I recently read a quote, “wealth is not what you see” that really got me thinking. Living in Northern Virginia, we’re used to seeing plenty of new luxury vehicles on the roads, large new homes, and many other excesses we have honestly grown accustomed to seeing. In my experience as an advisor working with individuals, families, and local small business owners I can honestly say the quote is spot on. Not only is wealth not what you see, but it’s also not what you make, it’s what you keep.
It seems as if most people are hardwired to interpret flashy symbols as wealth when in reality they are often the very objects that keep people from attaining true wealth. Nowhere is this more evident than in the high percentage of professional athletes and lottery winners, many winning eight figure paydays or more, that go broke. The problem is generally not a cash flow issue, it’s a spending issue.
This is not to say that life is all about saving and accumulating financial assets, however, it is to enforce the very idea that financial well being can create financial freedom which allows one to utilize their resources for what truly fulfills them.