Acquiring wealth – it’s not just about money

Written on the 27 February 2023 by Parkside InvestorPlus

Ask most people what they associate wealth with and most likely the response will be money.

Money (and wealth) is usually associated with super successful business people, celebrities and possessions (multiple homes, luxury cars flying first class).

We’ve all become (or tuned) to associate wealth with money.

Is it time that we de-couple the notion of wealth with money?

For the sake of clarity, money is not a bad ‘thing’, in fact, money is a form of security and pleasure for the majority of us and I’m not suggesting you stop trying to acquire more money in your live.

Rather, as the saying goes, stop and smell the roses, there are other ‘forms’ of wealth that can complement money.

Purely chasing money can be a never-ending spiral.

If your goal was to earn $100,000 a year and you do so, you’ll probably now go after $150,000, and once that’s done, how about $250,000 followed by $500,000 and on it goes.

The most attractive feature of defining wealth as money is that it is very quantifiable for example, your house versus your friends, your car versus your friends, where you went on holidays versus your friends.

If money is associated with satisfaction levels, the it’d make sense that the more money you earn, the more satisfied you’d be.

On the contrary, studies have shown that whilst an increase in money is always welcomed, the satisfaction level, with your life, starts to plateau.

Why is that?  Simply because of the ‘cost’ associated with acquiring more money which includes, time, effort, and sacrifice, including health.

Again, there is nothing wrong with acquiring wealth through the form of money, however, could it be time to balance your definition of wealth to include other non-tangible factors.

Here are my top 3 non-money achievements so you can enjoy your money.

Health

Much like time, we rarely think of health while we have it.

When we are young, we tend to have plenty of health.

When younger, you can eat what you want, when you want and party – pretty much a no consequences approach to life.

But over time, it all catches up – it’s called compounding.

In finance, compounding is a powerful force.

The person who invests an extra $200 per month might not see a difference in their early years, but they will be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer in 30 years.

The same is true of your health – what you sow, you will reap.

Much like time, we rarely think of health while we have it.

But once you lose it? It is the only thing that you can think about.

Positive health in your later years is a precious commodity and to be honest, even if  you don’t have monetary resources at your disposal, a healthy life will provide many benefits and possibly even still the means to go after the money.

Relationships

Without positive and supportive relationships in your life, money alone means very little.

What good is that money if you have no one to share it with?

Sure, you can go further and further down the path of singular materialistic pleasures, but it won't bring fulfillment. 

Time and good health are only as valuable as your capacity to spend them with those you care about.

Otherwise, you are wasting your open calendar and able body on things that won’t matter.

Experiences

Of all the trade-offs you could make, exchanging financial wealth for experiential wealth is one that you will never regret.

But how many of us miss out on experiences because we’re too busy with work?  Or making our next $100,000?

Money is an infinite resource, but experiences, like time, are very finite.

How many opportunities do you have to grab dinner with your grandparents?

Take a ski trip with your best friends?

Visit a new country on a whim? Learn a new skill that always interested you? 

Money is best used to fund the experiences that you desire. The fun stuff. The stuff that sets your soul on fire.

My purpose in this article is to make the point that acquiring wealth as a form money is not a bad thing in itself, rather, we just need to balance our venture with other forms of wealth.

At Parkside InvestorPlus, we work with our clients on a holistic level to ensure financial security of life is balanced with quality of life.

Contact us for a no obligation initial consultation to prepare for your retirement journey.