The Wealth Ladder Quotes

“If you have money but you don’t have friends, family, relationships, health, time, or purpose, what’s the point? It’s like having a plate full of salt, but nothing to eat it with.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Regardless of your wealth level, you should be mindful of all these things. They are all important for living a good life. However, their relative importance shifts as you move up the Wealth Ladder. The reason why is simple: as you gain more wealth, money solves fewer and fewer of your problems. Many of the issues faced by those in Level 1 can be solved with money. However, many of the issues faced by those in Level 6 can’t.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“William Vanderbilt, who was once the richest man in the world, echoed this sentiment when comparing his life to that of his less wealthy neighbor: He isn’t worth a hundredth part as much as I am, but he has more of the real pleasures of life than I have. His house is as comfortable as mine, even if it didn’t cost so much; his team is about as good as mine; his opera box is next to mine; his health is better than mine, and he will probably outlive me. And he can trust his friends.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“wealth isn’t about the money you’ve accumulated, but the life you’ve built with it.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“As Yeo wrote, “Money is a required pursuit for life, but a pointless pursuit upon death.”[”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“There are limits to what money can (and can’t) do for your mental and emotional well-being. Thankfully, your happiness is more in your control than you might imagine. Bud taught me that, at the end of the day, our contentment boils down to our mindset more than what’s in our bank account.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Regrettably, the yardstick we use to measure our life expands with our success. It’s a moving target we can never catch up to. I’ve previously called this idea the “never-ending then.”[10] Once I make this much money, then I will be satisfied. Once I have this much wealth, then I’ll feel secure. Once I reach this wealth level, then I’ll be happy. Unfortunately, this line of thinking is a mirage. Because once you reach a new milestone, you quickly get used to it. This idea is called habituation, and it explains why the happiness brought on by material rewards can be fleeting.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Though there is a strong correlation between money and happiness, I don’t believe the relationship is directly causal. Having an extra zero on your bank balance isn’t going to make you jump for joy every day. But having more wealth can transform your lifestyle and how you are able to impact others. That’s where the additional happiness likely comes from.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Having more money doesn’t just allow you to spend more on yourself, you can spend more on others as well. Researchers have found that those who spent more of their income on others had greater happiness.[6] This result doesn’t surprise me. However, it’s also much easier to spend money on others when you have more money to spend in the first place. Money is like the oxygen mask on an airplane. You must first secure your own mask before you can assist others.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“If you are poor, more money will probably make you happier. If you are happy, more money will probably make you happier. But if you aren’t poor and you aren’t happy, more money won’t do a thing.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Their paper found that while a higher income did indeed improve how people rated their life, it didn’t have any significant impact on their emotional well-being after a certain income threshold. In other words, while more money could make you feel better about your life as a whole, it didn’t make you any happier on a day-to-day basis once you earned over $75,000 a year.[”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“While the data comes from the richest country in the world during a prosperous period, there have been similar improvements in wealth across the globe. For example, a World Bank report found that the percentage of people living in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 a day) fell from 36 percent in 1990 to 10 percent by 2015. This translates to over 1 billion fewer people living in such conditions, despite a global population increase of over 2 billion over this period.[4] Though I don’t have detailed data on global wealth mobility, the large declines in worldwide poverty suggest that more wealth is being built by more people than ever before.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Richter’s experiment demonstrates how much our expectations can shape our behavior. If we think that something is impossible, like the drowning rats, we are likely to give up quickly. However, if we believe that progress is within reach, we can push ourselves further than we ever imagined.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Wealth has an interesting way of distorting our perceptions and changing our motivations. Even people who are objectively successful can be made to feel otherwise. If you want to counteract these pernicious effects, then you will need to remember who you are and what you value. Finding ways to enjoy your money without identifying with it should be your end goal. That’s how you protect your wealth from yourself.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Unfortunately, this idea doesn’t hold when it comes to having more wealth. In general, more money is better than less money. Someone who is in Level 1 would almost always be better off if they were in Level 5 or 6. Getting people out of poverty is a good thing. However, I am not convinced that going past Level 4, for example, is always an upgrade. In fact, it could make a few areas of your life objectively worse. So let’s take a look at some of the downsides of wealth that you may find in Level 5 and beyond.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“Of course, the problem with telling someone who made it to Level 5 to diversify is that they probably won’t listen. The characteristics that got someone to $10 million in wealth are likely the same ones that won’t allow them to stop once they get there. If I had to guess, most successful business owners in Level 5 see themselves as temporary visitors on their way to Level 6. As the saying goes, “Every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president.” I don’t blame them for thinking this way. After all, building a business that generates $10 million in personal wealth is no easy task. However, I don’t think the issue with those in Level 5 is their skills, but things outside their control. This is where diversification comes in handy.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“If you have difficulty spending according to your Wealth Level, then the most expensive thing that you own is your ego.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

“If we assume that your income pays for your necessities, then your wealth pays for your upgrades.”
― Nick Maggiulli, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life