Wealth, Prosperity, Abundance…What’s the Difference?

By Hightower Westchester on August 31, 2020

Back in the spring I wrote a blog about preparing for retirement and in it I mentioned that the clients that I’ve seen have successful retirements were those that made thoughtful plans for what to do with their time so they could stay actively engaged both mentally with projects and physically with various activities. And I further mentioned that the clients that did both not only enjoyed, but even thrived in retirement.  So now I want to take a slightly different path and talk about the meaning of money and how you can use your wealth to develop your life and not the other way around.  But in order to do that, you have to know how you personally define “wealth”.

Wealth is commonly defined as having something tangible, such as money or assets.  But there are other words that are associated with wealth, which don’t necessarily mean the same thing, but should be considered when figuring out how you define wealth.  I’m talking about prosperity and abundance.  Prosperity has come to indicate that you have wealth but it’s more than just having tangible wealth.  It’s about having wealth along with happiness and good health.  There are plenty of people who are wealthy but not prosperous.  Abundance can be defined as the ability to recognize your riches regardless of your financial wealth.

Personally, I have always associated money with freedom. Freedom to make smart long-term decisions, and freedom to not feel pressure to do things for the money but rather because I wanted to. I would say I’m someone that falls into the prosperity and abundance categories.

I feel fortunate because I found a career that is rewarding financially, but more importantly, is one that I very much enjoy. Going to work every day, be it in the office or at home, is not a chore for me, but rather a delight. I enjoy working with my clients and getting to know them on a deeply personal level, learning about their family members, what makes them happy, what keeps them up at night, what they value…so I can not only help them achieve their financial goals, but also help them define what wealth means to them, and how to make sound decisions that keep their goals in reach.

Think about decisions you make in life.  If you have to make a decision and you are given two minutes to make it, not what you want for lunch, but a big decision … do I buy this house or this car, how good will those decisions be with the benefit of hindsight? If you get pizza for lunch from your favorite pizza place … you are making a solid decision, one in which you feel good about an hour later. But if in that same speed you pass a house on the street with a “for sale” sign and decide to buy it, in the same way you bought the slice of pizza, how good will you feel an hour later. The pizza slice for $2 was simple, the house for $500k not so much, even if you have the money. Again, the money in both cases buys you a certain amount of freedom but the decisions you make could be very flawed.

Making sound decisions requires more than just gut instinct.  You have to consider the outcome you want to achieve, gather information to help you explore all your options, weigh the possible outcomes and whether you can live with those outcomes, list the pros and cons and prioritize them, and get feedback from trusted sources.  All of these things help you make an informed decision.

And now we’re going to connect the dots a bit more.  Abundance is something I hope everyone can achieve in life.  Feeling blessed for the experiences you have, your health, your relationships, the joys in your life, and giving to others; all these things contribute to a feeling of abundance.  In theory, your “wealth” has helped to develop your life into one guided by appreciation.  My family and I devote a fair amount of our time and our money to charities we care deeply about, and they usually have one thing in common, helping people. You could say all charities do that, but I’m talking more about social services, educational opportunities, and food. This is not to say that donating to a museum or symphony orchestra or other cultural institutions does not enrich our lives or the lives of others … they no doubt do, but I feel without the basics of food, clothing and shelter, the other things don’t matter as much. Volunteering my time and feeling financially secure enough to donate money allows me to help others achieve a sense of stability. In the current pandemic we are seeing the services that help people with the basics being stretched like never before, so there’s a new sense of urgency to help even more.

So, what’s the point of this blog?  To suggest that you look at money as a merely part of your life … not what defines your life. The decisions you make and your relationship with money are what help you realize a life of prosperity and abundance.  At the end of my life I don’t want to be judged by how much money I have but rather how much good I did with my time and money for both my family and my community. I want my enduring legacy to be that I cared for people and I valued people for who they are not how much money they have in the bank.

Peter Lang – Managing Director, Partner – Hightower Westchester

914-825-8631 – plang@hightoweradvisors.com