The Wealth Trap: rich, but not free

Wealth Trap

There's a well-known term, the poverty trap. When you have no resources to break out: low income, little investment in yourself, low productivity, low income again.

Now imagine the opposite. The wealth trap.

You've made it to a "normal" level: apartment, car, travel, comfort, your usual restaurants, a baseline of comfort below which things start to feel unpleasant.

But your personal burn rate grew right along with it. Everything you need just to keep living the way you're used to. You can no longer lower your standard of living in order to grow.

- Can't join a startup that won't pay anything for a couple of years. - Can't leave to study or make a career pivot. - Can't afford the risk, because you cost yourself too much.

In theory it all pays off later. In practice you're just not capable of it anymore. Comfort holds you. Habits hold you.The feeling that a step back equals failure, when it might just be a new trajectory.

So there you are: Rich, but not free.