Episode 396: Visible Wealth vs Invisible Wealth & Redefining What it Means To Be Rich

Jamila Souffrant 0:02

And so it's important that as we focus on our own financial journeys and lives, that we stay rooted in this idea of being secure with wherever we are and to not compare ourselves, this idea of wealth understanding like if you are in an environment where people are valuing things differently than you, because now you know differently, maybe you know that while having the car and the watch or these things would be really nice, it would feel nice that there's other things you need to do with that money instead. T minus 10 seconds, welcome to the journey to launch podcast with your host, Jamila souffrant as a money expert who walks her talk. She helps brave journeyers like you get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth. Join her on the journey to launch to financial freedom. 54321, you. Calendar. If you want the episode show notes for this episode, go to journey, to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode. In the show notes, you'll get the transcribed version of the conversation, the links that we mentioned and so much more also, whether you are an OG journeyer or brand new to the podcast, I've created a free jumpstart guide to help you on your financial freedom journey. It includes the top episodes to listen to, stages to go through to reach financial freedom resources and so much more you can go to journey to launch.com/jumpstart to get your guide right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode.

Hey, hey, hey, journeyers, welcome to the journey to launch podcast. I am Jamila souffrant, your chief launch officer, and I'm excited to chat with you today. Today is going to be a solo episode, so you'll just hear my voice, if that's okay. And I'm going to be talking about something that has been coming up for me more recently, and it's the topic of, you know what? Money, wealth, being wealthy, being rich, financial freedom, all of the above. And so I'm going to dive into that. And it's been on my mind because it's so interesting. I talk about money a lot. Obviously, this is a personal finance slash financial freedom independence platform. That's what I started the platform on as a way to show my journey to achieve financial independence and freedom. And so while I love talking about all the tangential things that go along with the journey to financial independence, like our mindset, being happy, you know, our relationships, all the above, all those things matter. The bottom line is that money really fuels your journey, and it's been coming up for me in terms of what being wealthy actually means, and being rich, because if I'm talking to journeyers, so journeyers, that's what I call you, if you are on this path with me, or people within the personal finance community, so not necessarily people who create content, but if you just consume personal finance content, so that means listening to podcasts, reading blogs, following social media accounts that talk about money, then this, this is not really that new to you in terms of the ideas of budgeting and being smart with your money, making good money choices you probably already thought about in your own life, the opportunity cost of spending on something that looks nice and feels nice to have, versus how that either puts you back or stalls You on your financial journey. So that might look like I want a new car, or I want to buy this bag, or I want to go out to eat, but is this in my budget? Is this something I can actually afford? Let me try to make a conscious decision in terms of where this places me and how this impacts my financial journey. I feel like we talk about that a lot in personal finance. And what's interesting is that, you know, we are, you know, I don't have the numbers on this, but not everyone is thinking about money as much as you probably do, or it's as intentional as it probably is in your life, hopefully, or in my life. And there are just a lot of people who are not thinking about money in that way. And my hope is that this podcast, my voice, my book, Your journey to financial freedom, reaches more people and other people. So this can be a broader conversation, but what I feel in the real world, so I like to consider myself sometimes like I'm living a double life, meaning I talk about. Money. I have the podcast, I have the book, I have the brand and platform. But then when I go into the real world with my real friends, and you know, now that I'm in these circles around other parents of kids, so that's, you know, sports circles or school circles, is that even though money is an important part of everyone's life, not everyone is thinking about it in that way. And so feeling like, when I enter the real world, people's perception that are not as conscious about money may be different and view wealth or the idea of wealth differently. And I gotta admit, sometimes