Being wealthy means different things to different people.
For some, it’s about financial security—a comfortable home, a reliable car, sufficient savings to meet their needs, and funds for a fulfilling retirement.
Others may associate wealth with luxury: an abundance of money to spend freely and the power or influence to shape their lives and the lives of others.
Still, for many, wealth transcends material possessions; it’s waking up every day healthy, happy, and stress-free. It’s the ability to spend time with loved ones, pursue passions, and live with purpose.
Certified Financial Planner Jeff Rose encapsulates this idea beautifully in an article for Business Insider:
“Before you chase wealth, define what wealthy means to you. Being wealthy does not have to revolve around money. You can have wealthy relationships with family and friends or a wealthy experience in travel and adventures. Having wealth can also be defined as having a lifestyle business that replaces traditional 9-5 jobs.”
Defining Wealth: The Personal Perspective
Wealth is a deeply personal concept, shaped by individual values and goals. For someone who dreams of financial independence, wealth might mean building a steady stream of passive income.
For another, it might be the freedom to work on what they’re passionate about without worrying about finances. Defining wealth for yourself provides clarity and direction—a roadmap to align your financial and life decisions with your unique vision.
For me, wealth means doing what I love for a living while having enough to meet my needs and contribute to the well-being of others. It’s a balance between financial stability, meaningful work, and spiritual fulfillment.
What Does It Mean to Be Wealthy?
Being wealthy isn’t just about earning a lot of money. It’s about the choices you make daily and your behaviors around money.
Wealth encompasses more than financial investments; it’s about how money influences every aspect of your life—from your home and family life to your education and charitable giving.
Different Types of Wealth
In economics, wealth takes on various forms.
Let’s dive deeper into these classifications:
1. Personal Wealth
This includes your skills, intelligence, and talents. Think of it as the wealth that resides within you.
Fun Fact: Studies show that people who invest in learning and personal development often see greater returns in their careers and relationships than those who don’t.
2. Social Wealth
This refers to shared resources like roads, schools, and community assets. Social wealth is crucial for a society’s well-being.
Did You Know? Denmark consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world due to its strong social wealth, including free healthcare and education.
3. Individual Wealth
These are material possessions such as cash, real estate, and investments.
Trivia: The phrase “keeping up with the Joneses” originated in the early 20th century to describe the social pressure to match the wealth of neighbors.
4. Cosmopolitan Wealth
This is the collective wealth of the entire world.
Interesting Fact: The global economy is estimated to be worth over $100 trillion as of recent years, and this figure continues to grow with technological advancements and globalization.
5. National Wealth
This represents the total monetary value of a nation’s resources and assets.
Trivia: Natural resources like oil and gold significantly contribute to a country’s national wealth. For example, Saudi Arabia’s wealth heavily relies on its oil reserves.
Understanding these types of wealth can broaden our perspective, helping us appreciate both tangible and intangible assets in our lives and communities.
Broader Definitions of Wealth
Wealth isn’t limited to financial or material assets.
It encompasses several dimensions:
Emotional Wealth
The ability to experience joy, maintain resilience, and cultivate inner peace.
Fun Fact: Gratitude has been shown to increase feelings of emotional wealth and satisfaction.
Intellectual Wealth
Gained through education, curiosity, and continuous learning.
Did You Know? Lifelong learners often report higher levels of happiness and adaptability.
Environmental Wealth
Access to clean air, water, and sustainable resources.
Example: Bhutan measures its national wealth using Gross National Happiness, which includes environmental conservation.
The Psychology of Wealth
Research reveals that wealth perception is subjective. Studies suggest that after a certain income level—around $75,000 annually in the U.S.—additional income doesn’t significantly increase happiness.
This highlights that wealth isn’t just about accumulation; it’s about how it aligns with personal values and goals.
God and Wealth: A Spiritual Perspective
As a believer, I view God as the ultimate source of all wealth. Everything we have flows from His loving provision, and we are called to be faithful stewards of His gifts.
God owns everything, and we are entrusted with managing these blessings wisely. Our spending, saving, and giving should reflect His will and purpose.
