best deal.
There’s a good chance the item you’re looking for is being sold somewhere for a cheaper price, so be patient, be persistent, and be diligent in hunting for the best deal.
If you search hard enough in the right places, you’d be surprised to find pre-owned items in pristine, near-brand new condition, for a fraction of the price of a new one. This is true especially for cars, gadgets, and furniture, but you can also get lucky with books, vinyl records, and toys.
When you finally get that bargain, you will always feel a sense of pride and fulfillment, and you’d marvel at the amount of cash you were able to save. The triumph of getting the best deal always feels satisfying.
Control yourself.
Generally, things cost more when they’re new. Cars, mobile phones, computers, TV’s, and other such popular products are more expensive when you buy the newer models.
Some people get a kick out of immediately owning the latest products on the market, often without any particular reason other than the satisfaction of having the newest. These enthusiasts are called early adopters, aficionados who always seem to have extra money to burn and often willing to do so.
Aside from bragging rights and the satisfaction of being trendy, there really is no significant advantage in being an early adopter. Buying a new model as soon as it hits the market, especially with electronic devices, is risky, whimsical, and impractical. Unless it has a new feature you really need, that new gadget is more expensive and probably would have annoying bugs you could’ve spared yourself from, had you waited a little longer.
Do your best to control your urge to buy every time you see those shiny new contraptions in shop windows.
If you can still call and text on your current mobile phone, and the apps are all working fine, then you don’t need that newer, supposedly faster one.
If you can still watch your favorite shows and movies on your current TV set, then you don’t need that latest one with a bazillion more pixels, which you probably won’t notice anyway.
If your current car still gets you to where you need to go without any fuss, then you don’t need this year’s model, which is probably practically the same as what you have.
Replace your old things only when they get lost, have broken down, or when it already irreparably struggles to do what it needs to do for you.
Respect others.
You won’t understand why your friend collects old books when he can just read them on his computer as eBooks, the same way they won’t understand why you collect vinyl records and cassette tapes when you can just stream music off Spotify.
As mentioned, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We all have different tastes, hobbies, and passions. Respect the choices of others and they will respect yours. When they proudly show you what they consider as their wealth, be respectful and show appreciation like how you would like people to react when you proudly show them what you consider to be your wealth.
Wealth may traditionally mean material possessions, but you can also aim to have a wealth of experience. You can achieve this by traveling to many countries, exposing yourself to different cultures, going out of your way to meet new people, learning new skills and languages, and generally by just being adventurous and brave enough to try new things.
Wealth refers to the things money can buy, and while it’s okay to aspire for such, make sure that, along the way, you don’t lose that which money can’t buy—family, friends, health, career, integrity, reputation, and all the other intangible things that are important to you.
Wealth may traditionally mean material possessions, but you can also aim to have a wealth of experience. You can achieve this by traveling to many countries, exposing yourself to different cultures, going out of your way to meet new people, learning new skills and languages, and generally by just being adventurous and brave enough to try new things.
Wealth refers to the things money can buy, and while it’s okay to aspire for such, make sure that, along the way, you don’t lose that which money can’t buy—family, friends, health, career, integrity, reputation, and all the other intangible things that are important to you.
Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
Read more about how to properly handle your finances in Life Basic Strategy Guide
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