The Benefit of Wealth: Quality and Choice

A long time ago, the difference between the haves and the have nots was literally that. If you had money, you had property, transportation, food, and clothes… and if you didn’t have money, you had nothing. But we have come along way as a society. These days anyone can have a place to live, a car, a full pantry, and a clean outfit every day of the week.

The main difference between the haves and the have nots these days, is the choices of what you have, and the quality.

ford-vs-bmwLet’s face it; we all drive the same roads, and follow the same laws (or break the same laws). A Ford Fiesta will get you where you are going just as easily as a BMW 7 Series. So why does the BMW cost $80,000 and the Ford only costs $14,000? Quality. The BMW has supple leather seats, a refined interior, spacious cabin, and plenty of amenities. The Ford has seats…

And so it goes with almost anything you can think of. You can buy a steak at the grocery store for a decent price. But if you want to spend the extra money, you can go to a butcher and buy a fine cut of the best grass fed beef. You can buy a bottle of 2 buck chuck that is made from the same grapes and has the same Alcohol content as a $300 bottle of Merlot. What is the difference? The cheap bottle was picked by illegal immigrants making $5 per day working in deplorable conditions, aged in cheap barrels for less time, and uses cheap packaging, while the $300 bottle is made by a well paid staff of vintners who care about what they are doing, and want to craft the best bottle of wine they can, use the best quality aging barrels, age their wine longer, and use top quality packaging.

The same thing goes for clothes. Anyone can buy a $99 suit, or a $30 watch. But when you spend the money on an Armani, or a Rolex, you have craftsmanship. You have the best of materials, assembled by the best craftsman. Do you pay for that level of craftsmanship? Do you pay for that higher quality material? Yes you do. You pay a lot for it. Is it worth it? Only if you can afford it.

benefit of wealth armani suitsThe same thing can be said for computers. My Apple computer costs about double what a similar Windows PCwould cost (same speed processor, same RAM, same HD space). The Apple is made from better materials though. It has a metal case. A metal keyboard. I run dual monitors. One of the monitors is an Apple monitor, and the other is an inexpensive monitor I got at a Black Friday sale. The monitors have the same resolution, yet a picture is better on the Apple monitor. It is quality in craftsmanship I am paying for. And even though I sometimes hate the way Apple runs things, and they way their operating system works, when I try to use a Windows system, I remember why I use Apple. It is just made better.

That is the true benefit of wealth. The ability to have the same things as everyone else, only better built.

The other benefit of wealth is choice. If an average American wants a tropical beach vacation, they’ll go to Florida. Or maybe the Texas coast. Someplace on the same continent, in the same country. But wealth gives you options. Fiji? Polynesia? Sicily? The French Rivera? The possibilities are endless if you have the means. Anyone can have a cheese sandwich, but the wealthy can choose between hundreds of artesian cheeses. Anyone can buy a bottle of whiskey, but the rich can pick between a multitude of the finest single barrel aged Scotch Whiskeys. Choice and Quality.

So if you have the means, make your choices wisely. There is no need to survive off of the same things that the masses have. You have earned the ability to choose the finest crafted things. You can be Classy…