What Does it Mean to Be Rich? February 23
I’ve often thought that I’ll know I’ve become rich when I can do whatever I want. Period. But thinking about it more I’ve realized that that doesn’t work. I won’t ever be able to do whatever I want. I’ll always have obligations to my friends, my family, myself and to society. No matter how much money I have there will always be things that I just can’t do. For instance, I couldn’t just go kill someone. (You might argue that with enough money I could get away with it. But I think I would get caught. And even if I could avoid prison it would still be a hassle to deal with.) Maybe this is an extreme example.
But, I also couldn’t just move to a deserted island. Why? Because I would miss my family, friends, pets, etc. I could try to bring them with me, but I bet some of them would refuse. So, I guess I can’t define being rich by the standard of “doing whatever I want.”
So what if I modify that? Another way I’ve thought of it is: I’ll know I’m rich when I can do whatever I want without thinking about the financial consequences.
This doesn’t work either. I will never be able to just ignore the price tag of something. I will always think about the financial consequences. It’s just my nature.
So what about this: I’ll know I’m rich when I can buy anything I want.
Nope. Lots of things we can’t buy: love, freedom, peace, security, happiness…
I’ll know I’m rich when I can live comfortably without having to work.
Now I get into the whole dilemma of what “living comfortably” means. I suppose I can’t use that definition either.
So, what does it mean to be rich? If I can’t define it, maybe the dictionary can… Don’t even bother looking it up. “Abundantly supplied with possessions, means, funds… wealthy”
Let’s face it: there is no standard, no definition, for what it means to be rich. There is no way we can objectively say: I am rich.
So, why do so many people want to be rich? We can’t decide what it means. And we all know that money can’t buy a whole lot of things. So why bother having a lot of it?
This brings us back to the question: What does it mean to be rich and how will I know when I’ve become rich?
I don’t think I’ll know, because richness is all relative. I’m hundreds of thousands of times richer than a lot of people, but I’m also hundreds of times poorer than a lot of people. And unless something crazy happens and I really move up (or down) the ladder, this will always be the case.
Maybe the best conclusion is that we should stop caring about getting rich. Instead we should focus on setting personal goals and figuring out how to achieve those goals. That way, instead of telling ourselves that we want to “get rich” or “live comfortably” or “help people” or “be happy” we will actually get/earn/achieve these things because we will know what we mean by them.
A huge component of taking control of your finances is setting goals, defining the goals, and devising a plan to reach them. If one of your goals is to “get rich,” I would suggest trying to define what exactly you mean by this. What specific goals do you have? How do you plan to reach them? And how will you know when you’ve gotten there?
Aimee Feb 23
Interesting post! It’s true, there is not one set definition for wealth. I guess you just have to set your own goals, like if you want to keep working or not, things like that.
Glad to have found your blog!
Clever Dude Feb 26
I think I’ll be rich when I pull in the salary I have now without the burden of non-home debt.
Then I guess I’ll be super rich when I don’t have a mortgage anymore. I’ll be over 60 at this rate, but someday it might happen.
And so could the apocalypse.
Sam Feb 27
My husband and I talk about this issue a lot. We make a very good living but we have real estate investments that suck a fair amount of money out of us (4 mortgages) and we are in the middle of a DAve Ramsey debt pay down (we plan to pay off $54,000 in unsecured debt this year). Sometimes we feel poor b/c we’re not driving fancy lux cars (like most of our friends) and sometimes we feel poor b/c we are working so hard (2 professional careers plus the real estate investments on the side). When we feel poor we constantly remind ourselves that we are better off than 99% of the world and about 80% of those in the US. We don’t do this comparison thing to put ourselves above others but instead to put our situation in the context of the world. Its so easy to get bogged down in one’s personal financial life and what one’s neighbors and friends are doing. Furthermore, we also remind ourselves that a lot of the ‘riches’ we see around town are displayed by folks who may not be ‘wealthy’. Yes they are driving a fancy car but most likely the fancy car is leased and they are throwing away sig. cash on said fancy car.
Bottom line, its all about how you look at the world and your place in it.
Carter Adler Feb 27
The best explanation I have heard is that wealth is financial independance, measured in time. Someone who could choose not to work for one year without sacrificing their lifestyle is wealthier than someone who could only go 6 months, even if the latter person has more money. So true wealth is when you are able to maintain your lifestyle indefinitely using only earnings from your investments (ie. not depleting your capital). I have seen this idea attributed to Buckminster Fuller, but I don’t know if that’s correct.
Reality Bytes Feb 28
Great post!
luís Feb 9
I’m 40. Be rich is when we dont have to work for salary. I like to do many things. Making tribal jewelery, painting, cooking, gardening in all places…One of them is be friend of people bringing to them happyness, to poor and rich people. Listening to the people, giving a meal for rich and poor. I want to live near my parents, they are old. This computer isnt mine, house? maybe when I get 70yo. Save money? what money? So I do in halves what I want because I am very worry with my situation.So, for me 2MILL is enough.Enough for me and build a good school for my people. Be rich is(for me, b/c I’m almost happy)have enough money in a way to have time to spend with people who need any kind of help. I cant believe there are people with billions and dont have time to spend even with their relatives.So sad!!