1. Good morning and great post. One suggestion for your graphic- I think you should invert the numbers and have the highest numbers close to the bulls eye. If you think about shooting or darts, you try and hit the bulls eye and the best shooters/dart throwers can get a small group centered on the bulls eye. It would allow people to see how well they are doing overall of they’re grouped around the bulls eye, and if they have some stray shots, they can focus on pulling those areas closer to the center. Again great post and look forward to more.

   1. Interesting thought, Tim. Only problem…it would destroy the “spokes” metaphor! Then again, we could use the “try to hit the bullseye” as an alternative. Hmmm….

   2. Great post Fritz, and I love the Bible quotes. Eternal wisdom wins the day, and it’s written down in a book for all to read. Available at Walmart for $11, all you have to do is buy the book, read it, and follow the instructions!

2. Long time reader, first time poster. Great article and especially I love the addition of the fifth. We often spend so much time focusing on this life that we lose sight of the fact that we were made for eternity.

   1. I don’t write about Spirituality very often, though it is important in my personal life. I felt this post couldn’t be published without including it. Thanks for the encouragement.

   2. Thanks for mentioning Time as an asset. I decided earlier in life that given the two.. .to take time as a Free dom. Easier to make money than get time! And eternal Peace.

3. Yes!!! Must put them in all the right spots!!! We all came to you for MONEY talks!!!!!! We lack all the others and wonder how we did that.

   1. At least we’re self-aware enough to wonder…

      1. 🙏

4. A great way to think about how to more quantitatively discern “true” wealth. I have always thought that the most well rounded individuals had the most meaningful relationships. A true balance in life allows us to see that “this too will pass” when we hit rough spots along the way (they will happen). I would say that another complimentary task might be to write an “early obituary” for the way you would like for your life to have been lived. Once you read that and measure that with the technique Fritz talks about in the article it might provide clues to where you need to make adjustments to get the life we all desire. Great topic Fritz and thanks for sharing.

   1. Hmmm…I may have to publish my obit as a post? Interesting thought…

5. As the Reverend Billy Graham once said, “my home is in heaven, I’m just traveling through this world”.

   1. Wise words, from a wise man.

6. Similar to Doug: long time – first time. Thank you for adding God to the conversation.
   Two other “wealth” categories: 1) wealth of purpose = knowing what you are to do moving forward. 2) wealth of “others-centered” = being a cheerful giver of your resources. You exemplify both of these.

   1. Good additions, Jon. And…thanks for that last sentence. Noticed and appreciated.

7. I try to put Eternal Wealth at the top of the list. Investing in that makes all the others easier. Investing in my spirituality drives me to Social Wealth, as I become focused on others. Investing in my spirituality drives me to be a good steward of Time, using it for higher purposes and driving me away from “wasting” it…too much. Investing in my Eternal Wealth keeps me from placing too high of value on idleness and keeps me active so my Physical Wealth is maintained. Finally, my spirituality keeps me from worshiping and loving money. As scripture says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Having resources in place to fund retirement is indeed important. That gives us options and keeps us from depending on government resources to live. It keeps us from moving in with our kids as we age. Money is not evil. It is the LOVE of money that is evil. By placing God first – above all other people, things, and money – everything else works out fine. Remember, God will always provide what we need. But He doesn’t always give us what we want or desire. That’s a good thing.

   1. Insightful comment, Jeff. Reminds me of a quote that was hanging on the fireplace at a YMCA camp I attended as a child:

      God Is First.
      Others Are Second.
      I Am Third.

      It’s been 50 years since I’ve seen that fireplace, but that quote has always stuck with me.

      1. Same here. It was probably 50 years ago when I read Gale Sayers book, “I Am Third”. It has taken on more meaning as those 50 years have passed!

         Cheers!

      2. Just wrote down that quote Fritz. Taping it to my mirror. Live it Steve is the last thing written. Thank you! You and Jackie are such givers. Time, talent and treasures are to be shared, for sure!

         God’s blessings to all readers, Steve

8. Great post. Don’t be afraid to say God and religion instead of spirituality! I think the more time you spend on 5, the more 1-4 will grow.

9. Excellent!!
   Years ago, A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” No religion or spiritual experience, no faith or practice can rise above its idea of God.
   I confess that I have spent too much time thinking of financial wealth and now I’m trying to gaze more on Christ and HEAR His Voice!
   Thanks for this timely and inspiring article Fritz! Bless you and your readers.

10. Thanks for another thought-provoking post to help us lead a fulfilling life after retirement. Eternal wealth is seldom mentioned but vitally important.

    “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”

11. Hi, thanks for today’s post…. but the suggestion that we need to get religion/ doesn’t work for me, maybe it would be better placed elsewhere. I don’t believe in Heaven or that god is a he, etc. I hope you’ll leave out the proselytizing in the future. Thanks

    1. Boo to Ben. As a wise man once said, what if you are wrong in believing there is no God. Do you want to take that chance?

