Some thoughts on Wealth

There is being rich and there is being wealthy.

The clear line between wealthy and rich can by simplified into two words, Discipline and Lifestyle.

Let’s say if we stopped working or doing anything, how long can we survive? If we can survive for a long time, we are wealthy. Wealthy people often may not seem rich as well. Whereas rich people may not last long without working. Rich people might have houses, cars, and other commodities but they might be in debt or have a lot of expenses.

Wealthy people say let the money work for you, not the other way around. They often have a lot of investments and assets that generate money for them. They also have a lot of savings and have a lifestyle around how much money they generate. “Let the money work for you” is a statment of discipline and lifestyle. It means to focus on some sort of investment in assets that generate money for you. It also means to have a lifestyle around how much money you generate, rather than to immediately spend it on something.

Some disciplines to keep in mind.

Control your shift of Goals. Don’t risk what you have for things you don’t have, risking the financial freedom and getting a loan for a house or car immediately is not ideal. Manage your emotional influence on goals. Don’t get influenced by others to buy something you don’t need. Even if it means, for the sake of social status. The book “Subtle art of not giving a f**k” Explains how we should manage the things we care about in life.

Don’t focus on looking rich amoung the society. There is always someone who’ll be better than you in something and if you’re comparing yourself more to others, you’ll never be satisfied. There is a saying

Invest in yourself and experiances. Learn to save first before anything else, Train your mind such that the first intuition you have after recieving some money should be to invest in asset or save it. If you don’t have an idea on what to invest, keep it saved until you figure out what’s best for you.

Be educated on what’s an asset and what’s a liability.

In simple words, Assets are just something that will give you money and liabilities are something that will take money from you. So before buying some liability, keep a question in mind, do I really need it now ?

Psycology of money and things

Simply speaking, no matter how much we get, we will always need more. It’s a human nature to want more. No matter what, if it’s your dream job, dream house, or dream car, once you get it… Your standards will change. You will be soon unhappy again. So, if you think spending everything you get is making you happy, remember, your standards or needs will increase and if you can’t keep up with it, you’ll be unhappy and end up in the rat race. So, it’s better to save and invest more for the sake of future self before anything else. Play the big game, build your wealth until you can afford anything and still be left with a fortune to spend the whole life ahead.

So What’s important

Financial freedom is important. It’s not about how much you earn, it’s about how much you save and invest. Measure the metric how long can you survive without working anymore with current lifestyle you have and Improve that metric.

Stop gambling for some miracle to happen and bulid your lifestyle around what you currently have, most importantly, what you have after saving for yourself.