when I meet someone, and maybe this is the first time they're hearing about me. You know, I don't bring up what I do unless they ask. You know, I'm not going around saying, Hey, I have a podcast, I have a book. I talk about money. You know, I'm just Jamila, but if it comes up, I'll talk about it. But I've started to notice, like, even within myself and in conversations, that when I feel like people learn that I talk about money and financial freedom at that, and wealth and being financially free, that I wonder if they're looking at me like, wait a second, is she wealthy, or is she financially free? Because maybe she doesn't look that way. And you know that's just because, I think, from just society and living in the capitalist society, and usually what we've been taught, or what we see as wealth, are adornments, physical adornments and possessions, right? It's a nice car, it's a nice house, it's maybe clothes, and that's what I perceived wealth as when I was growing up. Like, if someone had a nice car, if someone dressed nice, oh, they must have a lot of money. And then as I started to understand that, you know, people, sometimes people have that and they still have a lot of money, and sometimes people have that and they literally don't have anything. They're in debt. It's not what it seems. And so my my understanding of wealth has obviously evolved. But when I meet new people and I'm I'm thinking to myself, and maybe it's all in my head, but I don't think it's in my head, but sometimes I'm thinking, Wow, maybe they look at me, you know, I drive like a very modest car, and my kids are always like, Mom, you need a new car. Like, the front windows don't go down anymore. And I'm just like, Yeah, you know, we'll, we'll look into it. I'm just, you know, I am looking at other things that we need to spend our money on, that I want to spend our money on. And so when I think of people looking at me, they might look at me and say, like, wait a second, like she's talking about being wealthy, but I really feel like she is. And again, maybe it's just me. I'm starting to feel that a bit more, especially because now we're going through this process of my oldest son applying to middle schools. And in New York, we live in New York, the options for middle schools are not as robust, and the quality is for public middle schools, I should say are. There's not that many really, really great middle schools. There are some good ones, and we're looking at them, but now I'm in this process of just looking at all our options for my son and his middle school choices. So what that means is we're trying everything, and so I'm looking at some independent slash private schools for him, to see if that is a solution or another way we can go. And to be honest, I've never considered independent or private schools before, because I had a public education and it was a really good one. And so growing up, or even when I started to have kids, it never crossed my mind. And then I started to understand what opportunities and just the the gap in just education and like quality that sometimes is prevalent in public school system, and so we are just looking at everything. Because I told my son, listen, I just want to have options for you so we can choose where we go. We can do the pros and cons and so with that, because I'm applying or looking at independent schools, like it's a different world, and it's it makes the idea of what is wealthy, what is money, just more highlighted in my life, because I'm able to, like, see other people, and most of these people, not most, but a lot of them are really wealthy. And we're going to talk about the definitions of wealth and money and rich, because I think that's very important. But I remember driving into a school and, you know, you know, there were some very impressive cars, cars that are cost a lot of money. And here I am, and I'm driving in my old little car, and I'm like, wow. Okay, so this is an instance where I would feel or that I am thinking, Okay, this is like, asset wealth, like, and, you know, even. Cars are considered depreciating assets. It's it's wealth. Like these schools cost a lot of money to go to an annual basis. And so if someone is looking at me, like, hey, like, wait, what do you do? You talk about money. Your book is called your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness. Okay? Like, like, what does that mean? And so, and it's not like a judgment on anyone else, or even myself, but it's just making me realize that there is a difference between what different people consider wealth or what they consider being rich. I even hear it with my kids, because they are fully aware of what I do and the book, and so they are always like, Mom, you're rich, like, you have a book about financial freedom, and can you, you know, with the whole car thing, they're like, can you buy a new car? Oh, why don't you buy like, a Bugatti? And I'm like, okay, slow down.

