Are we rich? No, but perhaps we are wealthy...

Of course it's easy to think that the two words are interchangeable. The dictionary definitions are certainly similar... essentially both words mean "the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions."

But I read about a new book coming out next month called "The Psychology of Money" where the author makes a definite distinction between the two. I've only read previews of the book of course, but it seems that one can be rich... without being wealthy. And the other way around.

When we were in Namibia, Africa back in 2013 we went and visited the Himba tribe. The nomadic people still live as they did centuries ago. Topless women in grass skirts, kids running around barefoot, living in mud huts with not enough food to eat. The men tending to the cattle in the hills while the women look after the village.

Ruth, visiting with the Himba women.

Through a translator, we asked the matriarch of the clan if the people considered themselves poor.

She laughed, and with a firm statement, she said "The Himba are the richest people in Africa!"

Now, the translator could have got it wrong because I think she meant that the Himba are the wealthiest people in Africa!

The author of the book states that "Many rich people aren’t wealthy, because they feel the need to spend a lot of money to show others how rich they are. Wealth involves caring less about what others think about you and more about using your money to control how you spend your time."

You know the old saying that time is money?

Well, he goes on to explain that real wealth is "the ability to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want, for as long as you want to,  and that ability pays the highest dividend that exists."

We would agree with that. We have sufficient funds to do what we want, when we want, and with whom we want and... within reason... as long as we want to.

So by that description, we are definitely wealthy!

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The Psychology of Money

And in Canada...

The Psychology of Money