Updated: May 19, 2023
We all want to be rich, but like beauty, its definition is also in the “eye of the beholder”.
Ask yourself, what’s the minimum amount of money you need to say that you’re rich? Is it 1 million pesos? 5 million? 20? Or is it 100 million?
Once you arrive at the specific amount, imagine that you already have that much money – what then would you do?
More importantly, what would change in your life? How differently would you live? Think about these questions first, and continue reading after you have your answers.
The amount is relative.
Most lower-income families would say that being a millionaire is enough to call themselves rich. With that money, they’d be able to fix their house and send their children to good schools. For them, one million pesos means a new lease on life.
Talking to most of my middle-income, single, friends, the bar is a little higher with the average response at 8 million pesos. A lot of them said they’d use the money to pay their debts, and start their own business.
I asked one “overworked” executive, earning at least P100,000 a month, and he said having at least 25 million in the bank would make him feel rich.
Furthermore, he said that if he had that much money, he’d quit his job and find a less stressful one or probably just franchise a business. He’d also buy his dream house and secure the educational future of his children.
It’s different for each one, but the same for everyone.
The amount of money is different for each one of us – but it’s also the same for everyone. Because regardless of the figure – we all went and imagined a better life, and came up with a list of things we’d do differently.
In short, we all eventually told our hopes and dreams, for ourselves and our family.
Oftentimes, we focus too much on our bank accounts and forget that money is just a tool that we use to achieve our dreams. And more often than not, we fail to realize that we already have the ability now to reach our goals, with or without money.
Are you waiting for that salary increase so you can start paying off your debts? Start by spending less today, instead.
Do you want to secure your child’s future? Build an investment portfolio now. A little amount invested regularly, will grow and eventually guarantee your child’s education.
Are you dreaming of having your own business? Start working on it today, and don’t wait for that business capital to come.
Many successful entrepreneurs actually started with almost nothing in their pockets.
The Santorini Dream
A friend once said that it was her dream to visit Santorini, Greece.
For years, she’d read about the place, browse the internet and look at its pictures – always wishing she can have a one-week vacation there with her family.
One day, I asked her, “So when do you plan to go there?”
“When we’re rich enough to afford it,” she replied.
I went online and looked for travel and tour packages to Santorini. After crunching the numbers, I asked her, “Do you have P200,000?”
“No, why?” she answered.
“That’s how much it will cost to go and stay there with your husband and kids for a week. “Can you afford to save P4,500 every month for the next 3 years?” I asked.
“Probably, if I really wanted to, why?”
“If you invest P4,500 every month in a moderate-risk fund, it’ll grow to P200,000 in a little over three years,” I answered. “So if you want to really go to Santorini with your family, that’s how you do it.”
She did what I said, and this was back in 2008. Last 2011, she was able to realize her Santorini dream. Now, she’s investing to watch the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The lesson.
So, what’s the lesson here?
Stop working for the money so you can feel rich someday. Instead, focus on your goals, and work for your dreams.
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Photo credits: Thomas and Bruce
wow! great reading. concrete plan for a dream. thanks!
I love this article, very practical and realistic…
My goal at age 40 is 10 million. If I had this, I would feel rich (and free). Why? Because if I invest it in a relatively safe fixed-income security with interest at only 5%-10% per annum, I would still be earning between 40-80k per month. Without tax! I think that would be enough for me to retire and still be able to pay for my family’s living expenses.
Since 2011, I’ve been steadily growing closer to this dream and have been putting my money in aggressive mutual funds and a stock portfolio. With my plan, I hopefully will get my first million in 2016.
excellent post as usual Fitz!
This is an amazing read Sir Fitz. The Santorini dream, amazing! Dream + Plan + Action.
I would feel rich even if I didn’t have any money in savings. As long as I have money coming in every month for the rest of my life to pay for all my expenses even if I didn’t work – around 100K a month – yeah that should suffice. So far I have 20K coming in a month w/o working. I have 80K to go. Hope to achieve that in less than 5 years.
Hi Fitz,
Next to Suze Orman, you’re my next best financial adviser because you explain things in simpler but more effective way. I attended several wealth seminars already, they’re all inspiring and motivational but after you get home, you think how do you hell do you start doing that? i only learned the “no spending day” from you. so thanks for all your hard work, you inspire people to continue achieving their dreams.
i also read your previous article about expanding your business. so far, being an entrepreneur is the most difficult for me, i almost would like to believe that i am not just born for it. i hope i could find something to understand business jargons in layman’s term or tips that are really concrete, just like what you have here. 😀
As you wrote, wealth is relative. A tremendous amount of money to one person would be trivial to someone with several hundred million dollars in the bank.
First I think it is important to be happy and grateful for what you currently have. Once again, you might feel it is much, but there are many in the world who would think it a fortune.
Once you are in this space, it is much easier to work towards your goals and you will find that since you are feeling happy and confident, you will get a better reception from others.
great post sir fitz!!! my dream right now is to avail of the lifetime membership in balesin island club. right now its 3M pesos to become a member. can you help me how to raise that money by investing? thanks!
i always refer to Ready To Be Rich when I have a financial concern, when I want to look up investment methods, new seminars, new trends in the financial market in the Philippines, i just type on the search box and hit enter and always – Fitz has written about it. If he hasn’t i’ll be sure to let him know!
Right now I’m looking for a good HMO provider. Lemme type that in the search box now…
Hi Fitz!
I saw you twice in iBlog9 event but I was too shy to approach you besides I did not have a business card to give to you. Anyway, I guess reading financial books of some successful authors, investors in their own field will surely influence the way we think and act. That’s why I highly respect the way you present yourself in the public and read what you can offer esp. in this blog. 🙂
ia regularly read yur blogs… i just want to know… is it good to buy more units of a adessy fund where i am investin? with the dawn of the stock market… con from 9.8 gane las quarte… today is at 2.7 or something. Thanks.
[…] Villafuerte presents How Much Money Do You Need To Feel Rich? posted at Ready To Be Rich, saying, “Oftentimes, we focus on the money and not on our goals. […]