When I talk about money and being wealthy, I talk about having enough. I talk about having a little more than enough so that we can live good lives, so that mommy has the type of schedule that is flexible and where I can choose what I want to do with our money. Now, we can get a very nice car, a Bugatti, even, but we have to sell our house and live in it. So would you rather that or a home? Of course, my oldest son said we can live in the car. No, we can't. And so as I'm like entering these spaces, it's I can see why it's easy to get caught up in the external validation of others and feeling like what I'm asking you to do, and what I have done, is to prioritize the wealth that people can't Always see. So you may not be able to pick up on it. You won't be able to pick up on it based on the cars we drive. Maybe there's subtle hints of wealth that you can see. I think, I think if you like, see a person with an abundance of time and or choosing how they work, like that, that's a sign of wealth to me. And so that's the kind of stuff where you know, what's in your bank account, what's in your savings account, what's in your investment account. I talk about this in the book. It's this invisible wealth that people cannot see. And so if living in a world where people look at you and are going to make a snap judgment on maybe your worth based on what you have, especially for for people underprivileged and people who have been discriminated against. And you know, people of color, black people, especially if you feel like you're being judged based on the exterior and you have been judged. And you know there are laws that were enacted to judge you and prevent you from building wealth. Sometimes, in that rebellion, having assets that show your wealth, it feels like a rebellion. It feels like a pushback, like you're going to respect me because I can get the same car you have. You're going to respect me because I I look good and again, no judgment on people who do that. You know? I I've done that, and I still do that in some ways, and I'm not I'm not above doing it again, but it's so interesting to see now what like it really means stepping into these spaces, like, if I was only around people who valued, you know, the invisible wealth that I'm talking about, the things that you don't see, Then you know, there's no reason, unless it's really just strictly a matter of taste and just preference to, like, buy the nicer car, or even safety, right? Like it's, I probably need to, at this point, get a new car, figure out the window situation. But I can see how easily you can, like, be just wrapped up in that. And so moving in these spaces it makes, or even just stepping my toe in to see if this is an environment that, you know, something that we want to be in is so interesting. So I want to talk about being wealthy and rich and the differences, if there is a difference. And I looked up the definition, and I'm just going to read what is considered wealth. So wealth as a definition is the abundance of valuable possessions or money, the state of being rich, material prosperity. And then rich, very similar is having a great deal of money or assets. Wealthy is a synonym plentiful, abundant. So when I'm thinking about these schools or people who have money, there's different ways you can be rich. So there's the cash flow rich, which is, I'm assuming, that some of these people who are able to afford $60,000 a year for their kid, and they're not getting financial aid to these schools, have cash flow, like they have money flowing in their households that make them wealthy, just like you know, millionaire can mean different things. That can mean you have millions of dollars coming in on a monthly or annual basis, or you can be a millionaire in just assets, right? That's different than having cash flow money come in and being an abundance of money in that way. And. Jamila. Hi, Jamila here, host of this podcast and author of the book, your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness. Just a few years ago, I was in a job I didn't like, with a long commute, feeling stuck. I knew there had to be a different, better way. Then I found the pathway to financial freedom and financial independence. Today, I have more money options and freedom than I ever thought was possible. And in my book your journey to financial freedom, I'll show you how you can achieve that too. You'll learn how to spend and save responsibly, all while enjoying that spicy Margarita and exercise of guacamole. Determine where you are on the journey and evaluate your spending and saving goals accordingly. Quit your job, retire early or reach financial independence. My Book your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness, is out now and available on Amazon bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble and more, you can leave and listen to the audiobook narrated by me, go to your journey to financial freedom.com. To get a free bonus when you order the book and see all the places to buy it once again, go to your journey to financial freedom.com. Then there are these other things that are not mentioned in the definition, but to me, signify being rich or wealthy, that's time. I do believe that having an abundance of time, meaning flexibility in your schedule, choosing if you work or when you work, or how you work, and it not be dependent on the paycheck, is a true sign of wealth. Now it could also be a function of you have that abundance of time because you are cash flow rich. Maybe you have passive income, you have maybe a spouse, maybe it's your own business and you're not necessarily working nine to five, or you're not burning the midnight oil to have that money. So you have a lot of abundance of time, or it could be in a sense of maybe you're not spending as much you know you have. I call these guac levels in the book. The higher the guac level from one to five, meaning five is the highest level, the more you spend, and so the more you would need to earn, or have an income to cover that, versus guac level one, which is very minimal in terms of spending. So you can happy