A few weeks back, I was sitting beside an old friend as she scrolled through Facebook and we came across a pair of diamond earrings, it looked so stunning that you could say it costs a lot even without finding out the price tag. She(my friend ) said, “I wish I was rich enough to buy these”.
Her comment got me wondering, ‘what exactly does it mean to be rich’?
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, becoming rich is ‘having ample possessions and particularly material wealth’.
In his book, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki says being Rich is being an entrepreneur and there are no limitations on what you can do while you are working for yourself.
For, Jeff Rose, founder of the wealth management firm Good Financial Cents and regular Business Insider contributor, in an interview says that for him, wealth is all about living with financial freedom.
“Wealth means enough to live happily and comfortably without the fear of not having enough money,” he says. ( Source Business Insider)
Dan Routh, of Old Peak Finance, equates true wealth to time freedom — having the financial ability to delegate activities in your life that you don’t value or enjoy.
For example, if you hire a house cleaner once a week so you can have more time with your family on the weekends, you might be wealthy.
“Wealthy people spend time doing things they enjoy and delegate everything else,” he says. “They work on things they’re passionate about, even if they make less money, they travel if and when they want to, and they spend as much time with their family as they please.” (source: Business insider).
From a general view, being rich is subjective. it might mean material stuff, pleasure, time e.t.c. But here are few things that suggest that you may be richer than you think:
- You are happy: Rich individuals and nations are happier than their poor counterparts. Although this is just one piece of the puzzle as increased income can actually make you miserable if you do not strike a balance and practice contentment.
- You don't worry about basic bills: If you can shoulder your basic needs and live below your earnings, it simply means you are on the right path to financial freedom. Plus, studies show that there is actually greater fulfillment in working towards something and earning it versus just getting it quickly without much effort. If you are doing this, you would feel truly accomplished, fulfilled, and happier.
- You can save money: A recent report released by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) shows that 90% of total bank deposits in the country are owned by only 2% of the over 70 million bank account holders. This means that the middle class, which is the backbone of every developing and developed society, no longer exists in Nigeria. The bank deposit is, indeed, a metaphor for the depreciation of savings culture in Nigeria as well as a decline in financial literacy. If you can still save in Nigeria you are probably rich.
- You are not motivated by money: Most of the world's billionaires have confirmed that money is not their motivation for the wealth they now have. Richard Branson who is currently worth more than $5 billion, according to Forbes says “I have never been motivated by making money,” “What I love doing is creating things I can be proud of, and if you create things that you can be proud of, the byproduct of that can be that you become a millionaire or you become a billionaire because people like what you’ve created.” ( source CNBC’s)
- You have a retirement plan: Many people begin investing because they are thinking ahead to retirement. They continue to work throughout their career and want to make sure they have plenty when they can no longer show up to the office or punch a time clock. If you plan well for retirement, you would never have to worry about putting food on the table, affording prescription medications, having a place to live, or paying for the things that provide entertainment and enjoyment in your life.
The important thing to remember is that you need to define your own Rich Life. And what a lot of people find is that most of these things do not require a ton of money to enjoy.
