Ask anybody if they would like to be wealthy and the answer is most probably yes. Who wouldn't want to make large sums of money and have time to enjoy life? Yet what most people won't be aware of is that there is a big difference between being rich and being wealthy. Though the definitions of a rich person and a wealthy person certainly can overlap, this small difference can (and does) cause many people to aim for one (usually rich) whilst having the security and freedom of the other (wealthy).
The basic difference between the two is that 'how rich' you are is defined as how much money you have access to. This includes money you have in Banks, in your wallet, stuffed under your mattress, etc. Wealth on the other hand is defined by time - how long can you go for (expenses) without having to work for money. So if you unfortunately lost your job today, how long can you survive for before you run out of money!
Taking this to extremes, imagine two neighbours, Mr Rich and Mr Wealthy. Mr Rich only became known as Mr Rich since he won a large sum on the Lottery plus got a very large payout from his last job. Flash with his money, Mr Rich on moving to the neighbourhood instantly upgrades his entire house to almost twice the size, drives around in a Rolls Royce during the week (weekends he brings his Ferrari out) and every night out at some expensive restaurant. He also takes the family on holiday to locations like Corfu and Australia twice a year.
His neighbour Mr Wealthy is a more conservative man. Having moved to the street 10 years ago, like Mr Rich he doesn't work either. Yet over the years his amount of money has slowly grown. Since moving in, he has added a conservatory to his house and a large garden shed. Initially driving a Ford Focus, a few years back he decided to upgrade his car to a 3 year old Mercedes. Every year he takes the wife and kids on an annual holiday to the coast or perhaps over to France for the week.
So far I wouldn't be surprised if you preferred to have the life of Mr Rich compared to his well to do neighbour. Yet the tale does not end here as we see from the course of events.
Both Mr Rich and Mr Wealthy bank at the same bank, the 'We Want Your Money' Bank and as such, both get a monthly bank statement posted through their door on the 7th of each month. If you were to stand outside both houses, you'd probably hear a quiet sigh of despair coming from one house and it isn't Mr Wealthy's house either. For when Mr Rich opens his account, he sees the amount spent over the last month on expenses and the thought that if he carries on the way he is, he may soon have to start seriously cutting back and/or look for a job. Yet on advice of his well-meaning wife, he decides to cheer himself up by going out to a fancy restaurant and perhaps catch a play afterwards, followed of course by a bit of retail therapy.
Mr Wealthy however on opening his bank statement has a small chuckle. All his investments have paid out their monthly dividends/royalties/commissions, etc. In fact his earnings have increased slightly again for the 36th month in a row. This frees him up to spend the rest of the month (and subsequent months) relaxing, spending time with friends and family and not having to worry about finances for the foreseeable future!
Now tell me who'd you rather be, Mr Rich or Mr Wealthy? Obviously having a combination of both lives would be ideal but if it were up to me, I would rather be Mr Wealthy for whilst he might not have the same amount of spending cash as Mr Rich, ultimately has more security than his flashy neighbor!
