You probably learnt about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs at school as a kid, I kind of remember learning about it but it certainly didn’t mean much to me back then – other than having to memorize the 5 elements to be able to pass a test. You can see the pyramid below.

Today Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has a more direct impact on me because I can see it’s value in life.

As we go through different phases of life, where we fit on the hierarchy also moves.

There is a clear point in the hierarchy where you aren’t concerned anymore about food, water, shelter. You aren’t concerned anymore about employment or the instability of renting a property. There is a point where you are surrounded by a loving family and a clear sense of connection to others.

Once these desires and needs have been meet that is where we start to view life differently, were we start to view wealth differently. Is is where we start to look back down the list of desires and needs and reassess what are the other types of wealth that we hold that aren’t just financial.

Why is it important to understand the different types of wealth?

There are four basic kinds of wealth:

Financial (Money) – which I’ll help you learn more about the longer you stick around

Social (Status) – nope, sorry I can’t help with this one

Time (Freedom to do what you want with your time) – I’ll help you with this one

Physical (Health) – sorry, I can’t help with this one either

Based on my own life, and that of close friends, you can get a point in life where you view wealth as more than just financial wealth. That’s hard to do when you’re struggling away towards the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy, were earning more money is crucial to meeting the basic life needs we all have. But as you move higher up the hierarchy making more money will be less and less critical, and increasing your wealth in other areas will become more and more important to you.

Understanding the different types of wealth will allow you to pass on to your children values around not only money management, which is important but also around these other three areas of wealth.

Teaching your children that their physical health is important (no-one wants an obese child who will die before them from an early heart attack), that your social status is more than not being mean or a jerk to people it’s about caring for others and your community and being part of something bigger than yourself, and that your time is also a valuable type of wealth that you alone are the master of, and to use that time wisely.

How can Knowing the Different Types of Wealth Impact Your Life

Looking over Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and determining where you fit currently and then determining your lifetime Wealth Ratio, and what type of wealth you already hold will help you decide what you want to focus on next in your life.

For our little family, knowing the different types of wealth has meant that we have felt more comfortable putting up our hands to be part of the Board for a local Children’s Hospital Fundraising Foundation and helping to raise over $2 million in four years, something both my husband and I find incredibly rewarding at a personal level but would not have considered if we hadn’t taken the time to review our situation and deem that we were in a position to be able to pursue a higher purpose.

But it’s vital to look after yourself BEFORE you can really help look after others, after all, if you burn out or can no longer meet your basic needs, then you’ll no longer be in a position to make a big difference in the lives of others.

So take a moment to self-assess. Where do you think you are in the hierarchy? You might be at different levels in different areas of your life. Perhaps all your physiological needs are met (I certainly hope they are!) but there’s some way to go before you’re in a position to really self-actualise your best life. That’s ok! We’re in that same place, we’re doing just fine but truth be told we could certainly be doing better.

And that’s why we think about things like this, to help us to do better. What are the areas of your life that you think need the most urgent attention, to get them into line and move you a bit further up that hierarchy of needs towards your best life?

Is money-wealth the most important thing for you to be focussing on? Or perhaps could you sacrifice a bit of money-wealth in return for more time-wealth, and actually move UP the hierarchy of needs as a result?

Same with your health-wealth. No amount of money is worth killing yourself for.

And what about your social-wealth? Are you a part of a community that really builds into your best life? How are your family relationships? Should you perhaps think about sacrificing a bit of money-wealth and time-wealth, to improve your social-wealth?

Only you can answer these questions for yourself.

This blog is mostly focussed on building your money-wealth, because once you have that under control you can afford to spend more time creating wealth in other ways as well, but it’s important not to be so single-minded about building your money-wealth that you completely neglect these other important parts of your life.

Money is important, of course it is, but it’s the OTHER three types of wealth that REALLY help you move up Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs towards your best life. So make sure you’re building your best life by always keeping in mind the OTHER kinds of wealth, and take the time every once in a while to check yourself against the hierarchy of needs and see if the types of wealth you’re working on are the ones you need the most.over