time, abundant, time, Rich. Part of that is because you're just your needs are not high. It's maybe a guac level one or two. You don't need a lot, and so it's not necessarily based on money. Per se. You're not spending a lot. You don't need a lot, and that's why you can have an abundance of time, because you've chosen to maybe pull back in areas so you can have more time for yourself or for your family, or the other things you want to do, there are assets. So the things that you own that can appreciate or hold value that can cause you to be rich. So those are going to be things like the value of your home, any investment accounts, savings account, things of that nature. And so assets are a way in which you can be rich. And then there's the other things that are so important, but there is that health, right? Being healthy, having amazing family and friends like that, abundance of relationships, good relationships can make you feel wealthy or rich in life. And so there are many like ways that people can define rich. And I think the majority of people in the real world look at being rich in terms of cash flow, money coming in, and also assets, but not necessarily things that you own that appreciate or hold value, but just assets in things that can depreciate, like cars or just signals of wealth of you know, material items like a watch, a home, a home can still count as that, and just things where other people see and so living in a world like that, where most people see it as, oh, like, are you earning a million dollars a year? Or do you have that much money coming in? Or do you have a nice car? And if you don't have those things, people may not consider you wealthy. But on the flip side, someone like myself, who we are not cash flow rich. You know, we are not earning millions of dollars, but definitely feel rich in other areas, in terms of our assets and our our retirement accounts and our assets in terms of savings or just health and family like we we feel rich. But then when you get into the real world, you're like, wait a second, not like, it's a different type of rich and being wealthy. So I just want you to ponder on that for yourself, of how you view wealth in your own life, and if you're putting enough value on the things that people can't see. So working your way out of debt, being debt free is a form of wealth. Wealth, earning, even if it's not six figures, but every day or every year, working to earn more money, being able to pay your bills, having maybe a little bit more to the extra stuff you want, like that trip, and not going into debt and being able to handle your expenses. To me, that is a function of being financially stable and free. And so how in your life are you valuing or looking at the things that make you rich or wealthy outside of the cash flow and or the physical assets that people will see and typically think mark you as a wealthy person?

So for me, like I've just been thinking about that question more and more just because of the spaces I've been in recently, and just reminding myself, just like I remind you that it's the things that people you know can't see, and that wealth and abundance of cash flow would in terms of the standard way that we typically think about it would be amazing. But it's not necessarily. It doesn't make you financially stable or free, because sometimes the people that we're looking at, even in you know, some of the places that I I'm going to now, or people who just have a lot of money coming in, they don't, they're not necessarily financially free. You can have a lot of income coming in, but you also have a lot of expenses, and you have to work really, really hard to keep it up. And the moment that you you know you don't show up to work, or you don't make that sale, or something goes wrong, like everything falls down and so, but I do think for a lot of people who are, who have embarked upon this journey, because whether you believe it or not, you're on this journey anyway, you're on this you know, just like you know, you're living day to day, God, God willing, you're on this journey of, of just your financial freedom anyway, that it's, it's, it's happening, right? It's happening to you. And so therefore, unless you are aware or conscious of it, it's just part of what happens. So with that, it's not to always look at the other person and think about what they have and what you don't have, because you have no clue what's going on behind the scenes and what it takes to live the life they're living. And so it's important that as we focus on our own financial journeys and lives, that we stay rooted in this idea of being secure with wherever we are and to not compare ourselves. So these questions and this idea of wealth understanding like, if you are in an environment where people are valuing things differently than you, because now you know differently. Maybe you know. You know that while having the car and the watch or these things would be really nice, it would feel nice that there's other things you need to do with that money instead, you know, maybe you'd rather put your kids in a program. Maybe you'd rather be able to pay your rent on time or your mortgage and do certain things, and so it's not like you can't have those things in the future, but for now in the moment, it's not what's important. So I want you to think about how wealth and money and how you view it shows up in your life. I want you to think about decisions you're making based on other people's perception of wealth and stability, and even if you're not you know you don't want to change your actions, or you're fine with showing up in the world that way because you just like nice things. I think just being honest with yourself about why is important. That's just like me saying, Well, I just want to be liked for just me, so I'm gonna go on this TV interview, or, you know, I'm just gonna show up to, you know, this conference, and you're gonna, why should I have to dress up? I'm just gonna wear sweats, which you know, can be done. You know, I would applaud anyone who has the guts to do that. But just in the world that we live in, you have to