Planning For Wealth

What is Wealth?  This is a question all of us needs to answer at some point in our lives if we dream of being wealthy.  How can you be something if you don’t even know what that something is.  The Webster Dictionary defines wealth as having an abundance  of something.  It could be anything.  An abundance of charm, character, power, money, or time.  Anything you can think of.  From a personal perspective wealth is more than just having an abundance of something; we also value or hold in high regard whatever that something is. 

So what is wealth?  From our perspective we should be asking “what is financial wealth”.  Or better yet what does it mean to be financially wealthy?  Some would consider having $100 as being wealthy.  Some say $100,000 or $1,000,000.  A few years ago I heard it said you were not truly wealthy unless your networth was over $50,000,000.

In the end you will need to decide for yourself what wealth means.  For me it’s not some set dollar amount.  Being wealthy is having enough passive income that I could stop work and be able to cover whatever expenses I have.  Its being able to live the life style I am accustomed to and not have to worry about when my bank account will run dry. 

When driving pay attention to what the cars around you are doing and leave sufficient room between you and the car ahead of you to stop safely.  Friday evening my wife, daughters, and mother-in-law were heading to one of the many Harry Potter events that were going on that night.  The car in front of them suddenly hit their breaks hard.  My wife slowed down quickly and managed to stop a safe space behind them.  But the SUV behind her was following too close and had to suddenly swerve into the next lane to avoid hitting our van.  The car behind the SUV was also following too close and hit the back of our van. 

Luckily no one was hurt and the damage to our van was minor.  Just two popped rivets, some scraped paint, and a 1 inch cut on the bumper.  This acident could easily have been much worse.  It also turned out that the driver of the other car does not have insurance. 

Remember that everytime you get behind the wheel of your car other people’s lives may depend on you driving safely.  Whether you’re driving on the busy Bay Area highways or in rural Tennessee you never know when something will come out of nowheres to block your way.  Leave a safety buffer and drive safely!

I started to write a series on getting out of debt but think I will postone that for now.  What we all want to do is build wealth.  In this blog I will be talking about things we can all do to build our own personal wealth.  Feel free to contact me if you have any input or criticisms.

“Everyone arrives someplace.  Few get there on purpose.”  This is a quote I heard a couple weeks that finally inspired me to start this blog.  I do not know who the original author is but that simple statement holds significant truth when we consider personal finance. 

Every day we see people strapped with credit card and consummer debt.  Mortgage defaults and forclosures are hitting records levels.  No one is immune not even familiy and friends.  I believe most of the problems come from poor planning and lack of financial knowledge. 

Admittedly, I am no expert on financial planning or investing.  But with some work I was able to develop a variety of good financial habits and a well rounded knowledge of financial planning and investing.  I’d like to share with my readers what I have learned and my experiences over the years. 

I am happy to say I am debt free except for my house mortgage.  Being debt free is no acident.  It has taken a lot of planning, patience, and learning to get to where I am.  My journey is not over yet though.  There is still a long ways to go.  I still have a lot to learn from and share with anyone who will listen.