I left school at 18, and in the absence of any grander plans, took a gap year to play cricket and earn some dosh, taking a job in the local timber factory to earn £4 per hour, or a full-time salary of £8,000 a year.
By working the full allocation of 16 hours overtime per week, it was possible to bump the pay up to around £250 per week, and while I was still living at home without paying board I was absolutely flying.
With a savings target of £2,000 for the year and my own 1984 blue Ford Orion, I think it’s probably fair to say that never in my life will I feel richer than I did over the course of that glorious summer!
At 19 I went on to University, and with an Olympic-sized thirst for beer and international travel, I suppose it was inevitable that before long I was as skint as every other student, but it was certainly fun while it lasted.
Money, status, or wealth?
In life you can chase money, status, or wealth.
If you’ve never had any money – like me as a teenager! – then it’s natural enough to want to chase it, and all of the experiences and instant gratification that money can buy.
With money, you can superficially project an outward image of success with cars, watches, and luxury travel.
Status in today’s social hierarchy seems to be very much a double-edged sword, and whether it’s something you want to aim for probably depends on your background and personality type (Buffett talks of the inner scorecard versus the outer scorecard).
On the one hand, some people like to be seen as successful, and external validation can serve to feed or boost your ego.
On the other hand, the pursuit of status is zero sum game – a generation or two from now it’s likely that almost nobody will remember you even existed, and being in the public eye seems to be at best a mixed blessing.
It’s said that money is the flow of water into the tub, but wealth is the volume of water in the tub.
Wealth offers you the opportunity to be a sovereign individual – the choice to work if you want to, or to travel the world, or to start a business…or do nothing.
With wealth you aren’t compelled to take a job or keep working in a field that doesn’t excite you if you don’t feel like it, because the asset base is always there to take care of you.
Choose your own path!
Ultimately how you choose to define these terms is up to you, but it seems to me that you can be ‘rich’ with a high income but not free, whereas someone with genuine wealth has greater freedom.
In her book Buying Happiness, Kate Campbell talks about pursuing experiences over things, which also makes sense to me.
I’ve done the professional career thing, where you can live in an affluent household with two high incomes and lots of money coming in each month, but chasing money can still lead to an unsatisfied life if you feel caged and stressed, and if you aren’t fully enjoying the journey.
Having wealth and a compounding asset base means that you can earn money while you sleep, and allows you to focus on freedom, fulfilment, and family, and making the absolute best use of your time.
Accumulate more wealth, and less stuff.
