There are many reasons that people want to be wealthy. One of these reasons is freedom. Freedom to pursue hobbies, interests, and work opportunities that they want to pursue. When I start thinking about what it would like to be wealthy, I sometimes think about the things that I would pursue if money wasn’t as much of a factor.
1) Golf
Photo of a golf course in Hawaii – photo by Jeffrey Tripp
Golf is something that I quit participating in about three years ago for a few reasons, but the main reason is money. There are too many other hobbies and interests I have to justify spending the money playing golf. I also am a very “all-or-nothing” kind of person, so if I’m going to pursue golf I would like to play once a week and go to the driving range at least two or more times a week. All those expenses add up. If I was wealthy I would have no problem financing this hobby.
2) Travel
Japan is definitely on my “must see” list. Photo by Joi Ito
While you certainly do not have to be wealthy to travel (there has to be a thousand travel blogs focusing on traveling on less), it definitely can’t hurt. Especially if you want to travel internationally, there will always be the high cost of transportation. If I was wealthy I would have more opportunities financially to travel as well as the ability to take off work. I would like to travel to various parts of Asia, Europe, and various other countries. This is going to take money one way or another .
3) Wine
Medieval cellar of the Hotel zum Roten Bären. Photo by Jessica Spengler
I wouldn’t call myself cheap, but wine can be expensive! There is a lot of cheap win; many bottles at the liquor store are under $20. I find it hard to justify purchasing wine at restaurants or purchasing “expensive” bottles. My boss at my job in college was a foodie and was talking about all the different types of wine and how they differ. It went completely over my head because I simply am not that interested in it, and that is largely due to cost. I enjoy drinking wine, but I would drink it a lot more often and be more interested in wine as a whole if I was wealthy.
4) Cars
My dream car – the Bugatti Veyron! Photo by Autoviva
Who doesn’t like cars? I know I do, but I would be much more interested in them if I was wealthy. When it comes to car decisions for me today it’s about price and value, not which car is the “coolest” or the most fun to drive. If I was wealthy I think I’d be more interested in cars because I could afford a far wider selection – and justify the purchase. In high school a friend of mine was looking at some car magazine and pointing out expensive cars. I was more interested in how to make enough money to afford the car instead of the car itself.
____________
If you were wealthy (assuming you are not currently) what would you pursue or what would you be more interested in? If you are wealthy (good for you!) what is something you pursue that you would not be able to if you did not have your wealth?
____________
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I think I would just travel and see as much of the world as possible. I would also buy a large yacht and sail around Australia.
MonsterPiggyBank I would definitely travel a ton if I was wealthy. I’d probably play my fair share of golf around the world as well ;)
I guess I am interested in all of these but cant say I would be more interested with money. I would probably do more then I am doing now simply because the money is there but the interest is there. I really enjoy reading about cars and traveling though I wont spend excess money on them. Japan, Thailand, and Africa are just a few places I really want to visit.
YourDailyFin I’d love to visit those three places as well, unfortunately the flights are pretty dang expensive! I have a member on my team at work who is from Kenya and goes back every few years. The flights are never cheap.
If I were wealthy, meaning more money that I ever could spend, I think I would buy a nice home one the beach somewhere expensive, like San Diego or the South of France. I would spend more on clothes and shoes, and would likely have a personal trainer. I’d also be able to start or fund a charity of my own, and I would always fly first class.
EyesonthedollarThose are all really nice things, Kim! Having a house in the south of France would be incredible.
Ha! I also quit golf about 6 years ago due to money…that and the time factor. It is fun, but not fun enough to spend 4 hours and $30 a round. I still don’t think I’d be into cars though :)
GregatClubThriftyI definitely hear you on the time issue. If I was wealthy I’m assuming I would have passive income through dividends or something else to live off of that would free up enough time to justify something like golf. I don’t know, though, maybe I would just spend my time reading/writing.
Everyone around me seems to be interested in golf, but that’s just not for me. I don’t see the appeal of it! :)
SenseofCentsHonestly I can’t justify playing unless I got a ton of practice in. I don’t mind going but I hate being worse than the other players and some of my friends played when they were kids and were on the team in high school. So instead I don’t play at all haha.
I still wouldn’t pursue golf more if I were wealthy. Back when I had my practice and cash flow wasn’t a big issue, I still didn’t golf much. It’s fun but time consuming. with two kids and a spouse I’d rather spend time with them.
AverageJoeMoney
Yeah the time issue is a huge one…it would have to be a very relaxing activity for me to want to sacrifice that much time. I’m assuming that if I was wealthy enough I could just live off of dividend income and spend my days as I please ;)
I actually just got into golf and I enjoy it. I got a starter set of clubs over the weekend. I try to go to the range once a week, but who knows if that will be possible. Luckily, my neighborhood backs up to another one with a course, so I can walk to the course if I wanted to. I would travel more and deal with more cars if I were wealthy as well.
