a while ago, i think it was before the pandemic, i was talking about “feeling wealthy” with a coworker. i can’t remember why it came up, but this coworker was describing to me an article he had read about how as you gain wealth, certain transactions become less impactful because they are smaller and smaller percentages of your total wealth.

this seemed like a cool concept to me, and i really wanted to read more about it, but i couldn’t for the life of me remember what the article was or who the author was. i recall searching the web for it, but turning up nothing.

until today! i was reading the chubby fire subreddit when i saw someone link to an article about climbing the wealth ladder… and when i clicked that link, here was the article!

i’m nearly positive this is the article this coworker was referring to. in particular, here’s the levels of wealth called out:

Level 1. Paycheck-to-paycheck: You are conscious of every dollar you spend. This includes people with crippling debt.
Level 2. Grocery freedom: How much specific grocery items cost don’t impact your finances.
Level 3. Restaurant freedom: You eat what you want at restaurants regardless of the cost.
Level 4. Travel freedom: You travel when you want, how you want, and stay where you want.
Level 5. House freedom: You can afford your dream home.
Level 6. Philanthropic freedom: You can give away money that has a profound impact on others.

why does this matter? i think it helps you understand where fretting over a dollar amount is actually wasting your time.

i would argue that jumping from travel to house seems like too big of a jump. maybe there’s a “vehicle freedom: you can buy whatever vehicle you want” step between? or maybe that’s just not big enough of a difference between travel and vehicle.

read this article, and think about where you are on the ladder. i think it’s pretty important to know where you are, and what it would take to go up a rung!