The Bible emphasizes that true wealth isn’t tied to material possessions. It’s the ability to experience and enjoy God’s blessings. A wealthy person, by God’s definition, is someone who has a rich relationship with Him.
Even the most financially affluent individuals may feel empty if their souls lack connection with God, while someone with limited means but a strong faith can possess immeasurable joy and contentment.
As Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us: “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
Final Thoughts on Wealth
Should we strive to be wealthy? Absolutely, as long as our pursuit is guided by a desire to serve God and others.
Wealth is a blessing when used to uplift and bless those around us. God wants us to live in abundance—not in greed, but in generosity.
True riches are found in God alone. Life’s greatest treasures aren’t measured by bank accounts but by the depth of our relationships, the fulfillment of our purpose, and the joy of living in alignment with God’s plan.
If you’re looking to increase your financial wealth while doing something you love, consider starting an online business. One excellent platform to guide you is Wealthy Affiliate, which provides tools and resources to build a successful website and create a steady income stream. Best of all, you can try it out for free.
Thanks for a great website Alice.
I enjoyed the way you brought together for us the link between health and wealth. I do know that life goes smoother when I take the time to pray, read scripture and connect with God. I have had ups and downs in my life and they have been extreme, but one thing I know is that when I am in contact with God, the rest matters much less.
You did expand my perception of constitutes true wealth. What an enjoyable read, Alice. Thanks again.
Hi Tom, great to hear from you.
When it comes to the concept of wealth, people have different opinions. However, it is apparent that most people think of money and material possessions as determining factors. While we all need money and striving to be wealthy is never a bad thing, I think it is equally important to acknowledge the “primary source” of everything – God.
Thanks for sharing this inspirational post. I agree with you that wealth is a lot more than just money and stuff. There are many different kind of wealth as well. It all depends on how one define it.
However, there’s one specifically good definition of wealth brought up by Robert Kiyosaki – Wealth is the amount of time we can survive without working for money. So, a lot of people may seem wealthy because they have high paying jobs. But at the same time they have a lot of mortgages and stuff. Plus, their income is “active income”. When they stop working, they may only be able to survive for 2 to 3 months.
A truly wealthy people can survive and live a freedom life without working and worrying for money. So we need to build and accumulate true assets that can produce passive income for us so that we don’t have to work actively for money.
Hi Jerry,
I like Kiyosaki’s definition of wealth too. As a matter of fact I was supposed to include it in this article but had a change of heart during the final editing. I know a lot of people who seem to be wealthy on the outside because they have high-paying jobs but after exchanging words with them about finances and investments, I found out that most of them are buried in debt. That’s when reality sunk in that people who are receiving higher salary are not necessarily better off financially.
If we define wealth in terms of money, I agree with you that truly wealthy people are those that survive and live free without having to work and worry about where the money comes from.
Hi Alice, I agree that wealth should not be measured in terms of luxury and money, although it is really nice to have those. True wealth, in my opinion, is determined by the inner peace of mind and certainty. For me, fitness is a big determination to my health, if I go for long periods of time without exercising, my skin feels flaky, and I feel really uncomfortable. To me, Wealth is being healthy, and having clarity!
People have different concept of wealth but wealth for most is often associated with money and luxury. But then again, I don’t think money is evil or aspiring to be wealthy makes a person greedy.
I like your definition of wealth, that is, being healthy and having clarity. Because money is worthless if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy it. And money becomes worthless if you don’t have peace of mind. True wealth is not confined within the boundaries of money and power.
Thanks Jacob.
Alice, nice post…I agree that wealth is not just about money, and I think most people are much wealthier than what they realize. Talk to someone who is sick or has physical limitations who may be financially wealthy and they would give it all up for healing. We are sometimes not thankful enough for the blessings we receive everyday.
Most people do not realize what they have until it’s lost and often times people value the things that are far less important. Such as in the case of wealth over health. But I believe it’s all a matter of prioritizing things. I do not agree that money and material things are bad and irrelevant because we also need them in order to survive but we should know which is more important. At the end of the day, everything on earth is just temporary. As king Solomon said: “Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 1:14)
Real wealth and treasures are found in God and our love ones.