DebtRoundUp That’s super convenient! Like I said, if I had the money I would totally pursue it more. Right now I just have too many other priorities (both time and moneywise). It would be a fun “lifelong” sport to play, though.
I agree with everything on your list besides the wine. I’m not a huge wine drinker. I would add fishing and hunting gear to the list though. Those are two areas where you can spend very little or a lot depending on what all you want. I’d love to have the money to spend more on the cool gadgets, but I can survive with what I have.
CommonCentsWealth I’m also not a huge wine drinker, but I’d say that is more due to lack of funds than anything. I’m not into hunting or fishing so I would probably not pursue them even if I was super wealthy.
Golf and travel would be number 1 and 2 on my list as well!
ayoungpro Nice, do you play golf now?
DC @ Young Adult Money ayoungpro I do, but only infrequently because of the cost. I get out maybe a 3-5 times per summer.
ayoungpro3-5 times is pretty solid. I get too frustrated so I’d want to go much more than that.
DC @ Young Adult Money ayoungpro I hear ya. It is hard not to be able to improve, and 3-5 times a summer definitely doesn’t help my skills improve at all.
Mine would be vacation homes and cars. I really really have a hard time deciding between those two.
ThirtysixmonthsOh a vacation home would be nice. I wouldn’t mind having one in Hawaii…
For me it would be travel and owning one of the big beautiful Yachts that I saw docked in the marina in Cabo San Lucas a few years ago. Your post reminds me of the show on HGTV – Million Dollar Rooms. Have you guys watched it? And Extreme Homes. The other day on Extreme Homes they toured the home of a guy who is the President of one of the pharmacy companies and it was millions of dollars and his car collection was amazing too.
TacklingOurDebtYep I’ve seen million dollar rooms, someo of them are SO ridiculous! One house had this million+ indoor pool area that was made out of imported materials. The house was on the market when I watched the show; looks like the original owner will lose a few million dollars on the sale.
I completely agree on travel and cars. You can travel on less, but if you were wealthy then you wouldn’t need to completely worry about budgeting while experiencing your vacation. Plus you’d probably be able to see more and prolong your travel adventures. I would love to have a Maserati and I’m sure the boyfriend would love the Bugatti. We watch too much Top Gear…
Other than that, I’d be more interested in real estate and purchasing rental properties. House flipping could be fun to get into. I’d have more time to learn about DIY projects as well.
JourneytoSaving If I was wealthy enough I would be interested in rentals too but I would like to be wealthy enough that I can outsource a lot of the work and just focus on the numbers.
I would love to get into golf too. It’s always been a money and time issue for me. Not only is it expensive, but it just requires a lot of time if you actually want to get good. Even playing a round can be several hours. Anyways, maybe someday.
Matt @ Mom and Dad MoneyA friend went to a charity golf event recently and it took nearly 5 hours to finish the round. It’s intense how much time you have to commit to it. I would be interested someday, just not now.
I would re-pursue my collection of professionally graded baseball cards. Right now that hobby is on hold and I miss it a lot.
Luke_1428 I haven’t collected cards in years, but still have all my baseball, basketball, and football cards. I would consider collecting some older cards if I had the money to justify it.
I would go with travel and wine and add something like boating or sailing. I love the water!
Beachbudget Sure sounds like it! Haha but seriously it would be awesome to be able to go boating more, especially on an expensive boat.
I have always made travel and good food a priority even when I had less money. Now with a little more I spend on good household items like mattress, nice furniture, etc.
RFIndependence Nice. Having good stuff for your home is always a good thing.
For me, money has nothing to do with it! I don’t golf because I do not care for it. I travel overseas every other year and manage to use frequent flier miles and hotel points. I will drink wine rarely and money has nothing to do with it. I love cars, but I don’t have to own everything I love.
krantcents1 I think you totally misinterpreted the post. I asked at the end what would YOU pursue if you were wealthy? Not how does your list compare to my list : P
My list would definitely have travel. I would also add better music equipment. That’s probably about it. I like to golf but wouldn’t do it any more than I do now. I stick to the courses that are only $30 to $40 to play.
thriftgenuity A few of my friends would have better music equipment (or even an in-home studio) at the top of their list! $30-$40 isn’t bad, but I’m not at the point where I can justify that yet.
Travel would definitely be at the top of my list. With more money I’d be able to travel more freely without having to worry about money and how much the trips cost.
StudentDebtSurvivor Travel would be so awesome. There’s pretty much an endless number of places to go.
Travel! We still travel but we are responsible and save for it. :) So that means we can’t jet off every other weekend. :( I’d love to take the girls on an African Safari and I’ve always dreamed about sailing around the world too. So I guess I’d need a sailboat, so let’s add that to the list. We love our home, but if money was no issue, we definitely have ocean-front property!
I would travel more if I had more money. I’d also eat and drink more extravagantly. That being said, I think there are lots of good options for eating and drinking well without being too extravagant. I certainly don’t feel like I’m missing out. :)