Wealth Is More Than Just Money: The 4 Different Types of Wealth

We often tend to think and refer to wealth solely as financial wealth, but there are more types of wealth that are often forgotten or overlooked. While making money is often referred to as the most important thing to achieve wealth, there are also other angles in which we could evaluate wealth. 

Wealth is not all about money, there are more types of wealth

Wealth as a monetary value is easily quantifiable, but there are more types of wealth that we should be aware of. Here are the 4 types of wealth:

• Financial Wealth
• Social Wealth
• Time Wealth 
• Health Wealth

To truly be wealthy we need to focus not only on our own net worth in terms of monetary value. There is far more than just assets and money. In fact, some would argue that some of the other types of wealth are actually much more important. Even if you have an extraordinary amount of financial wealth, it will be nearly impossible to enjoy it if you do not have some of the other types. This is why solely focusing on financial wealth can be damaging to the other types of wealth.

Financial Wealth

Although it may sound like the other types of wealth are more important, the fact is that financial wealth also plays a big role in our happiness. Having enough financial freedom to make certain kinds of decisions is also a form of wealth. It should also be said that financial wealth may allow us to buy time and health. If you are financially wealthy you have enough money so that you do not have to work. The same applies to health wealth because after all, it allows you to get the best medical care.

Financial wealth plays an increasingly important role in our lives and can define it in many ways. Being able to create financial wealth for you and your family is certainly important but it should not be your only concern. In fact, if we do not have time wealth, or health wealth, what good is all the financial wealth we might have? Well, it renders itself useless. Therefore being able to focus on all four types is the key to success.

Financial wealth is often measured by most people by how much money you have, your net worth, or the number of assets you own. Well, there is more to it. Financial wealth should be measured taking into account time wealth. After all, financial wealth is all about financial freedom, and being free means having enough time on your hands to do whatever you feel like doing.

How to achieve financial wealth?

Achieving financial wealth has everything to do with work. You have to be able to work not only hard but smart in order to increase and preserve your financial wealth. Investing is also a great route in order to achieve the financial wealth you desire. Being able to navigate through financial markets, and make the right investments can help you achieve the financial wealth you desire.

Saving is a crucial part of generating financial wealth. Why do you think so many wealthy people are extremely good at saving? This is perhaps the most important step to take, and until you are able to consistently save more than you earn, you will not be able to achieve financial wealth. 

These are the most crucial aspects to focus on in order to build financial wealth:

• Save every month a portion of your income
• Make sure you invest your savings
• Avoid spending money on useless things
• Create new income sources
• Carefully manage your money, or hire someone who will
• Make sure you research every investment you make
• Avoid speculating with your hard-earned savings

Time Wealth

Time along with capital are two of the most important and indispensable resources we have at our disposal. It acts similarly to financial wealth. It is essential to our lives, but if we do not have some of the other types of wealth it becomes useless. This is the key point with most of these types of wealth. 

Financial freedom is often a desire for most of us. Its key component is financial wealth, but the freedom aspect of it is dependent on time. We expect that once we reach a certain level of financial freedom we will be able to have more time wealth. This shows you how closely connected these two types of wealth are. 

How to achieve time wealth?

We have to assume that part of our time wealth is dependent on financial wealth. They are interconnected, and dependent on each other. However, there are some ideas that you can put into practice that help you achieve more time wealth. Being able to plan and schedule your life is extremely useful in order to create time wealth. 

Making time for yourself and the people you love, like friends and family is also another important part of it. Nonetheless, you should strive to save time on useless activities like spending far too much time on social media. These activities are meant to just distract you from your ultimate goal of achieving all four types of wealth. 

Here are some of the things you should focus on in order to build social wealth:

• Make time for yourself
• Dedicate some of your time to doing the things you love
• Plan your day, and your weeks
• Be time-efficient
• Avoid doing things that just waste your time
• Enjoy your time with your family and friends
• Make time for those who care for you
• Build financial wealth so that you can have more time wealth
• Delegate tasks when you can

Social Wealth

Social wealth is certainly the most difficult type of wealth to quantify. It is mostly dependent on your relationships. Whether it is with family or friends, social wealth can have a large impact on your overall wealth and happiness. Our ability to connect with others, and with society is what dictates our social wealth. Being a key member of our community is also important.

Having the right relationships with different people is also a crucial factor in accumulating other types of wealth. Bonding with friends, family members, and acquaintances is another crucial step to improving your social wealth.

How to achieve social wealth?

There are several things you can do to build social wealth, and it all starts with the relationships you establish with people around you. Caring for them, and being there for them is the most important thing. They will also be there for you and support you in your journey to achieve all the other types of wealth. 

Here are some of the most important things in order to achieve social wealth:

• Establish long-lasting relationships with friends and family
• Care for them, and be there for them when they need it
• Make yourself available and be socially present
• Find your place in your community and help them when you can
• Interact with people from all walks of life
• Nurture your relationships constantly
• Build new relationships

Health Wealth

This is perhaps the most overlooked type of wealth, and without it, no type of wealth makes any difference. Some people are often so focused on their financial wealth, that they lose track of their health wealth. They are willing to let their health deteriorate in order to achieve financial wealth. This is certainly not a good tradeoff. Ultimately you are sacrificing your health, and future time on this planet to have more financial wealth in the short to medium term.

Some of us struggle frantically with this. They overwork, and sleep only for a few hours. Putting increasingly more pressure on their desire to increase their financial wealth. Although this is the right thing to do for some individuals, the reality is that not all of us can achieve financial wealth with this plan. It might work for some extremely talented and hardworking individuals, but you have to understand that it is not the norm. Why put additional pressure on yourself to achieve a goal in a short period of time? Having the desire to increase your financial wealth is a sound goal, but it should not be achieved by sacrificing the other types of wealth, namely your health wealth.

How to achieve health wealth?

Make sure that you actively do medical checkups, eat healthy, and exercise. These are the three pillars of health wealth. In order to do so, you may have to sacrifice some time, or the ability to earn some more money. But the long-lasting results of doing so will far outweigh whatever short-term goal you are trying to achieve.

Health wealth is also more than just physical, it is mental health. Being able to feel happy, and invigorated each day is a blessing. It screams that you have lots of health wealth. So make sure that you take care of yourself, and do everything in your power to conserve your physical and mental health.

Here is a list of things to focus on to build health wealth:

• Eat healthily
• Control your sleeping schedule and make sure you sleep enough
• Exercise frequently
• Avoid unnecessary stress in your life
• Define your goals
• Find your purpose
• Manage your expectations
• Avoid negative thoughts
• Adopt a positive and happy lifestyle

Focus on all the types of wealth

Building wealth is more than just building a company or the perfect investment portfolio. All of the other types of wealth should also be considered and they can have a great impact on our lives. Being able to consistently focus on all the different types is what allows us to be happy.

The reality is that all of these types of wealth are somewhat interconnected. To have one without the other is not what our focus should be, and it is not what will lead us to a happy life. In fact, a combination of all four types of wealth is what can allow you to reach happiness. Your goals should be catered according to these four types of wealth, and you should strive to build them, and incorporate them into your life. To ultimately be wealthy we need to consider all the types of wealth. Having just one will not be enough, and therefore we need to consider more than just financial wealth.

Image source: Medium