I found this page to be incredibly interesting. I have never thought of wealth in so many ways. I think you are right in that people chase wealth without even determining what wealth means to them. I have never really determined what wealth is to me either but I’ve also never tried to chase it. My goal in life has always been to do what makes me happy and hope that in doing so I help others too. For example, I love horses and have one of my own which makes me happy but I also use my horse in our horse therapy program and volunteer by helping in therapy lessons which helps others, primarily kids with disabilities. So, after reading this page, I believe I am wealthy and it has nothing to do with money!
Hey Trisha! Most of us don’t realize that we are already wealthy not because of money but because we’re happy and content doing what we love to do. Yes, money is one form of wealth but me must realize that there are a lot more to wealth than just money. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I’m glad to hear that you consider yourself wealthy because you are able to do the things that make you happy.
First off, Nice Layout.
Your site is very pleasing to the eye and welcoming. The photo of the runner with the warm tones really sets the mood.
I have to admit, though, the title caught my attention. I like the connection of stay healthy and get wealthy. Both are great goals to achieve.
Your comment “For me, what it means to be wealthy is being able to do what I enjoy for a living without having to worry about having enough money.” resonates with me.
That was me back in my days of education. These days, “For me, what it means to be wealthy is being able to do what I enjoy in retirement without having to worry about having enough money.”
Although we’re wealthy enough to have retired in our 50’s, we don’t have the spending money that we use to. It’s a trade off, we have the freedom, but not the money. I’m working on that. 🙂
I like your classifications of wealth, but I’m a bit confused by: “e) National wealth – are the natural resources like rivers, oceans, etc.” To me, that would be Natural wealth. Just my thoughts.
Great peace and I’m going to share it on my website as one of my Weekly Fav 5.
Keep up the great job. I’ll be looking forward to more good stuff.
Hi Keith, appreciate your comment and thanks for pointing out my error on national wealth. I stand corrected. Rivers and oceans are under the natural wealth category. National wealth refers to the monetary value of a certain nation. I’ll go back to my post and edit it. Two or more sets of eyes are always better than one.
I thought at first my niche was too broad but I believe they’re very much related because we cannot reach our goal of becoming wealthy if we’re not healthy to begin with. I still believe that our health is one of our greatest wealth. What do think?
Great to hear that you retired early and that’s exactly what I’m aiming for that’s why I’m working really hard today to achieve that goal. At the same time I also don’t want my health to be compromised just so I can have what I want. I just wished I’ve known before what I know now. Because it’s only after working my butts off for 15 years that I was informed about the many ways I can do in order to retire early. But hey, time is one of the things we can never get back once it’s gone. And dwelling in the past is just so “not me.”
Thank you Keith for your words of encouragement. I wish you nothing but the best.
Wanted to let you know that I found your article in Wealthy Affiliate, as one to comment on. I didn’t read carefully what to do, so I commented here, not in the WA system.
Thought your article would be a good one to share. Would like to talk to you about possible guest posts at Money is not Taboo.
If you’re interested, shout at me through my contact form.
Looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
BTW- You can find me in WA as KShin.
All the best from Texas!
Hi Shin, I’ll definitely consider writing for you, thanks for the invite. I’ll be following you at WA so we can talk about helping each other out. I need your help more than you need mine. See you around Shin …
By the way, I left comments on some of your posts, you can check them out.
I enjoyed reading your article. Being a Christian myself, I let money and wealth of living a comfortable life get in the way of who really has control over all and my happiness. This was a great reminder and a very enjoyable read. I love your honesty and openness that you provided. Thank you. 🙂
Hi Hannah, I’m glad you liked my post. The thing with Christians when it comes to the topic of wealth and abundance is that most of them feel guilty for even aspiring to have a more comfortable life. They think that it is not God’s will for Christians to be wealthy when the Bible nowhere teaches that wealth and riches are bad. Wealth in itself is not bad, it’s how people use them that could make it evil. The important thing is that we acknowledge the Source of all that we have.