Rupa Pereira
By Rupa Pereira
Reading books is more of a luxury given the numerous claims on time we have on our daily lives. There are bills to pay, commute to work, household chores, school/college and after school chauffeuring, home-made healthy meals, weekend social obligations and certainly some TV downtime. Did I even mention the endless hours of social media scrolling? Where does that leave us with any time for luxuries? And did I read that AI will soon make our jobs dispensable?
Back in the day, as a young kid growing up in India, books were my anchor and a window into the world outside my finite domain. Fiction – detective, mystery, romance, drama – favored my young mind. While the stressors of life did keep me from active reading in my adult years, I’ve slowly restored this practice by resorting to audio books, particularly to engage the mind and stay connected to what makes us human and unique. Why does it matter? Since AI is upending the world we live in faster than we can comprehend, it begs the question – how do we stay focused on a future that belongs to us? While our financial well-being is where we place the most significance in terms of wealth, there are more dimensions to wealth beyond money and a recently published book captures this aspect beautifully.
Sahil Bloom’s book, The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life, is a timely framework for 2026 because it moves the goalposts of success. For families and individuals, it provides a “new scoreboard” that prevents the common trap of being “financially rich but life-poor.” While society tracks money, a truly wealthy life is a balanced portfolio of five distinct assets.
Here are the 5 types of wealth broken down into their core pillars:
Time Wealth: The freedom to choose how you spend your time, where you spend it, and with whom. To move from being a “time taker” (selling your hours to survive) to a “time maker” (owning your schedule).
Social Wealth: The quality and depth of your relationships and your sense of belonging in a community. Building “relationship dividends,” the connections that provide joy, support, and energy over decades.
Mental Wealth: Clarity of purpose, peace of mind, and a commitment to continuous growth and curiosity. To develop an inner life that is resilient to external chaos. It involves creating “mental space” through stillness (meditation, journaling) and maintaining a childlike curiosity to learn new things.
Physical Wealth: Your health, vitality, and energy levels; the “engine” that makes all other forms of wealth possible. To be “fit for purpose” so you can physically enjoy the fruits of your labor at age 80 and beyond.
Financial Wealth: Money and assets, viewed not as the end goal, but as the tool that enables the other four types of wealth. To reach your version of “Enough.” The point where your assets support your desired lifestyle without requiring you to sacrifice your health or time.
As an advisor, I view Financial Wealth as the base layer that “funds” the other four. When planning for 2026, I suggest not just looking at your ROI (Return on Investment); rather evaluate your ROL (Return on Life). I’ve seen many people enter a new year with a single-minded focus: “How do I make more money?” While financial growth is vital, 2026 is shaping up to be a year where Financial Wealth alone isn’t enough to feel secure. With the shifting economic landscape—new tax rules under the OBBA Act and the continued rise of AI—it’s critical that we manage our “Life Portfolio” using Sahil Bloom’s five pillars for our overall well-being.
Here are a few recommendations from his book, which I am paraphrasing here:
Reclaim your “Time Billionaire” Status. Time is the ultimate luxury. Use your budget to buy back time. This might mean hiring a task service, automating your bills, or choosing a shorter commute over a slightly higher salary. If a financial decision costs you 10 hours a week of family time, is the “profit” really worth it?
Social relationships are the best predictor of long-term happiness. As the book suggests, we ought to prioritize “deep” connections with family and a “broad” network for growth and perspective. Don’t just look at retirement accounts; rather look at your investments in your Social Wealth graph.
The most radical part of Bloom’s framework is defining Financial Wealth as having “enough” to enable the other four types. Stress-test your “Enough Number.” This isn’t the number that lets you keep up with the ‘Joneses’; it’s the number that allows you to stop worrying about money so you can focus on your Mental and Physical Wealth. You cannot enjoy compounded interest if you aren’t around to see it.
In the new year, I encourage you to look at your bank statement and ask: “Which of the 5 types of wealth did this purchase serve?”. If your spending is 100% focused on Financial Wealth but your Time, Physical and Social Wealth are in the red, it’s time to rebalance your portfolio. Let your 2026 goal be one that ensures your financial plan serves your time, your health, and your family.
Rupa Pereira is a CFP, EA, CSLP and an Advice-Only Planner and Tax Professional based in North Carolina. She specializes in cross-border matters and all things financial planning. Contact: info@fwjplanning.com
