Healthy, wealthy and wise … can we have it all?
After a calamitous couple of years predominantly marked by loss – loss of freedom, loss of livelihood, loss of life – it’s safe to say there has been a fair bit of soul-searching as to what is really important.
Last year’s World Happiness Report, an annual measure of happiness in each country using income, life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity and trust as the main indicators, revealed that the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an increase in benevolence.
“In every global region, there have been large increases in the proportion of people who give money to charity, help strangers and do voluntary work,” reads the report. “Altogether the global average of these three measures was up by a quarter in 2021, compared with before the pandemic.”
Sahil Bloom, self-described investor, creator and entrepreneur, has a social media following of close to a million. In January, he posted on his 32nd birthday. “Over the last month, I asked several 90-year-olds what advice they would give to their 32-year-old selves. Here’s the life advice everyone needs to hear.” Among the 40 tips listed, which have since gone viral, was: “No amount of money is ever worth trading for your peace of mind.”
Yet despite good intentions to let go of the material to make room for the joy-sparking, cost-of-living pressures and a shaky economy mean money is still very much top of mind. The average Australian says they would need to earn $336,516 a year, significantly more than the national median salary, to feel rich, according to new research by the comparison site Finder.
But Sarah Megginson, money expert at Finder, reminds as that the typical Australian is on a salary of just over $50,000. “Building wealth doesn’t have to mean earning the most competitive income – the best thing you can do is develop great financial management skills.”
While it’s important to have financial goals, it pays to keep them realistic. “Remember true wealth is not just about money. Feeling rich can also be having a sense of satisfaction and contentment in all aspects of your life,” says Megginson.