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Saturday 30 November 2013

Perceptions of “Being Rich/Wealthy”

I am still an employee who is still trapped in the rat race (8 hours job). I wake up everyday to rush into my source of active income (income that comes directly as a result of my own hard work, my skill, talent and time). Whether I feel like working or not I have to work because this is the only income yet that I have. When I stop working, money stops coming in. This is the price of having no passive income streams yet (passive income is generated by our earning assets and investments that does not depend on our active participation in terms of time, skill or talent). But agree or not, for people like us who did not inherit humungous amount of wealth we have no choice but to work to have active income while “slowly but surely” building our future sources of passive income (e.g. Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds, UITFs, small businesses, real estate,etc.).

Every day, to break the monotony of our work routine, me and my colleagues often discuss interesting topics not related to work (Ssssssshhhhhh! this is a top secret!) to at least alleviate homesickness. This is also our way of cheating ourselves to enjoy our job (well I guess if you enjoy the company of your colleagues and your boss at work there's no reason for you to not at least love your work isn't it?).


One question we tossed in the air is this: What to you is being wealthy means? (Sounds like a “Ms. World” questionnaire?)


These were the first things that came to our minds:

1. Driving Flashy cars.
2.Owning big houses in the states (as in sa states lang talaga? hahaha!).
3.Wearing branded clothes, shoes and accessories like bags, watches, etc.
4.Manny Pacquiao (What? Seriously? Did you also realize that Pacman is an epitome of wealth? You’ve got to be kidding me. Well, what can I say, he is able to make Philippines zero-crime-rate for at least a day when everyone (criminals, pick-pocketers, murderers, drug lords) are glued on the tube watching his fight).
5. Talks with glamour (Ouch! poor me, I'm a cowgirl type who talks like one of the boys).
6. Madami asawa (Lots of wives/husband)- (Ouch again! poor husband of mine, I’m the only wife he have ( Tee!!!haa!!!).

When I got home from work I retrieved my compilation of what wealthy really means as defined by financial literacy gurus. I have also included other terminologies that changed how I perceived my financial life. And these are what I got.

From Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich dad: "Many people think that being rich and being wealthy are the same thing. But there is a difference between the two: The rich have lots of money but the wealthy don’t worry about money.” As explained by Robert Kiyosaki, “while the rich might have lots of money, they also might have lots of expenses that keep them up at night. Or they might have a high paying job but have to get up to work everyday and have fear of getting fired or laid off.”

Robert Kiyosaki has defined wealth as being how long you can live off the income of your investments without having to work - how long your money will last to allow you to live without working. While Financial Independence is achieved when your monthly income is more than your monthly expenses.

Francisco Colayco in his book “Wealth within Your Reach” defines wealth as a condition where your present financial resources can support your lifestyle over a long period of time even if you do not work to generate income.

Financial Freedom happens when your wants and your needs are exceeded by your passive income. Financial Freedom is a state or a condition when someone’s passive income is greater than their work income and more than adequately covers their desirable lifestyle expenses at the same time.




And last but not the least, escape rat race means becoming financially independent from an employer.

Now, have you visualized which one would you like to be? Then, YOU have to ACT NOW! Come on, let's journey together.

As Brian Tracy said: “ Dream BIG. Live your life without limits. If you want to go somewhere else or be someone else, it is totally up to you to make the choices and decisions today that will eventually get you there. And there are no limits.”



Journeying with Passion,
Net

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