Chapter 2 of my side of UNSPLODE opens with a line from Henry David Thoreau: “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” Most of us would agree with it. Then we go back to checking our balances.
What “asset rich, experience poor” means
It’s the person whose accounts keep growing while their calendar stays empty of the things they said they were saving for. The trips get pushed to next year. The time with family waits until “after.” The net worth becomes the goal instead of the tool.
It’s a revelation that you might be asset rich but experience poor.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
I’m not arguing against saving. Running out of money is a real risk, and nobody wants it. But there’s a second risk most plans ignore:
But you also don’t want to die in a net-worth prison, watching the world pass you by as you add to some nebulous nest egg little-by-little.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
Signs you might be in the net-worth prison
- You check your balance more often than you check in with the people you love.
- You treat your net worth as a scoreboard, where the only goal is a bigger number.
- You can’t say what the money is for, beyond “retirement” or “someday.”
- Your health is quietly slipping while your accounts grow.
The golden sarcophagus
In the book I tell the story of a client I call Bob. (Like every client story in UNSPLODE, Bob is a hypothetical composite.) Bob ran a printing business and worked six days a week well into his old age. He came into my office constantly to go over numbers, neglected his health, and never used his wealth for experiences. He didn’t have a why.
It was like he was building himself a golden sarcophagus—a coffin from his net worth.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
Bob is an extreme case. Most people in the net-worth prison are much more ordinary: careful, responsible savers who simply never decided what the money was for.
Money is a tool for living
Plan for purpose, not just preservation.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
Your money isn’t a pile to guard. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be used well or badly. Used well, it funds the people, moments, and memories that matter, inside a plan that still protects your future. Used badly, in either direction, it either sits untouched or runs out too soon.
Four questions to check your balance
These come straight from the book. Answer them honestly:
- Am I hoarding money or multiplying meaning?
- Is my financial plan allowing or limiting my joy?
- Is my health gaining momentum or slipping in silence?
- Is my wealth serving my purpose or just sitting on paper?
If any answer makes you wince, that’s useful information, not a verdict.
Don’t forget the health half
It’s not just about having the ability to spend. It’s having the energy, wellness, and mindset to enjoy what you’ve built.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
That’s why UNSPLODE has a HealthSpan side. My co-author, Dr. Caleb Pinegar, explains why in Healthspan vs. lifespan: the 12-year gap.
How to start spending on purpose
- Name your why. Write down what a fulfilled life looks like to you, now and later.
- Take inventory. Know your net worth and your real cash flow, so you know what your plan can support.
- Put one experience in the plan. Pick one thing for this year, give it a budget, and put it on the calendar.
- Revisit it every year. Your purpose will shift. Your plan should shift with it.
If you work with an advisor, bring your answers to your next review and ask what your plan can support. A good plan makes room for both the life you want now and the one you want later.
And what’s legacy? It isn’t what you leave. It’s how you live now.
Trevor B. Hanson, UNSPLODE
One small step
- Start with the free Define Your Why worksheet.
- Read What is WealthSpan? for the bigger picture.
- Take the WealthSpan version of the Unsplode Score.
For educational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Talk with your own advisor about your situation.
About the author
Trevor B. Hanson is a wealth manager, the founder of ApexFlow Wealth Management, and co-author of UNSPLODE. He wrote the WealthSpan side of the book.
From the book UNSPLODE: The Bold New Approach to Reconstruct Your WealthSpan and HealthSpan. Read both introductions free.