The three-legged stool- one leg is health, one leg is wealth, and one is your lifestyle. Any of the legs break- and we fall. We sit atop this seat that bears all of our weight, believing, in good faith, that our health, wealth, and lifestyle are all in check.

And why wouldn't we?

We go to regular doctor appointments, mental health professionals, and wellness visits, like massage and chiropractic care. We even pay to go to gyms, boutique fitness classes, or participate in apps that promote an active lifestyle. Watches tell us how many steps we have, and heart rate monitors tell us if we're hitting the right amount of cardio per day. We use calorie counters, macro calculators, skincare routines, and the like. Health has become, not only a necessity, but something that has largely been commoditized. We know that we have resources to stay, maintain, or become, healthful.

Community, albeit, is less of something we can track via a watch or app, but it is still readily available. We participate in our families, engage in the community, and perhaps practice spirituality within our lifestyles. Farmer's Markets, local coffee shops, and art fairs all help bring communities, large and small, together. Whether IRL or not, your community is accessible digitally, virtually, and physically. There's no shortage of podcast communities, video game streams, or cultural events for our hearts to be full of community.

But when it comes to wealth, often, we earn and spend. The relationship is purely transactional- leaving the leg of the stool vulnerable to unintended consequences. Sure, some apps track what we earn and spend- but nothing helps count the steps needed to build our wealth, nothing that says the right amount of thought to put into wealth building on any given day. We hear about wealth on the news- the stocks, the 1%, the "market." The Bear, the Bull, but how does it impact us daily or does it at all?

Wealth building is not a one-size-fits-all process. Just like individual lifestyles and health are unique to everyone, so are wealth building and planning. Some of us need watches and apps, while others need gyms and account-ability-buddies. Some of us need physical communities to feel present while others thrive in virtual ones. Wealth building is no different, but what does wealth building even mean?

We might see the word wealth and have a little shudder because of the image the word brings to mind for each individual. But wealth doesn't have to mean nouveau riche; it doesn't have to look the way it's looked in the past. Upbeat Financial strives to have each client see wealth in a whole new light. One that doesn't require the exploitation of resources or an overreliance on a shrinking workforce. Wealth doesn't need to bring up images of suits and briefcases, or one of endless frugality and penny-pinching.

Wealth building, simply put, is making a plan that is you-centric, thoughtful, and Upbeat. It is a positive experience and process that tracks progress, not just transactions. It considers goals and measures the outcomes. It bends, shifts, and adapts, just like life does.