The New Way to Measure Wealth
By: M.C. Laubscher
Tags: Money, Wealth, Real Estate, Business, Investing

Wealth is something we pursue and aspire to because wealth allows us, in the end, freedom. It’s not the dollar signs you should be chasing, because that goal only leaves you feelings of emptiness. Wealth, rather than an accumulation of money, allows you to enjoy certain freedoms without fear of lack or loss. That is the main goal of wealth.

How We Measure Wealth

Robert Kiyosaki, a mentor of mine, asks the question, “If you stopped working today, how long can you maintain and live at your current standard of living into the future?” If the answer is 6 months, then you have 6 months of wealth. If the answer is 5 years, then you have 5 years of wealth.

If the answer is infinitely — you can live the rest of your life because you have assets that generate monthly income and keep pace with inflation — then you are infinitely wealthy.

In this instance, wealth can be measured in time, as opposed to dollars. The standard of living may look different from person to person, as well as the desires and life goals. The truer test is how long your assets can support those desires and goals.

The Four Freedoms

My other mentor, Dan Sullivan, approaches wealth from the four freedoms that all people pursue. The first freedom is time, and the ability to spend it how you want, where you want, with who you want. The second freedom is the freedom of money — to no longer allow money to dictate whether or not you can do something. The third freedom is relationships, and the ability to build them with the people you choose, rather than out of necessity. This means having the right clients and business partners, or even friends.

The fourth freedom is purpose. The freedom to pursue our soul’s purpose, which will maximize the value we find and create on this spinning ball of dirt.

Merging the Two

When you consider what both Kiyosaki and Sullivan have to say about wealth, it all makes sense. Wealth is not a specific number, but a measure of time. And freedom is what wealth actually brings into our lives. It’s not the stuff we accumulate, but the choices we are able to make for ourselves.

So how do you keep track of this? Because if you want to achieve something, like wealth, tracking and measuring allows you to make specific adjustments as needed. Dan Pena, another person I follow as a virtual mentor of sorts, says, “Look, it isn’t all about money, but that’s the only thing people keep track of. When you’re running businesses, when you’re investing, it’s money that you use as a metric.”

So in the pursuit of wealth, and being infinitely wealthy, how do we keep track? What are the metrics by which we measure whether we’re heading in the right direction? It’s become increasingly more difficult to do so, especially because the world is smoke and mirrors right now. Especially in the financial sense.

Rethinking Value

Think about it. The entire world — every single country and their reserve banks, their central banks — have flooded the market with an incredible amount of money to combat the current crisis we’re in. So the money that exists in the world has just increased rapidly without the goods keeping pace.

These cloudy markets have made the true value of things very unclear. And right now, through my research, I’ve identified the way to identify true value. And it starts by measuring things in different ways.

Here’s an example. Gold has existed as a form of money for centuries, and it’s currently going for $2,000 an ounce in the US. And though it’s not used in common currency, it’s something we rush to when we need safety and certainty.

So what if you tried measuring things in gold? Let’s break it down, using the S&P500 as the litmus. If you measure the markets in the price of gold, and put it into a chart, you’ll see that the markets haven’t really gone anywhere. In fact, markets are back at all time highs. It really gets my wheels spinning, because from a gold standpoint we’re not as bad off as it would seem.

You can also use Bitcoin as a measuring stick when it comes to money. In fact, many investors are using it as a hedge against inflation. Paul Tudor Jones, for example, has moved 2% of his Net Worth into Bitcoin. And if you measure the stock market against the price of Bitcoin, you’ll see a slightly different chart. Yet it’ll put you a bit closer to the truth when you compare the two charts. We’re not simply seeing a spike in asset prices, we’re seeing that the dollar just buys less and less.

It’s difficult to be cognizant of this because the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency. And when we measure the world’s currencies in relation to each other, the details can get fuzzy. So if you pull back and measure currencies in relation to something more concrete, you begin to see a more complete picture.

The Power of Measuring

As you measure your own wealth and adjust, don’t lose sight of the big picture. If things seem dismal, try making other comparisons — like gold, or Bitcoin. And then note your assets, your monthly cash flow, and assess how the money flows. As you track, you can begin to refine your process, bringing you ever closer to infinite wealth and freedom.

You can listen to my new podcast, Cashflow Investing Secrets here.

Live your Freedom, Live Your Legacy, On Your Own Terms,

M.C.

M.C. Laubscher is a husband, dad, podcaster & Cashflow Specialist. He helps business owners and investors create, recover, warehouse & multiply cashflow. You can learn more about exclusive cash flow strategies in M.C.’s new video series at https://www.yourownbankingsystem.com/