"If I Got Rich, It Wouldn't Be For Long"

My dear lady did say to me "If I got rich, it wouldn't be for long," and in doing so she set forth a chain of moralising musing in me:

Wealth is meant to be put to use, not hoarded greedily. We all have plans for what we would do if we found ourselves in an abundance of money.

How it comes to us is irrelevant, be it inheritance, lottery, hard work, blind luck, or larceny.

Abundance is handled reasonably by the majority of people. First, secure your own well-being and comfort. Ensure that you are stable and happy. Then comes the point of distinction.

What would you do with an excess of wealth?

Do you fuel consumption? Are you buying a yacht, mortgaging a mansion that's more than even you can afford, or filling your life with hedonistic pleasure?

Or do you build a better world? Are you spreading your wealth amongst your communities, helping those who need it, or aiming for works of good that will outlast you?

Or do you take the third option and let wealth languish unused? Are you wasting precious time with deliberations, decision paralysis, and fear of risks?

Time is our most precious asset. With time, investments can grow. Experience comes with time. We only live for so long.

Squander your time at your own peril.

The clock is ticking for us all, but for those that choose consumption wealth is fleeting. Money flows through their fingers like grains of sand, soon cast to the winds.

It is rare that someone truly has more money than they can spend. More often than not they can burn it all away with enough effort.

This contemplation prompted my dear lady to proclaim "If I got rich, it wouldn't be for long."

Impulsivity is a barrier to lasting wealth. Handling large sums of money should be treated with all the care of handling sharp blades, upon which you may harm yourself.

Yet there is another perspective to this titular saying, for those people with big plans to commit acts of good.

If wealth should find its way to these people, then it too would not last long – for it is best deployed immediately. Time is a precious resource, remember that always. This wealth is used to help others, and to build change for the better.

I do not necessarily believe in noblesse oblige; rather, I find that everyone has some needs and everyone can provide something.

Yet as I slowly climb in financial literacy and life station, I've come to understand the varying degrees of wealth.

For one thing, where will I find contentment and say "this is more than enough?" Low multi-millions seem achievable and sufficient, at this stage in my life.

For another thing, I do not believe billionaires should exist. Personal wealth should not be nigh-infinite, compounding beyond human reason. Instead these people should be frantically trying to shed wealth to society until they are comfortably within the realm of mortals.

I could never be a billionaire. I have too many projects to fund, people to give to, and philanthropies to invest in.

If I grew that rich, it would not last long before I fixed that absurd overabundance.