What does it mean to be wealthy?
A naive person would just put a dollar amount to it - e.g $3M.
But akin to [[thinking in extremes]] - let's use this example. Would you rather be:
- the guy who has a loving household, fit body, peaceful mind, $500k in the bank and works 20 hour weeks while making ends meet
- the guy who has $20M and all the fancy things money can buy but... works 80 hour weeks, is overweight, has 2 chronic diseases, has chronic stress & anxiety, is alone and can't talk to people
It's obvious, right?
# Real Wealth
> [A calm mind, a fit body and a house full of love cannot be bought - they can only be earned.](https://nav.al/finally-wealthy)
Even if you have all the money in the world - you can't have those three things for free. Money can only make these 10-20% easier to achieve - an insignificant amount.
Wealth is a LOT more than money. Wealth is having all sorts of [[Capital]].
## Deploying Money Properly
Another mistake I see is people having a lot of money, but not using it right.
Since [[Return on Time (RoT)|time]] is the most valuable thing we have, what use is money if you have no free time in your days?
Worse off - what good is money if it traps you into a lifestyle that spends a lot and therefore requires a lot of work to sustain? It becomes counter-productive.
### Diminishing Returns of Money
> What Does More Money Buy Me?
Always ask yourself this question.
After a certain point of savings, it doesn't make sense to optimize for money as much as one would think. It is perfectly fine to choose a lower-paying option as long as it helps bring value in other parts of your life.
![[diminishing_returns_of_money.png]]
For example - I moved from the UK ☔️ to Spain 🌞 and took a 30% salary reduction - it was worth **every penny**.