play the game. Meaning, you know, if I go on an interview, if I'm going on Good Morning America again, I'm going to wear makeup, and I'm going to hopefully look nice. I'm gonna have something nice on, not necessarily nice in terms of how much it costs, what I'm wearing, but something nice, right? And so when you think about your life and how you're showing up in the moment, are you showing up how you want to and confidently, despite maybe not having the physical possessions that other people will view you as wealthy, can you find value, and can you be happy with the wealth that people don't see? People don't necessarily see that you're healthy, you know, maybe they don't see all your family and friends and all the people who ride for you in that way, where you feel loved. They don't. See that, you know you're paying off debt, you have your savings together, you're able to pay your bills on time. They don't see that you started investing, right? And so be rooted and find gratitude and appreciation in that kind of wealth, the invisible wealth, because it helps take you further. And then when you want to have the, you know, the physical shows and displays of wealth and you can afford it. That's different. Of course, do that if you want, but because I know so many of you are in the beginning stages, or are still working your way out of debt and finding that solid ground, it's finding a way to be happy where you are and appreciate the wealth that you already have. So going back to when I think about my platform and my book and this idea of financial freedom, you know, I really do think this concept can apply to everyone, or what I talk about can apply to everyone, even in financial independence, even for really wealthy people. I mean, unless they just really enjoy working and never want to have to stop working, then, you know, maybe they you can move along. But if you want to have this ability or this idea that one day you can step off the hamster wheel or slow down and not run as fast, because you have stability, you have foundations that allow you to take risk or take a break, then I do truly feel like this idea of financial freedom, and the way I talk about it, is for like the everyday person. It may not be for the person who is abundantly cash flow rich and they want to keep it that way, and they're willing to work really hard forever to keep it, but I do believe it's for that person who, if you find my work or you don't necessarily have the physical possessions, but you want to be free and don't want to feel you know that, and I'm not going to say even that you you, it's you never feel shame and or that you make mistakes, but that you never have doubt about where you are financially, but you know you have solid foundation and ground to be okay in whatever situation. It's that ability, like I said, to pay your bills on time and then some, the ability to choose how and when you work, to take that break you need if you want to the to to take on a new job and not worry about the money. And obviously you want to earn money if it's something that's important to you, you need depending on your life stage, but you're not working and burning yourself out in a job, because if you don't, then, like, everything falls apart. You really are choosing the work you're doing because you enjoy it and it fulfills something in your life. And then to always remember to think more about the health and family relationships that you have, family and friends, and how that adds to your wealth. So in that regard, I hope that when someone does meet me, or they find out about like on the side, what I now on the side, you know, it's my thing, it's what I do, but what I do when I'm not taking my kids to a game or practice or picking them up from school, that they get the idea that when I'm talking about financial freedom, it's not that I can go and pay for everyone's meal at a restaurant or buy a Bugatti or do the most. It is the idea that I have the ability to control my time, I have autonomy, and I'm actually doing work. I'm working, still bringing in money, but in a way that feels good. I'm contributing to society, and I'm able to contribute to my household and balance that in a way that feels good. So when my kids say, But mom, I thought you were rich, or I thought you had a lot of money, when I tell them, I'm not buying that ice cream for $5 like, ice cream cones are like four or $5 now, it doesn't mean that I don't have the money. It means I am choosing to do something different with that money. I'm valuing something else. So financial freedom is going to look different for everyone. It's going to feel different for everyone, depending on your wants and needs and your starting point. But I do, I do want to assure you that that if you're listening to this, if you are on the path, then financial freedom and or level of it, you can unlock it from wherever you are. All right, journeyers. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please share this with someone you think can benefit from it. Wherever you're listening to this, you can click on the read more or the little dots and share it. I always say that's the best way to share and get this episode or the podcast and the work out there for others. Share it with your family and friends. Maybe that cool co worker, because, you know, I know you don't share your business with everyone, but you know, there's a co worker, there's somebody that you work with that you want to have on this journey with you. So share it with them. Connect with me on social media. I'm at Jamila souffrant and journey to launch at journey to launch on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Got mostly here on Instagram, and I hope you enjoyed this episode until next time. Keep on journeying. Journeyers. Don't forget, you can get the episode show notes for this episode by going to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this. And you can still grab your jumpstart guide for free to help you on your journey to financial freedom by going to journey to launch.com/jumpstart

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