by Das Brain
Everyone has a different perception of wealth, however I think that most people would agree that wealth in terms of money allows us to buy stuff, but beyond that there is more. For example, it allows you to have more confidence and security. It gives you more freedom for your life and the choice to live your life the way you would like to. Don’t get me wrong, wealth is not just about money, other aspect of wealth include things like physical health, mental health, family, friends, philosophy of life and spirituality. Money is just an factor of wealth that allows you to have more choices and the ability to make the best choices for yourself and your family.
In light of the paragraph above, the question I now ask is, “What is your process of building wealth, so that you can have more choices, confidence, freedom and security?” Believe it or not your process of building wealth all comes down to choices as well. Choices like: what to invest in, what to spend money on and how much to save for an emergency fund. All these questions and choices can be mind boggling, but the goal is to try to strike a balance between how much you are willing to sacrifice today for your future and this will require life and lifestyle planning.
If you don’t plan to sacrifice today for tomorrow then you can live beyond your means. Spend more than you make on material goods, luxury goods, dining out and fancy vacations and just live for today, for the moment and put very little away in terms of savings or retirement. It doesn’t take genius to figure out that the above is a path to misery in the long run (short term pleasure but long term pain).
The alternative is of course plan for a lifestyle that will allow for some pleasures without blowing the bank account, and still put a decent amount into your savings and retirement funds. Simplify and balance your life a bit, plan everything but allow for a little spontaneity once in a while and learn more about yourself through philosophy and spirituality so you can don’t need luxury material goods to feel good about yourself, or to elevate yourself above others. In the end the choice is up to you on what type of lifestyle you would like to lead, and the end result of your wealth and freedom is 100% directly related to that lifestyle choice.
There was one study down by a New York University years back I remeber reading that shows that much of wealth building is within your control and is pretty much all in your head. The university concluded that there is a link between the mental habits of individuals who monitor their savings, their spending and increased wealth over time. I guess if your wealth is not increasing then you are not monitoring your habits close enough.
Another study by the same New York university points out the difference in wealth between high planners and low planners. Of course, you can guess that the high planners who are more devoted to developing a financial plan, carefully price out vacations and who possess strong math skills on average had a 19% greater net worth over low planners.
In conclusion, you can clearly see that wealth in relation to acquiring money all begins between your ears, in your skull…..that’s right in your noodles or brain. It all comes down to how you think and plan and most importantly what you do with those thoughts and plans…ACTION. Make it a habit today to monitor your spending, your saving habits, I did hence the slogan of this blog “Debt to Wealth Baby Step by Baby Step.” To me wealth means security and the freedom to live the way I want and that is what I am striving for.
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