    2. Fritz has made it clear where his convictions are without doing that for the most part in his blog which is fine. I not a big believer in it myself, but what he put in here is fine for those that value it and his blog brings so much other value its not a big deal.

    3. Ben, sadly you are missing the most important point. Give it some consideration

12. Fritz,

    I thought this was an incredibly well done post. Upon reading your comments and considerations concerning eternal wealth, I found myself hoping that you might, in a future post, comment more on the tension between money, saving, wealth, and the Spiritual cautions on excesses of the same! All religions seem to caution against the dangers of greed, failures to be generous, and temptation associated with excessive wealth. All spiritual journeys are, at their core, very personal. That said, it seems that you would have an excellent perspective on this topic if you would be comfortable sharing and it would not be off putting to a portion of your readership.

13. On physical or heath- when traveling airports, walk instead of jumping on transit to get to your gate. Atlanta airport calls it Plane Train.

14. I’ve always prioritized the concept of “return on time invested”. Returns can take countless forms like: impact, learning, financial, etc. Even times when you aren’t making forward progress can have returns when they are part of rejuvenating, etc.

    I like the spoke model as it feels complete and concise. Provides a very good qualitative and visual way of seeing where you are and gaging progress.

    I always saw one of the key reasons to develop financial discipline was because money offers the opportunity to gain control over your time. I’ve taught my mentees a concept of “The War Chest” which was a pile of money that you began to accumulate as soon as you could, not retirement money, but funds you would invest over time and express as how much time you could go without working and not compromise.

    Starts as a day, a week, a month, a quarter, a year…….The War Chest ultimately allows you freedoms (without compromising your retirement goals) that too many lack. I was able to play the game largely on my terms, taking risks on jobs or opportunities that otherwise I’d passed on. I was able to leave situations where I was asked to violate my values for $$$, and start my own practice.

    I see the wheel as being able to provide those kinds of insights on tradeoffs throughout one’s life.

    Thanks for sharing this tool!

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16. I have heard it said that for every year that one continues to work past his or her “retirement age,” there will be one less “healthy” year of retirement. That certainly jibes with Time & Physical Wealth, supra. Thanks for bringing this subject up as I near retirement age!

17. How serendipitous that your post would show up today. For the past week, I have been working on the content for the next episode of my podcast. I am calling the episode, The Four Pillars of True Wealth: Finances, Health, Joy and Love.

    Why are we both thinking about this now? Is it just our age, or are we realizing that we as a society are losing sight of the importance of the other areas of True Wealth.

    My episode will be out on Tuesday, June 25. If you are interested, you can find it under Boomer Banter: Real Talk about Aging Well, wherever you get your podcasts.

    1. I like your four pillars. People can identify their own version of Joy. For some, it’s their religion/God/spirituality. For others, it’s something else entirely, or even a collection of joys. What matters is that is it’s THEIR Joy.

18. Great post Fritz!! Including our spirituality is extremely important to me and almost all your subscribers. Not everyone will agree with everything!! I am offering that we strengthen our wealth by being kind in all our interaction’s ,being more civil in our reactions and find a way, every day, to offer a random act of kindness or giving!!

19. Great post Fritz. Like a few earlier commenters, I’ve been following your posts for a couple of years but this is my first comment. As I prepare to retire next Friday at 60, I wanted to let you know that you have been a source of great advice and wisdom to me. The Wheel of Fortune is a great way to visualize where I can focus my time to be sure I reman well balanced through retirement. I also love the reference from Dave to “return on time invested” to ensure we are always growing and contributing. My greatest fear is that I wake up tomorrow at 80 and feel like I wasted the first 20 years of my retirement. Your work is one of the resources that will help me to ensure that doesn’t happen. And, as a fellow believer, I appreciate you adding the fifth form of wealth. Although some aren’t “there”, it’s critical for everyone to think about, and be open to, these bigger things…

20. This may be your best one. I have especially enjoyed reading comments from your readers, valuable perspectives!

21. Years ago an uncle taught me: “Salud, dinero y amor, y tiempo para disfrutarlos.” Health, wealth, love and time to enjoy.”

22. As a professional who plans to retire within the next couple of years, I’ve been following your blog, among others, and find it generally interesting and with some good, or at least thought provoking, advice. I agree yet disagree with Ben – I can live without the God references, but hey, its your blog and you can do what you want. However, to maybe keep us heathens out there interested, one might consider “spirituality” as one of your bullet points and then that way your followers can insert whatever faith or belief system that they follow, as I do think there is some value to having a belief system. It does strike me as a little hypocritical, though ,as I seem to remember a parable from childhood somewhere in the Good Book where Jesus makes a comment about the rich man’s chance of reaching heaven like that of a camel threading through a needle, or something along those lines (I’m paraphrasing, of course, but you can look it up – it’s in Matthew). Maybe I’m the only one seeing the irony of this within the context of a blog that chiefly concerns itself with making one more wealthy during one’s earthly travels. How about a bullet where one donates one’s wealth to the poor that dwell here on Earth? Now, THAT sounds like something that Jesus would have done.

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