WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF WEALTH?

Wealth goes beyond only money, and there are many ways of measuring it.

Most people immediately think about money when one mentions wealth. Although money is an important component to ensure a certain lifestyle leading up to and into retirement, there are many other factors and measures of wealth that lead to a fulfilling life and retirement.

Ironically, money can also be a detractor of wealth under certain circumstances …

To achieve a balanced life and reach total fulfilment, one’s life must be balanced. This sounds easier than it is, and some people find it more difficult to achieve than others. 

There are many ways of measuring wealth, and the limited ones mentioned below can be expanded exponentially. I intend this article to point out that wealth goes beyond only money. 

Monetary wealth (cash and investments)

We get an overdose of information and literature about the “money side” of life and retirement. One cannot dispute the importance of prudent money management principles and accumulating sufficient funds to ensure an independent, self-sufficient retirement. I will not elaborate on the monetary wealth component in this article. I will, however, point out the risks of being obsessed with money and accumulating monetary wealth at the expense of some of the other wealth areas in everyone’s life.

Freedom wealth (time)

Freedom means different things to different people. In general, we can consider freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, political freedom, freedom of love, freedom of choice and any other freedom you may choose. 

We South Africans often take for granted how many freedoms we have. Not many countries allow broad-based freedom as widely as we do. Think about the freedom of politics, speech, the press, religion, and association, to mention a few. 

The price for freedom cannot be measured, and you should cherish it when you get it for free. There is also a saying that money cannot buy time. Take your time, enjoy the company of loved ones, explore our wonderful country and do what you love to do, whatever that may be.

Family wealth (love)

For many people, family wealth is the most significant wealth of all. Sadly, for others, family relationships have broken down somewhere along the line. It is sad how many people I encounter where siblings haven’t spoken for years and where adult children are estranged from their parents. Often, this results from earlier years when a family has split due to divorce or other personal issues.

There are also scenarios where a parent is obsessed with work and gathering wealth at the expense of spending time with children and a spouse. The breakdown of relationships within a family due to “living past each other” due to the absence of a parent or parents is more common than one would realise.

The importance of family wealth becomes evident when a close family member is lost to death. It becomes even more apparent when the deceased is a child. 

One area that retirees need to pay attention to is reflection and forgiveness. During the retirement phase, forgiving past wrongdoings and fixing past wrongdoings is a step closer to fulfilment. Fix relationships with friends and family. Do it sooner rather than later …

Health wealth (energy)

Being healthy determines your quality of life now and forever. We tend to take for granted the price tag we can put on a healthy life. Caring for one’s health through all phases of life is essential. Failing to do so may impede your quality of life in the future and place a financial strain on your finances.

Health wealth impacts all other “wealth” criteria. Healthy people can work longer, grow their assets for longer, enjoy holidays more, and spend more active time with children and grandchildren.

Find a fun way to stay healthy; it doesn’t have to be a chore or painful. Make sure that you are adequately covered for medical expenses so that you do not have to dip into life savings for unplanned medical expenses.

Friend wealth (social)

One of the challenges when approaching retirement is retaining social connections. A loyal circle of friends you can regularly interact with is vital for various reasons for all age groups. Friendship invites support, interaction, sharing of information, debate, emotional support, and sharing of love and time. Humans are social animals, and we need social interaction to function normally.

Some people need more friends than others. For some, two deep friendships are enough, while others need hordes of friends. There is no right or wrong. In the same vein, different people attach different values to their friendships, which varies where “friend” wealth ranks in the order of importance among the different wealth criteria.

Spiritual wealth (peace)

As spirituality becomes a point of discussion, various emotions are triggered, with a range of reactions to follow. When I refer to spiritual wealth, I do not specifically refer to religion. In a previous article, I referred to inward and outward spirituality and various connotations thereof.

Modern spirituality refers to a quest to find meaning and purpose and a way to connect to something larger than oneself. It is about your relationship with whatever you link your beliefs to. It can be religion, nature, a higher power, or anything related to spirituality. Spirituality drives thoughts, behaviour, and decisions. The more spiritual one is, the higher it will rank in the order of wealth importance.

Love wealth (relationships)

When we delve into personality types, we see that the socialites among us thrive in the relationship space. They seem to have an inherent love for all people. However, when I think of love wealth, the caring mother comes to mind. The older lady who bakes for grandchildren, mends torn clothes and makes soup for the hungry.

Some people thrive on giving. Their hearts are filled with love – not only for their immediate family but for all living things. Often, people who are compassionate and go out of their way to help fellow human beings also do so for animals. I am under the impression that individuals who favour “love wealth” are often not financially wealthy and place much less emphasis on “monetary wealth”.

There is no order of preference or rank of importance for the wealth scenarios mentioned above. Every individual must decide for themselves which scenario is more important than the next. Balance is the key and a heavy tilt towards any of the scenarios will impact how you live and how you will retire. The more wealth scenarios are packed on your scale, the more fulfilling your life will be.

Beware of the pursuit of cash at the cost of all others. In all of the above circumstances, we can add money to the equation and debate the impact that money can have on each of the wealth components.

Money is both an attractor of people as well as a detractor of people. Monetary wealth can attract people who may not, under normal financial circumstances, be interested in a friendship. Be careful not to project a certain lifestyle that attracts the wrong friendships and relationships.

Also, be careful not to, in the pursuit of building monetary wealth, turn loved ones and family into strangers. It is impossible to make back lost time …

Keep balance and live a fulfilled life.