While I’m away on vacation, Wealth Building Lessons shares with us an emotional piece about what he feels about the true meaning of real wealth.
A lot of people think that they’re better off than their parents and grandparents because we live in greater luxury. The average person can now afford a car, air conditioning and a TV. These things were luxuries 20 years ago. The average home is also bigger than it was in the 1960’s. And even though you may not go on vacation often nor go very far from home, you’re probably traveling in more style and comfort than even the richest of men did just a 100 years ago.
But at what cost does this seemingly better lifestyle come?
Families now need 2 incomes to pay for a house in most of the US. Just 2 decades ago, a single wage earner was enough to be able to buy a house. With both parents working full-time and in many cases over-time, kids are now left at day care or with baby sitters. With greater mobility, people who moved away from their families have lost the support-system that forces them to leave the rearing of their children to complete strangers who may not share the same values or ethics.
Health care is also becoming more and more unaffordable. Although child mortality has dropped significantly and lifespans have risen dramatically, we’re also living more and more unhealthy lives. We grab an unhealthy snack at vending machines and gulp down serious amounts of caffeinated drinks to get us through the day. We’re also getting heart attacks at a younger age and are more likely to develop obesity-related diseases like diabetes than our forefathers.
We’re spending more of our lives working to pay for the luxuries that we want to enjoy. Yet we’re left with less time to enjoy with our children, our friends and family, and maybe not enough time to enjoy life itself.
Does this sound like real wealth? It sounds more like self-engendered slavery to me!
So what is real wealth?
For me it is the freedom to do what I enjoy doing most. Having that freedom is real wealth, not the material things that people crave. But for every person it is different. People want different things out of life. What is your real wealth?
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The real wealth that you describe, still requires money to fund it. I dislike the idea that things were better in a few decades ago. You still have the same freedoms to live a simpler life, and yet you can also live a richer one if you prefer that.
I have often read that having lots of money can be even more stressful than have not enough of it. The reason is that there can be a constant fear of losing the wealth in which you have acquired. That being said, real wealth for me is not about having tons of money, but having a passive income that will provide me with my necessities, some pretty good extras in life, and the ability to decide if I want to work on a particular day or not.
The Dividend Guy
Real Wealth as it’s put is different for each individual. Some don’t measure it in terms of dollars, but others do. For some people, building wealth is a game that they enjoy playing and from which they derive great satisfaction. For others, it’s the time they’re able to spend with the people they care about. You need to figure it out for yourself.
To me wealth means freedom to not have a job and stay self employed which allows me to enjoy my hobby of seeing live music (I also win a lot of tickets). I’ve been committed to maintaining my health since I was about 30.
Good post. To me wealth should enable me to use my time most productively. That means pursuing purposeful projects of my own design, using my talents, and being there for my family.