RICH ? WEALTHY?

rich vs wealthy

A person might be broke but we can’t refer to that person as poor yet, the same way we cannot conclude that a rich person is wealthy, not yet.

Compare this.

Jane is an accountant at a national bank, she is paid handsomely, has a nice house in an affluent neighborhood, she gets to choose which car she goes to work with out of her enviable car collection, Jane is definitely rich but is she wealthy?

On the other side Rob is a farmer; making a decent amount of money, owns some acres of land, drives a decent car and rears a lot of farm animals, Rob is definitely not rich but is he wealthy?

In Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, he states that it’s not about how much money one makes but about how much money one keeps. Everyone can make money in today’s world but the ability to keep making money and multiply the money is the difference between the rich and wealthy.

There are countless people who used to make large amounts of money but currently have nothing and even a larger number of people who started with almost nothing and are really wealthy now.

A major difference between the rich and wealthy is the mindsets. Rich people value money the most whereas wealthy people value wisdom, knowledge and time the most. Of course, anyone would want to ensure their children and their children’s children won’t have to work for money but for you to turn that imagination into a reality, you have to start thinking long term.

Time, acquiring wealth takes time. A person can make an invention and earn millions is a short time span, a person can also win the lottery and become rich instantly but one cannot become wealthy instantly. There are a lot of young rich people but the wealthy people are usually older. This shows that being rich is more about having lots of money and wealth is more of the knowledge and wisdom which one collects as they get older mostly from experience. (unless in the case of a young inheriting wealth)

Having wealth also mean having time freedom, if a person has to show up for them to make money, no matter how much, then they are not wealthy, they can only become wealthy if they put the money they earn to work for them (create ways to make money in their absence)

It is a common trait among humans to blow money on things which just add temporary thrill in our lives which is fine -because you only live once- that’s why it is more important to increase one’s sources of income rather than cutting back on the things you enjoy just to save money. This can also guarantee you a safer retirement compared to just saving.

Rich is also more of individuality, meaning a person having a lot of money but being wealthy means the person and his/her generations to come are secure financially. That’s why Carnegies’ and Rockefeller’s families are still wealthy to date but some high earning individuals go broke after running through all the money.

The Bible says that give and you shall receive, and there is another difference in that phrase, the wealthy people give a lot while the rich only take. A wealthy person has money flowing and have no issue blessing the less fortunate, while a rich person only focuses on themselves and want to make the most of their time and effort even if they already have enough.

One’s spending habits also play a major role in determining their financial future, a person who aims to build wealth should focus on acquiring assets first and buy luxuries after, not the other way round as most of us do.

Keep in mind, we won’t be working for the rest of our lives but if we acquire the right assets then we could be earning for the rest of our lives.

Again, it’s not about how much money you make but about how much money you keep. You don’t want to get old and wish you had done something worthwhile while you were earning a lot.

Stay blessed, and share your thoughts, please.