What Is Wealth?

"Take care," Jesus said in Luke 12:15, *"and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." *Another translation puts the final part of that quote this way: "Life is not measured by how much you own."

Jesus' words came to mind when I saw the latest Modern Wealth Survey (PDF) from Charles Schwab.

From a Schwab news release:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (62%) say being able to enjoy healthy relationships with their loved ones better describes wealth than having a lot of money — and seven in 10 say wealth is more about not having to stress over money than having more of it.

In fact, when asked to characterize what it means to be wealthy in their own words, Americans mention their well-being (40%) more often than money (32%) and assets (26%).

Schwab's survey, conducted in March and released last week, polled 1,200 Americans between the ages of 21 and 75.

Not surprisingly, older respondents — more so than younger ones — emphasized the importance of "non-material" wealth, with eight in 10 Boomers (ages 58-75) saying "wealth is more about enjoying experiences (79%) and not having financial stress (83%) than having nice things or accumulating more dollars."

Here's a table showing how survey participants overall responded to several sets of paired choices about the meaning of wealth

Social media's influence

The Schwab survey also asked respondents about how social media — Facebook, Instagram, etc. — influences their financial viewpoints and choices.

As the table below shows, the effect of social media on financial comparisons and decisions is (again not surprisingly) most substantial among Gen Z'ers (ages 21-25) and Millennials (ages 26-41).

Over to you

So, what does "wealth" mean to you? Is your answer today the same as it would have been earlier in life, or do you now have a different viewpoint?

A thought exercise: If your "older self" (the person you are today) could offer "wealth" advice to your "younger self" (say, when you were in your early 20s), what counsel would you give?

Let us hear from you below!

*Images used with permission. *