PERSONAL WEALTH:
HOW YOUR DEFINITION CHANGES BY LAURA MULLEADY
W
e all know that wealth is both subjective and relative. Wearing my lawyer hat, I’d have to put up my hand and say I’m just not qualified to define it. I do know that being either comfortable or wealthy has meant different things to me over the years. Hopefully having two or three more decades in the world of work ahead of me, I expect my perceptions will continue to shift in all directions. No different to anyone starting their first “real” job, I will always remember the excitement of my first pay cheque as a trainee solicitor with A&L Goodbody back in 1998. My gross salary was in the single-digit thousands of Irish pounds, but the possibilities seemed endless. Back then, I had no car, children or mortgage. I hadn’t discovered how easily the banks would lend me money for frivolities such as holidays or Christmas shopping, which I gradually began to make use of as I became aware of my spending and borrowing powers. I didn’t exactly feel wealthy but had that nice warm feeling of earning money that isn’t earmarked for a range of other outgoings. For at least half of the month (the first half!), I didn’t think about money. When I needed to, I could borrow a bit.
By the age of 25, the distinction between what I earned and what I could easily borrow and repay was a little blurred. I was definitely not part of the “live within your means” generation and it was great. Looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing. We were good at borrowing, having had a lot of practice in our 20’s with small loans that were quickly repaid. When we took the serious but exciting step into buying our first
“THROUGH THESE YEARS, THE ABILITY TO TAKE THESE STEPS FORWARD WERE HOW WE DEFINED WEALTH.” family homes, we thought we were on the steep ladder towards a bit of wealth accumulation. For many of us, plans were made to trade up within a few years, before we even moved in. Through these years, the ability to take these steps forward were how we defined wealth.
Fast-forward to 2016. Many of my generation’s earners are still feeling the effects of a recession that caught us by surprise. During the challenging years of 2007–2011, those long-term plans had to be adjusted, at least in the shortor medium-term. Rather than wealth, the focus shifted to financial stability, which for many people required, “lifestyle adjusting.” Some of us are now living in communities where we planned to live temporarily but have now grown to love, staying to raise families. Coincidentally, many of the children in my community benefit from the sharing of time, knowledge and even, to a certain degree, wealth by the large firms and businesses that border it. I am not sure this sharing of time and resources would have emerged in the volumes it has without those involved having experienced the recession. So what have I learned over the last 15 years of boom and recession? Well, you can plan to buy a house or a car or where you want to live, but can you plan your wealth? No, it’s all about timing. External factors can take your wealth planning out of your hands. So what wealth-related advice would I give myself if I could go back 15 years? Always work hard, do live for the moment and don’t worry too much about your aspirations for wealth—just hold on for the ride! It’s probably fair to say that many of my peers’ aspirations for wealth, and our consciousness of what’s important in life, have changed over the last number of years. I know mine have. LAURA MULLEADY is an Insurance Partner with A&L Goodbody.
WEALTH - SPRING 2016 - THE OPINION 34